ReelBob: ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ ★★★½

A delightful animated fantasy about faith, love, redemption and — most of all — trust.

“Raya and the Last Dragon” is an animated fantasy about the power of trust.

Walt Disney studio’s latest feature is a fairy tale of sorts set in the Pan-Asian world of Kumandra, where, at one time, humans and dragons lived together in tranquility.

But 500 years earlier, monsters called the Druun threatened humanity. The dragons, to save mankind, sacrificed themselves.

But before they did, they left a beautiful gem that would protect the people, but because of the disaster, they were divided into five tribes — Heart, Tail, Talon, Fang and Spine.

The Heart clan, led by Benja (Daniel Dae Kim), is the guardian of the gem. His young daughter, Raya, voiced by Kelly Marie Tran (“Star Wars: Episode VIII: The Last Jedi” and “Star Wars: Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker”), has recently passed her father’s test of combat to also become a guardian.

Benja’s dream is to reunite all the factions and reunite Kumandra as one land.

He invites the leaders of all the factions to Heart, but there is a betrayal, the gem is smashed, and the various clans make off with its pieces.

The destruction of the gem allows the Druun to attack unchecked, and they turn most of the people of the land to stone.

Those who escape, including Raya, who is saved by her father before he is petrified, return to their own domains.

Raya feels responsible for the calamity because she trusted Namaari (Gemma Chan), a young girl her own age who took advantage of Raya’s generosity to deceive her.

Raya begins a quest to track down the last dragon, find the gem pieces and restore Kumandra.

After six years of searching, Raya, who has matured into a formidable warrior and who carries one of the gem fragments, finally finds Sisu (Awkwafina), the last dragon. Together, they begin a quest to recover the other four pieces.

Along the way, they gather a disparate group of allies.

“Raya and the Last Dragon” is an entertaining lesson about hope, healing and redemption.

It is also a fable about leaning on others for help and again seeing the best in people.

The feature, directed by Don Hall and Carlos Lopez Estrada, mixes excitement, action and humor. They, with their army of animators, have created a world that is a mixture of desolation, menace and beauty.

Including the aforementioned, Tran, Awkwafina, Chan and Kim, the majority of the movie’s voice talent spotlights such well-known Asian-American actors as Sandra Oh and Benedict Wong, as well as Izaac Wang, Lucille Soong, Jona Xiao and Thalia Tran.

This Asian emphasis follows over into the large crew, which also includes several technicians of Asian descent.

“Raya and the Last Dragon,” at 108 minutes, will grab the attention of youngsters, but it also is a film that viewers of all ages can enjoy.

It is nicely paced and provides positive life lessons that children will easily comprehend.

But, most of all, it is fun.

The film opens in theaters and debuts on Disney+ on Friday.

I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook at ReelBob.com or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.

RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON
3½ stars out of 4
(PG), some violence, action, thematic elements