Contains spoilers  

Raya and The Last Dragon, an animated action-comedy film, tells the story of Raya (Kelly Marie Tran) and a dragon named Sisu (Awkawfina) as they travel the fictional land of Kumandra. This animated film features the first Southeast Asian princess in the Disney Princess Franchise. This is monumental as it is a representation for young girls looking to see princesses who look and have cultural similarities to them. 

Our protagonist, Raya is a princess of Heart, which is a place in Kumandra, but as the movie progresses, we learn that there were dragons in Kumandra that would grant the citizens rain, water, and peace. However, a dark monster called the “Druun” appeared, causing people and dragons to turn into stone. Sisu, the last remaining dragon, sacrificed herself by combining all of her magic into an orb and blasting the Druun away. People, fortunately, returned from being stone; however, the dragons did not. This led to clashing between the people of Kumandra over Sisu’s orb, creating borders, in addition to naming a nation after a part of a dragon. 

The main plot begins here, when Raya befriends Namaari (Gemma Chan), who is the princess of Fang, at a party hosted by Raya’s father for the leaders of the other nations of Kumandra (Fang, Heart, Tail, Spine, and Talon). Raya, believing Namarri to be a trustworthy person, reveals where Sisu’s orb, which has been hidden by the nation of Heart, is located. However, Namarri betrays Raya and leads Fang to Sisu’s orb. However, in the chaos, the orb falls and shatters which inevitably releases the Druun back into Kumandra. The Druun turns Raya’s father into stone which leads to the plot of the movie: finding a way to bring Raya’s father back. 

The movie was very enjoyable to watch. Since Disney has not released much original content other than live remakes, this movie was a breath of fresh air. The voice actors nailed the acting, and the music was phenomenal. The movie included diversity for an already diverse South-East Asia. I recommend giving this movie a whirl.