Kat's Very Scathing Review of Raya and the Last Dragon
Mar 13, 2021 6:24:51 GMT -5
Celestial, Ian Wolf-Park, and 2 more like this
Post by Kat on Mar 13, 2021 6:24:51 GMT -5
Before I start my review, I'm going to say that it is ironic that I had to rely on an American's Disney+ subscription streamed over Discord to watch a movie inspired by my culture and heritage.
At first glance, Raya and the Last Dragon seems pretty straightforward. Dragons used to protect people, now they're gone, but Raya is in search for the last dragon (just like what it says on the tin) to save Kumandra. Then they're gonna team up, go on adventures, etc., etc.
Now, here's where I start picking apart the movie's references and representation.
Did the crew do their research? They did, and they have Southeast Asian people with the staff. Kelly Tran, the voice of Raya, is Vietnamese-American. The other main voice actors as far as I know are also Asian. But here's the thing. They are of East Asian heritage - East Asia is China, Japan, Korea. Not Southeast. While I am happy that other Asians are in the cast (Alan Tudyk is excused, he just voiced Tuktuk anyway) and that whitewashing is not one of my complaints about this movie, it would have been better if they fit more Southeast Asians into the cast. This is a movie showcasing Southeast Asian culture, so why not choose actors and actresses with the right heritage?
"But Kat, does this mean that Americans can't do British roles anymore? They're not British!!!"
No, my point is, Southeast Asian actors don't get a lot of roles in which they shine. So at the very least, let them take the lead in a production like this. I can already give an example of a voice actor they could have gotten - Dante Basco, a.k.a. Zuko. He's Filipino-American. They could have exerted the same effort they did, say, in casting the live action Aladdin movie.
Okay, what's next? The setting. The movie is set in the fictional land of Kumandra, but it's made to reference Southeast Asia. Kind of like how Avatar created the four kingdoms to mirror real-life countries' cultures. But here's your problem. You try to make a single land divided into five kingdoms based on a region comprised of 11 different countries. Instead of picking out some of those, Disney throws together as many bits and pieces as it can into the different kingdoms of Kumandra. I am able to pinpoint some parts that are distinctly Filipino or which are shared with the Philippines and other countries, but there are other aspects, like the outfits and some of the architecture, that don't seem to be drawn from one culture in particular. Apparently Fang is supposed to be based on Cambodia's Angkor Wat if I remember correctly from one of those circulating "look at all these references!!!" Facebook posts but I didn't get that vibe at all.
On the flip side, those huts in one shot were reminiscent of nipa huts here. The river and rain are significant, which is also accurate.
But more importantly, there is a snowy mountainous kingdom, and a desert. Southeast Asia has neither desert nor snow, which is odd. Already these are points docked from Disney's brownie points for trying to be accurate. It would be more accurate and appropriate to have a kingdom by the sea, or a kingdom shadowed by a volcano, because SEAsia is located on the Ring of Fire. Maybe Disney just didn't want Raya and the Last Dragon to look like Moana.
To that I say, "Cowards." Because the sea is very important to SEAsia too. And very much so for the Philippines, which is a buncha islands in the middle of water. It's possible to give Raya a beach or a sea or a volcano without making it look similar to Moana.
Some of the nature shots, however, are good, including that one of Sisudatu swimming in the river (well, they were right about rivers being important) past a lot of colorful fish.
So what could have been done better? Instead of throwing together various cultures into a blender, focus on one and set the story there. I think Disney wanted to please all of us and didn't want to typecast any one country or ethnic group and this was the result, but honestly, we would be more satisfied with a movie that is accurate and more properly set up.
Yet, there are some nice touches that I appreciated. Raya wears a salakot, or a straw hat that's common in the Philippines. Her dad tries to make a meal for everyone to enjoy and when I saw how the food looked, I was like "yes, you can find something like that in a kitchen here." The themes of family and relationships are present, and I can name other references to other countries like Tuk Tuk meaning a pedicab in countries like Thailand, but I think those are easily Google-able and I'll spare everyone the details. Plus, some folks placing their kingdom first? That's how some ethnic groups or regions here in the Philippines operate. They can have a bias toward a politician if they are from their own region (example: many people from Mindanao backing Duterte because he's from Mindanao too).
Honestly not very thrilled with how they designed the dragons. I found them too pastel-y to be found in Southeast Asia. If I remember correctly there was some backlash with the SEAsian community on social media with how Sisu was designed. But we do have our own serpent-y creatures in mythology so it's not far-fetched to toss a dragon into this mix.
