Everything GREAT About Raya and the Last Dragon!

“Awww I want Dragons!! Stupid non-dragon world.” I honestly felt that

I like how the Tail chief died. She didn't just get turned into stone and come back with the rest. She hid herself behind a fortress and slowly wasted away because she was too paranoid to trust anyone else further reinforcing the message in this movie

“Ma’am, I know you’re panicked, but you just body-slammed a child.” CW: proceeds to add one win

I think Raya’s “doom walk” is one of the cinematic highlights of the movie for me. Especially the part where she splits a Druun *without even slowing down*, complete with a little flourish of the cape.

Fun Fact: All the fight scenes were choreographed, performed and filmed IRL and then used as reference for the animators. So all of them are somewhat real performances you are watching.

Something I picked up on, I liked how Sisu’s human form, her teeth wasn’t perfect In sooooo many Disney computer animated movies nowadays, their teeth are perfect

“If you lost a puppy and someone said ‘WeLL wE sTiLL hAvE a BiG cHuNk oF It!’, would that make you feel better??” Is single-handedly my favorite line from a Disney movie.

Anyone else notice just how many people the Druun wiped out? If there were 5 clans to begin with, Tail is essentially a person-less wasteland, Heart got abandoned when the Gem split, and Spine got wrecked by the Druun with only a sole survivor, there were only 2 clans left: Talon, built on the water, and Fang, walled off by water on an artificial island. That means that about 60% of the world got wiped out just by the Druun.

I gotta give Raya some props for being a action and adventure film from Disney, haven’t seen something from them like that since treasure planet .

I'm just very happy someone else is finally saying that "trust everyone blindly" was never the message of the movie.

I think we need to touch on how great the animation is, especially when things are wet. The slight darkening of Benja's gloves after he dips them in the water in the beginning, or the shine on Raya's hair after everyone comes back, or the way Sisu's "hair" kind of clings to her head when she does that little spin in the water. Even the shine on Raya's cheek after she wipes her tear right before she awakens Sisu. The animation in this movie is so smooth and detailed in some shots and it's beautiful the whole way through. I love how you can see the individual fiber strands that make up Tong's tunic, too

I like how he addresses the trust stuff. all the reviews i've watched all criticise it for the message being 'trust everyone regardless of how they treated you' but this guy gets it but also says that it could've have been a bit better which I wholeheartedly appreciate

"Almost like poverty and crime go together" OUCH, I just burned my finger on that hot take

13:44 I always interpreted it as Namaari being sad, since the dragon she’s been a huge fan of since childhood is now growling at her in anger.

When he started listing southeast asian weapons and martial arts i got really giddy for no reason lmfao. As a southeast asian individual who hails from the philippines, it's so amazing how he was able to recognize fighting styles, and research the weapons used by Namaari, and Raya, like the Filipino Arnis. These were small bits I didn't think western people would get, but i'm pleasently suprised! thank you

DUDE, I was literally just wondering where CinemaWins went and here you are with an upload! Great to have you back man and glad everything is okay.

Something I noticed when watching the movie is that at you look at Sisu’s older brother when Sisu’s family is using the gem (15:27 in the video) his hands are cupped like how the people who got turned to stone hands are, which means that the pose that those people have is technically them putting their trust in Sisu to use the gem.

The trust theme would be fine if it weren't so incomplete. The problem is that Namaari lacks any kind of redemption arc. She betrayed Raya, and in a way that completely destroyed the known world - not a small betrayal - and does nothing at no time ever in the film to indicate that she is deserving of a second chance. Without that redemption arc, without requiring that Namaari demonstrate some kind of desire to change, the trust theme is dangerous. That's how people get trapped in abusive relationships. The world, the real world, our world isn't suffering due to a lack of trust, it's suffering due to a lack of repentance (meaning change of heart, not even religious). Were people who caused harm more willing to admit their wrong and actively change, trust would immediately follow.

"Sisu" is a word in Finnish. It doesn't translate well into English but it's basically the definition of "not giving up" and "having guts to do so". Or as a simple google search says "strength of will" But I don't think the producers knew the word existed although the word describes Sisu in the film pretty well.

"Magic is definitely afoot" shot of feet going up stairs I laughed.