Once again, the studio’s writers and researchers have done their homework, zestily plunging into the region’s legends and folktales with an army of anthropologists and other consultants, but as usual, it’s the Disney style and ethos that prevails. Sisu, the sole surviving dragon – voiced by the comic, Awkwafina – is a large fluffy creature of baby blue that looks as if it’s been designed expressly for the movie’s merchandising line and Raya’s main allies are a group of cute and cuddly creatures with a supple talent for pratfalling in all directions. The star turn is Tuk Tuk, Raya’s chauffeur. He’s wrapped in a circular carapace that can open and shut and she sits astride it while rolling at high speed across the landscape.
As well has having to battle The Druun, she’s having a feud with Naamari (Gemma Chan), a rival princess from Fang, the most sophisticated of Kumandra’s five lands. Naamari has a lot of gold jewellery, a trendy modern haircut with razor sharp angles and an elegant wardrobe of martial arts wear. Raya prefers a more natural look and is expert with the sword once owned by her father, Chief Benja (Daniel Dae Kim), one of the The Druun’s victims.
The voice actors are all of Asian heritage but this hasn’t been good enough for a few of the film’s sternest internet critics who have complained their family background should have been exclusively south east Asian. Since they all have American accents and Raya and Naamari’s dialogue makes them sound like habitues of social media, this is hardly the point.
More pertinent is the fact all that work on ethnic diversity has done little to dilute the all-too-familiar Disney formula. Yet the tone is a lot lighter than in Mulan or Frozen and the design has great ingenuity, as well as being remarkably beautiful. It’s fun but predictable.