And another thing:
It's also hard to deliver a message of unity when you base your story on 11 different countries that are also separated by a lot of sea. That's honestly easier said than done.
Bottom line: I'm not going to tell anyone "DON'T WATCH THIS MOVIE, IT'S BAD" because it's actually enjoyable. It's nice to sit through it, the characters are fun, the fighting choreography is pretty awesome. The art and effects are good and the story, though not quite the best one and despite getting predictable in parts, is fine. If you want to watch it and your opinion of the movie is higher than mine, that's your call. Raya and the Last Dragon is a start to hopefully more Southeast Asian representation in media instead of relegating us to side characters or always turning to East or South Asian characters or cast, but we need to tell Disney and other media companies that we need to set the bar higher.
Yes, we wanted to be seen, and we were, but we can do better than this. There is still room for improvement. Which means Disney should listen to us.
Shameless plug: For Netflix users, watch out for Trese, an animated series that is coming soon and based on a Filipino graphic novel series about Alexandra Trese, who the police call for supernatural cases. Philippine myth and legends take center stage and of course, the story is set mostly in Manila. They will also be coming out with a Filipino dub for it.
At first glance, Raya and the Last Dragon seems pretty straightforward. Dragons used to protect people, now they're gone, but Raya is in search for the last dragon (just like what it says on the tin) to save Kumandra. Then they're gonna team up, go on adventures, etc., etc.
But wait, there's more. There are five kingdoms in Kumandra, all named after parts of a dragon (Heart, Tail, Talon, Spine, and Fang). When Raya was younger, her father tried to bring unity to all the nations, but the Fang betrayed them through Namaari, their princess, who tried to be dragon nerd friends with Raya. When the Dragon Gem, which had kept the Druun away, was broken, each kingdom took a piece for themselves and the Druun went on a rampage. And THAT'S why Raya has to go on a quest and whatnot, and she meets Sisudatu the dragon, among other characters who either help or hurt her on her quest, characters who were affected by the Druun and lost loved ones, etc.
Oh, and she and Namaari are clearly a ship.
So anyway, the story seems pretty straightforward aside from *gestures up* It gets predictable in parts, and at the end, the antagonists don't really get held accountable for trying to stop Raya's quest. Everyone's un-petrified, everyone's happy and suddenly shows up for the end scene where Raya finds her dad. Somehow they knew to find her and show up just to say "wassup we're cool"
The fight choreography I would say is one of the highlights, and the settings are very well done, I especially like how they try to set apart the five kingdoms. So by itself, is this a good movie? It's nice, though not one I'd nominate for an Oscar (but considering the Oscars' track record with nominating and selecting animated movies, this will likely be an Oscar candidate if not a winner later on).
Oh, and she and Namaari are clearly a ship.
So anyway, the story seems pretty straightforward aside from *gestures up* It gets predictable in parts, and at the end, the antagonists don't really get held accountable for trying to stop Raya's quest. Everyone's un-petrified, everyone's happy and suddenly shows up for the end scene where Raya finds her dad. Somehow they knew to find her and show up just to say "wassup we're cool"
The fight choreography I would say is one of the highlights, and the settings are very well done, I especially like how they try to set apart the five kingdoms. So by itself, is this a good movie? It's nice, though not one I'd nominate for an Oscar (but considering the Oscars' track record with nominating and selecting animated movies, this will likely be an Oscar candidate if not a winner later on).
Now, here's where I start picking apart the movie's references and representation.
Did the crew do their research? They did, and they have Southeast Asian people with the staff. Kelly Tran, the voice of Raya, is Vietnamese-American. The other main voice actors as far as I know are also Asian. But here's the thing. They are of East Asian heritage - East Asia is China, Japan, Korea. Not Southeast. While I am happy that other Asians are in the cast (Alan Tudyk is excused, he just voiced Tuktuk anyway) and that whitewashing is not one of my complaints about this movie, it would have been better if they fit more Southeast Asians into the cast. This is a movie showcasing Southeast Asian culture, so why not choose actors and actresses with the right heritage?
"But Kat, does this mean that Americans can't do British roles anymore? They're not British!!!"
No, my point is, Southeast Asian actors don't get a lot of roles in which they shine. So at the very least, let them take the lead in a production like this. I can already give an example of a voice actor they could have gotten - Dante Basco, a.k.a. Zuko. He's Filipino-American. They could have exerted the same effort they did, say, in casting the live action Aladdin movie.
