Since achieving its "Certified Fresh" badge on Rotten Tomatoes earlier this week, Raya and the Last Dragon has continued to impress critics. With nearly 170 reviews as of this writing, the film still sits at a very impressive 95% on the aggregate website.
Just about every critic agrees that Raya and the Last Dragon is another animated classic. Josh Wilding, from our sister site ComicBookMovie.com, called it "another huge win for the studio." He scored it four stars out of five.
While Raya's princess-driven fantasy adventure story is a familiar one, Walt Disney Animation Studios keeps things fresh with a focus on Southeast Asian representation. Despite the familiar story beats, Raya and the Last Dragon has been praised for its satisfying action sequences, the mixture of comedy and emotion, valuable lessons and themes, and, of course, the gorgeous visuals.
Raya and the Last Dragon also features a star-studded voice cast that includes Star Wars actress Kelly Marie Tran as the titular warrior, Raya. Tran has received glowing praise as the lead role, including from Wilding who wrote: "[Raya is] a well-rounded, complex character, much of that hinges of the emotion Tran delivers through her performance."
“Raya and the Last Dragon” takes us on an exciting, epic journey to the fantasy world of Kumandra, where humans and dragons lived together long ago in harmony. But when an evil force threatened the land, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Now, 500 years later, that same evil has returned and it’s up to a lone warrior, Raya, to track down the legendary last dragon to restore the fractured land and its divided people. However, along her journey, she’ll learn that it’ll take more than a dragon to save the world—it’s going to take trust and teamwork as well.
Raya and the Last Dragon is showing in theaters as well as on Disney+ with a Premium Access fee of $30 on top of your monthly subscription.