Raya and the Last Dragon (My Version)

Raya and the Last Dragon (marketed as Peter Jackson's Raya and the Last Dragon) is a 2021 American-New Zealand computer-animated epic high fantasy action-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Legendary Pictures, WingNut Films and Roth/Kirschenbaum Films and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The 59th film produced by the studios, it was directed, written and co-produced by New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson (in his animated directorial debut). Joe Roth, Jackson, Fran Walsh (Jackson's wife), Carolynne Cunningham, Peter Del Vecho and Osnat Shurer served as producers with the animation provided by Weta Digital. It stars Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, Andrew Koji, Patrick Wilson Benedict Wong, Ross Butler, Thalia Tran, Sung Kang, Izaac Wang, Patti Harrison, Daniel Dae Kim, Sandra Oh, François Chau, Dichen Lachman, Hugo Weaving, and Manu Bennett.

The film takes place in the fantasy world of Kumandra, where they live in peace and harmony. On the day for the feast, Raya (Kelly Marie Tran), daughter of Chief Benja (Daniel Dae Kim), befriends the princess of Fang, Namaari (Andrew Koji), daughter of Chief Virana (Sandra Oh), as she receives three blessings from the three chiefs of the tribes. Haruun the Spine Chief (Ross Butler), Dang Hai the Talon Chief (Sung Kang), and Mona the Tail Chief (Patti Harrison). But not before Raya does, the Druun have returned and have become humanoids led by the dark dragon named Quynh (Manu Bennett) and his trusted conqueror Khan (Patrick Wilson) to declare war on Kumandra. Six years passed, Raya and her new friends form a team known as the Dragon Searchers who would search for the last dragon, Sisudatu (Awkwafina), who has fallen into deep sleep for over 500 years. It's up to Raya and her new fearless friends to defeat Quynh, Chen and their Druun humanoid army once and for all.

Following the commercial success of Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy, Jackson began the script of Raya and the Last Dragon for his own New Zealand production company WingNut Films in 2016. He took his own script to Walt Disney Animation Studios as its CEO Jennifer Lee approved the script as she told Jackson that the plot might sound similar to the Snyder Cut of Justice League.

Raya and the Last Dragon was released in North America by Walt Disney Pictures on March 5, 2021 in theaters and on Disney+ with its Premiere Access subscription and received generally acclaimed reviews from critics who praised its visual effects, animation, Jackson's direction, screenplay, action sequences, musical score, balance of emotional weight and humor, and voice performances, although its lengthy runtime received its criticism. Eventually, it became a critical and commercial success and it grossed $650 million against a $100 million budget with many viewers calling it one of the best computer-animated films of all time as well as one of Jackson's best films since The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The film earned an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, a Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film, winning both to Encanto.

Plot
Five hundred years ago, Kumandra has been a peaceful and harmonious paradise land of humans and dragons that can swim and run on raindrops. One day, Quynh, who turned his own heart, created the Druun that can petrify the humans and dragons to stone, but he is foiled by the warriors and vanquished to the underworld along with his army. The Dragon Gem has been created by Sisudatu (Awkwafina) and her siblings, Pengu, Jagan, Pranee, and Amba, which the people of Kumandra have been drawn into the five tribes named Fang, Heart, Spine, Talon, and Tail. In the kingdom of the Heart Tribe, Princess Raya (Kelly Marie Tran) trains to become the guardian of the Dragon Gem in the temple with her father Chief Benja (Daniel Dae Kim).

One day, Benja decides to hold the feast so the tribes can be united once again. She meets the other four chiefs, Haruun of Spine (Ross Butler), Dang Hai of Talon (Sung Kang), Mona of Tail (Patti Harrison), and Virana of Fang (Sandra Oh). During the feast, she befriends her son, Namaari (Andrew Koji), the prince of Fang, who gives Raya the dragon pendant as a gift. Raya shows Namaari the location of the Dragon Gem, but Namaari betrays Raya as he tries to help his tribe to steal the gem. With his betrayal, the Fang Tribe came along with the other tribes who look at the gem very hungrily. But when Benja tries to compromise, Namaari stands up to Raya, apologizes to her and has been forgiven of his own sins.

But when the four chiefs of the tribes attempt to give Raya their four blessings, Khan arrives from the underground along with the Druun who have become humanoids with wings of a dragonfly, eyes glowing purple, and sharp teeth. The other tribes attack the Druun humanoid army while Raya and Benja escape with the Dragon Gem, but Benja ends up being wounded on the bridge with an arrow from the crossbow of Khan as he accidentally slips the Dragon Gem through his hands and the Dragon Gem has been shattered into five pieces. Raya gives each one piece to Haruun, Dang Hai, Mona, and Virana. When Raya tries to escape with Benja, he was too wounded as he sacrifices himself by throwing her into the river as Haruun, Dang Hai, and Mona swim with Raya to the Tail Tribe and they begin to raise her like benevolent parental figures.

Meanwhile, Khan builds a new base in the forests of Kumandra as he contacts with Chen from the water-like hologram, one of Quynh's servants. Chen explains that Khan had been exiled from the kingdom of the Druun Empire and betrayed by Quynh by slaughtering his own family, but Khan saw his mistake that his family sought Quynh's throne.

Cast

 * Kelly Marie Tran as Raya, the princess of the Heart Tribe who becomes the leader of the Dragon Searchers.
 * Awkwafina as Sisudatu "Sisu"
 * Andrew Koji as Namaari, the prince of the Fang Tribe who befriends Princess Raya of the Heart Tribe.
 * Patrick Wilson as Khan, the trusted conqueror of Quynh of the Druun Empire.
 * Benedict Wong as Tong, the big, fearless warrior of the Spine Tribe.
 * Ross Butler as Haruun, Tong's brother-in-law and the chief of the Spine Tribe and the member of the Dragon Searchers.
 * Thalia Tran as Noi, the little con-baby in the Talon Tribe who has been adopted by the trio of monkey-like companions Ongis after her mother had been petrified to stone by the Druun humanoid army.
 * Sung Kang as Dang Hai, the chief of the Talon Tribe and member of the Dragon Searchers.
 * Izaac Wang as Boun, captain of the Shrimporium of the Tail Tribe after his family had been petrified to stone by the Druun humanoid army.