Okay, what's next? The setting. The movie is set in the fictional land of Kumandra, but it's made to reference Southeast Asia. Kind of like how Avatar created the four kingdoms to mirror real-life countries' cultures. But here's your problem. You try to make a single land divided into five kingdoms based on a region comprised of 11 different countries. Instead of picking out some of those, Disney throws together as many bits and pieces as it can into the different kingdoms of Kumandra. I am able to pinpoint some parts that are distinctly Filipino or which are shared with the Philippines and other countries, but there are other aspects, like the outfits and some of the architecture, that don't seem to be drawn from one culture in particular. Apparently Fang is supposed to be based on Cambodia's Angkor Wat if I remember correctly from one of those circulating "look at all these references!!!" Facebook posts but I didn't get that vibe at all.
On the flip side, those huts in one shot were reminiscent of nipa huts here. The river and rain are significant, which is also accurate.
But more importantly, there is a snowy mountainous kingdom, and a desert. Southeast Asia has neither desert nor snow, which is odd. Already these are points docked from Disney's brownie points for trying to be accurate. It would be more accurate and appropriate to have a kingdom by the sea, or a kingdom shadowed by a volcano, because SEAsia is located on the Ring of Fire. Maybe Disney just didn't want Raya and the Last Dragon to look like Moana.
To that I say, "Cowards." Because the sea is very important to SEAsia too. And very much so for the Philippines, which is a buncha islands in the middle of water. It's possible to give Raya a beach or a sea or a volcano without making it look similar to Moana.
Some of the nature shots, however, are good, including that one of Sisudatu swimming in the river (well, they were right about rivers being important) past a lot of colorful fish.
So what could have been done better? Instead of throwing together various cultures into a blender, focus on one and set the story there. I think Disney wanted to please all of us and didn't want to typecast any one country or ethnic group and this was the result, but honestly, we would be more satisfied with a movie that is accurate and more properly set up.
Yet, there are some nice touches that I appreciated. Raya wears a salakot, or a straw hat that's common in the Philippines. Her dad tries to make a meal for everyone to enjoy and when I saw how the food looked, I was like "yes, you can find something like that in a kitchen here." The themes of family and relationships are present, and I can name other references to other countries like Tuk Tuk meaning a pedicab in countries like Thailand, but I think those are easily Google-able and I'll spare everyone the details. Plus, some folks placing their kingdom first? That's how some ethnic groups or regions here in the Philippines operate. They can have a bias toward a politician if they are from their own region (example: many people from Mindanao backing Duterte because he's from Mindanao too).
Honestly not very thrilled with how they designed the dragons. I found them too pastel-y to be found in Southeast Asia. If I remember correctly there was some backlash with the SEAsian community on social media with how Sisu was designed. But we do have our own serpent-y creatures in mythology so it's not far-fetched to toss a dragon into this mix.
And another thing:
Talon, which is likely inspired by Thailand's floating markets (and really a number of SEAsian countries have houses on stilts above water, like us), is painted as a country of con artists where even babies know how to deceive and steal. I know Noi and her monkey cronies are cute but I'm afraid this will send a wrong message that people from places like that are all con artists especially since it's essentially confirmed when the old lady reveals herself as the true leader of Talon and threatens Sisu.
It's also hard to deliver a message of unity when you base your story on 11 different countries that are also separated by a lot of sea. That's honestly easier said than done.
Bottom line: I'm not going to tell anyone "DON'T WATCH THIS MOVIE, IT'S BAD" because it's actually enjoyable. It's nice to sit through it, the characters are fun, the fighting choreography is pretty awesome. The art and effects are good and the story, though not quite the best one and despite getting predictable in parts, is fine. If you want to watch it and your opinion of the movie is higher than mine, that's your call. Raya and the Last Dragon is a start to hopefully more Southeast Asian representation in media instead of relegating us to side characters or always turning to East or South Asian characters or cast, but we need to tell Disney and other media companies that we need to set the bar higher.
Yes, we wanted to be seen, and we were, but we can do better than this. There is still room for improvement. Which means Disney should listen to us.
Shameless plug: For Netflix users, watch out for Trese, an animated series that is coming soon and based on a Filipino graphic novel series about Alexandra Trese, who the police call for supernatural cases. Philippine myth and legends take center stage and of course, the story is set mostly in Manila. They will also be coming out with a Filipino dub for it.