Diane wanted to see Raya and The Last Dragon so we watched it on Disney+. A vaguely Southeast Asian country falls into chaos when the various tribes stop trusting each other and shatter the magic crystal that protects them from the Druun. The Druun look like swirling smoke and their touch turns humans (and dragons) into stone.
Raya is a warrior princess who searches for the Last Dragon (and the last hope of defeating the Druun). Another warrior princess, Namaari, seeks to stop Raya. So there are plenty of cartoon fights.
I had no trouble with the storyline, but the “theme” of this movie is you have to trust others. In my experience, trust needs to be earned. Not in Raya and The Last Dragon. Despite examples where trust is betrayed, the story insists on the characters trusting to Make Everything Better. Other than that quibble, I found Raya and The Last Dragon entertaining. Diane did, too. Are you a fan of Disney animated movies? Any favorites? GRADE: B
Not really, I have never been able to enjoy animated movies. Nor cartoons. I don’t know why. I am lacking that gene, I think.
Patti, Disney was hoping RAY AND THE LAST DRAGON would be a big hit…and then the Coronavirus Pandemic hit.
I liked Roadrunner cartoons when I was a kid, but that was both the beginning and the end.
Michael, I was a fan of Roadrunner cartoons, too. Very clever…and without dialogue!
Pinocchio is probably my favorite, the artwork is outstanding. Also Fantasia.
Rick, you’re right about those early Disney animated films. They’re brilliant!
Disney animation has tended to be Too Cute for me, but occasionally they let the leash loosen a bit, and among fairly recent items I enjoyed the feature films LILO AND STITCH and MULAN…didn’t love them, but certainly enjoyed them (Alice loves good animated films). Little interest in the live action/sfx version of MULAN and didn’t find the LILO AND STITCH tv series too compelling, though what I saw of it seemed amiable. FANTASIA was certainly good to see, as well.
Warner Bros. animation, particularly the theatrical rather than tv productions, were my jam as a child…I preferred Bugs Bunny and the original daffy Daffy Duck (vs. imitation Donald Duck irritable Daffy Duck) as a kid, while the Road Runner cartoons tended to leave me cold…loved much of the PBS INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION FESTIVAL hosted by Jean March in the ’70s, and much of such other series as MY LIFE AND WELCOME TO IT that in THE GREAT AMERICAN DREAM MACHINE, THE SIMPSONS and FUTURAMA, THE CRITIC and a few others. Among classic animation, GULLIVER’S TRAVELS and some other work for Paramount, Winsor McKay’s pioneering work, BATMAN: THE MASK OF THE PHANTASM might still be the best DC animation I’ve seen (and probably the second-best Batman film–not as strong a field as one might like)…BULLWINKLE AND ROCKY…YELLOW SUBMARINE…SAVAGE PLANET…THE FABULOUS MR. FOX…SPACE GHOST, COAST TO COAST and some of the Adult Swim animation which has followed…but we’ve wandered away from Disney by some distance…their purchase of Pixar happened about the time I stopped seeing each Pixar as it came out…
Todd, I was a big fan of ROCKY & BULLWINKLE and UNDERDOG. Off beat, but humorous!
How could I reverse R&B? Though UNDERDOG was Brand-X in that comparison!
I used to say that I wanted to live in a Disney movie – Peter Pan or Lady and the Tramp (two of my favorites).
Recently I’ve enjoyed The Princess and the Frog and Tangled.
I think the animation is outstanding and the colors rich and bright.
There was one of the early Disney animators in my bookstore mystery group a while back. He knew Walt Disney and his brother and entertained us with lots of fascinating stories about the good old days.
I like Warner Brothers cartons-Looney Tunes the best. Pinocchio was probably the best Disney one. Also Rocky and Buullwinkle-not so much for the animation as for the humor. Some of the better Japanese ones but not Manga. Hate Hanna-Barbera.
Steve, like you I disliked Hanna-Barbera, too. Yet, somehow, those cartoon shows were popular.
No Disney + for us. Cartoons? Dumbo. Up. Wall-E.
Jeff, UP and WALL-E were great along with some of the PIXAR films like THE INCREDIBLES.