GRIZZLY PEAR

written snapshots

Raya and the Last Dragon, Hall, Estrada, Briggs, 2021

We didn’t get this growing up.
Asians on the big screen, speaking English!
Real characters, not ridiculous caricatures.

Awesome!

Unfortunately, the movie is just ok.
The animations are gorgeous — the tropics are luscious and OMG the water!

But the rest of it…
The story is ponderous (might have been better as a TV show.)
The dialog was a better than Shang Chi, but the plot is stale.
The ending is saccharine.

I’m spoiled, expecting too much from a Disney princess film.

Or maybe it’s a good sign, that we now expect for better than mediocre from a Hollywood film featuring people who look like us.