The first thing people seem to ask in reviews of Disney's latest animated film, Raya and the Last Dragon, is "Is it worth paying extra for?". The deal is that if you pay for "premier access" to the film, you can watch it now on Disney + (providing you have a subscription, that is). If, however, you wait until June, all you need is the Disney + subscription in order to watch it for free as part of the package. The US price for premier access is 30 dollars: here in Sweden, it's 250 Swedish crowns, which is about the same, and approximately what you pay in Sweden for two cinema tickets (admittedly expensive ones, probably with 3D thrown in). So, yes, it's pricey, but from our point of view not that pricey.
As you can guess, I paid, feeling a right mug for not being able to wait for the "free" release. But - somewhat to my surprise - to me it ended up being worth it. After the film, I didn't feel like I'd wasted my money. Instead I thought "Yeah, this was good, and I needed it now". So yes, providing you're not short of cash, and providing you love Disney films, I'd say it's worth paying extra.
That's not to say I thought the film was perfect. Though it was better than I expected from some of the trailers, it didn't live up to my most fervid hopes. The positives first: this film felt like there was a lot of thought and feeling put into it. Frozen 2 and Wreck-It Ralph 2 - Ralph Breaks the Internet seem very lazy in comparison. Whereas the world of the enchanted forest in Frozen 2 felt incoherent and cobbled together ("giants are cool, that water horse thingy is cool, Samis-or-something-like-them are cool, a fire lizard isn't really a thing in Scandinavian folklore but who cares"), the world of the five kingdoms that used to be Kumandra hangs together and is really quite fascinating. Hopefully the films gains enough of a following to spark a spinoff animated TV series like, for instance, Tangled and Big Hero 6, because these settings have a lot of potential for further adventures.
The animation is gorgeous. The story is effective. The message isn't only the old one of "we should overcome our prejudices and get along with each other blah blah" but delves a little deeper into the matter of trust - it makes a case for daring to trust your fellow men, while also acknowledging that it isn't always a good idea. I can get behind that. The side characters are charming (I was not wholly convinced by the over-capable "con baby", but she has an important plot function) and the comic relief the dragon Sisu provided didn't grate on me. Also, she had some real insight to contribute, which was nice.
On the flip side, I didn't care that much about Raya, the heroine. In fairness, she is given a plausible motivation and isn't just "kick-ass". Her goal is to reassemble the Dragon Gem, a magic artefact which was broken six years before in a tussle between the five tribes, releasing an age-old menacing force called the Druun in the process, which turns people - including Raya's father - into stone. The good news is that if the Druun can be defeated, everyone turned into stone will come back to life. Raya partly blames herself for the catastrophe, because she trusted a girl from a different tribe who betrayed her, so it's understandable she's glum and hard to come close to, but it also makes her less fun to be around than, say, Rapunzel.
Once she's teamed up with Sisu, Raya only has to get all the pieces of the broken gem, but that's easier said than done. Each enemy tribe/land - Tail, Talon, Spine and Fang (the lands are named after a river in the shape of a dragon - Raya is from Heart) - have a piece of it and guard it fiercely. In each place Raya goes, she and Sisu more or less inadvertently pick up a companion: a business-savvy young boy, the aforementioned baby and her band of trained thieving monkeys and a fearsome warrior with a soft heart. They have all lost their families to the Druun. I appreciated that there wasn't any time wasted with Raya feeling bad about having had prejudices against Tail, Talon and Spine people - she and the side cast just got on with bonding without much fuss. Then they come to Fang, and things become a little more complicated.
I've slid back into mainly positives, so let me come to my major gripe: the new formula for Disney animated films has, regrettably, stuck, and each time it's reiterated it gets harder to get out of. This means, firstly, that there's no romance. Disney's line when it comes to animated films is not so much politically correct as politically safe. They do not want to offend anyone. By setting their film in an East-Asian fantasy world, they've got the diversity thing sorted. (Though mark my words, people will try to be offended nevertheless and find something they can call "disrespectful" - good luck with that.) By making Raya - and her antagonist Namaari - women with warrior skills, Disney can beat the "girl power" drum a bit. Raya isn't allowed a male love interest, because it would (or so Disney thinks) annoy feminists to see her go weak at the knees over some man. And she can't fall for Namaari either, because that would be too bold (there were apparently people who boycotted Onward because a female side character made a passing reference to her girlfriend). Honestly, why aren't Disney heroines allowed any love lives anymore? (Except in the case of Anna and Kristoff, and let's face it - was he a pushover in Frozen 2 or what?) This is supposed to be escapism!
And finally, the new Disney formula means that there is no interesting villain. I'm not sure why it would be so contentious to reintroduce a Disney villain in the classic mould. Is it because if he's a man and too elegant and silky, some bright spark will think he's "queer-coded"? (This has actually happened with Scar and Jafar - Jafar's bid for Jasmine and the deleted scene where Scar hits on Nala notwithstanding.) But maybe I shouldn't see political motives behind every corner. For whatever reason, the whole concept of the Druun is almost an affront to a villain-loving heart. I mean, a mindless, soulless, faceless force, taking the form of vaguely animal-shaped ominous clouds? Are they kidding?
Raya and the Last Dragon is a very good film. In a way, it's a return to form for Disney animation. But I can't help thinking that Disney sets itself rather narrow parameters within which to work the company magic. The Dream Factory isn't out of the woods yet.
