Disney's 'Raya and the Last Dragon' takes profound look at society's deepest plagues

Two weeks ago, I went to watch Disney’s newest film, “Raya and the Last Dragon,” only to leave the theatre with a very different mentality than what I entered with.

The movie is revolutionary: Not only is it an original story that combines the cultures of several Southeast Asian countries, such as Laos, Indonesia and Thailand, but as a refreshing bonus, it also has no romantic interest or heroic prince saving the day.

The movie takes place in the land of Kumandra, a landmass in which humans and magical dragons peacefully lived together. But with the appearance of the Druun, an amorphous dark cloud that is described as a "mindless plague," a chain of events is set off that splits the land apart.

The story proceeds as the Druun covers the land, paralyzing many of Kumandra’s inhabitants until a lone dragon named Sisu uses her powers to create a magic gem that chases it away.

Unfortunately, when the humans fight over the gem, the land splits apart into five countries, with only one keeping the gem.

The Druun’s story lays the backdrop for future drama, but we’re already seeing an important message from Disney: Hatred and greed is a recipe for the world to be (literally) torn apart. 

The story then transitions to a cold war between the countries until Raya’s father calls an end to the dispute. Little does he know, the lands start fighting again, splitting the dragon gem into enough pieces for each country to take one and prompting the Druun’s return.

We also learn that water repels the Druun, which plays a vital role throughout the rest of the film.

Disney lays on the symbolism in this part, returning to the point that selfishness has made us callous. Disney also demonstrates that individuals trying to salvage these global disasters fail when the majority opposes change and acceptance.

Raya’s father is the only person who can reunite lands but is ultimately paralyzed due to the other lands’ resistance, mirroring how global organizations strive to solve major issues, only to fall flat due to opposition.

The film features heavy symbolic imagery. For example, water, which symbolizes life and wellbeing, is shown as the opposition to the Druun, which represents human vices.

But it’s also interesting to see that water keeps the countries apart, indicating that the same things can either divide or unite us. It’s an idea found in the film’s ending credits song, “Lead the Way": “Whatever brings us together can nevеr tear us apart/We becomе stronger than ever.”

The movie then fasts forward to Raya as an adult on the search for Sisu in hopes that the dragon may be able to revive Raya's father. Sisu and Raya have a juxtaposing dynamic because, unlike Raya, Sisu is far more optimistic and offers a much more naive perspective.

She even trusts the one person Raya refuses to trust — Namaari, the princess of a neighboring land and the girl who ultimately led to Raya’s father’s petrification.

Warning: Major spoiler ahead!

The story peaks when Sisu arranges to meet with Namaari, who reluctantly tries to trap her. Raya doesn’t hesitate to protect Sisu but ultimately triggers Sisu’s death (and, with her, the last hope the group has of saving the land from the Druun).

This is yet another place where Disney departs from tradition by not having a clear protagonist. With Raya’s distrust being the primary reason for Sisu’s death, it seems that she can't be the hero of the story.

Her distrustful nature represents what Disney seems to be saying of the world: There’s going to be a straw that breaks the camel’s back, sending the world into chaos and eventually causing the end of days if we don’t learn to trust one another.

Eventually, there’s a penultimate scene where Raya’s group is the only one left standing, with each member of the group holding a piece of the dragon gem. Raya gives her piece to Namaari, demonstrating her willingness to end the fighting, before becoming petrified. Her decision prompts the others to give their pieces to Namaari before meeting the same fate. Namaari is left to assemble the pieces before she, too, becomes stone.

But because this is a Disney movie, there’s a happy ending: Everyone is revived, the dragons return and, although the lands remain physically apart, the people of Kumandra are together in spirit.

But reality isn’t that simple nor is it pre-written to end well. We have our dragons — organizations and individuals that are trying to heal the world. We have our Rayas — people who have lost everything and still continue to fight but not without biased judgments. Our Namaaris? People who know what the right thing is but need a little help getting there.

And our gem is, quite simply, hope. 

And the Druun? It’s all that divides us. It’s partisanship, discrimination, hatred. The difference is we’re not guaranteed that, when our Druun destroys everything, some magic gem is going to revive us.

When we harden our hearts completely, we won’t have a second chance. That’s precisely why the film goes into such depth to show the land disintegrate and the last remaining people of Kumandra die — to show the worst-case scenario.

Disney couldn't have released the film at a more appropriate time. Today, we’re living through a pandemic. Black, Indigenous, people of color and Asian American communities are reeling in losses in their communities resulting from hatred. Our Druun is consuming our lives, and people are reaching their breaking points.

Perhaps the movie offers an incomplete start to a solution: Support our "dragons" instead of debilitating their efforts. Allow our Rayas and Namaaris to grow. Protect our gems of hope, the people and things that bring us joy. It’s not the fix-all, for our world isn't Kumandra. But it's a launching pad, especially for college students who are just entering the adult world.

"What a World We Live In," a song produced for the movie, summarizes a good motto to live with: “Oh, what a world we live in/We're only just beginning.”