Story

Raya and the Last Dragon is set in Kumandra, a land where people once lived happily, guarded by magical dragons who brought water, prosperity and peace. But then evil monsters called the Druun arrived, bringing nothing but death and destruction, and turning all life to ash and stone. The dragons made a valiant stance to save the last humans, and their combined power wiped out the Druun. But when the smoke cleared, all the dragons were gone and nothing was left save a magical gem and a legend about a lone dragon. In fear, the people split up the land, drawing borders and boundaries. As the years passed, mistrust and animosity grew and the gem had to be hidden away.

Centuries pass and a kind-hearted king dreams of reuniting the lands. He invites all the nations to reconcile and form Kumandra again. His young daughter, Raya, is trained as a warrior princess. She strikes up a friendship with a girl named Namaari from another kingdom but her trust is soon betrayed. She watches in horror as her beloved father is shot, and the gem she has sworn to protect is broken into pieces. This releases the Druun once again.

As each nation takes a piece of the gem and flees, Raya’s father entrusts his daughter with their piece. He entreats her to unite the kingdoms and flings her into the river just as he himself is turned to stone. Raya spends the next six years searching for the legendary lone dragon.

At last, Raya finds and reanimates the infamous dragon Sisu, who has been sleeping for centuries. Together Raya and Sisu set off to find the other pieces of the gem, vanquish the Druun, and save all those who’ve been turned to stone.

Themes

Grief; loss of kingdom; loss of family; loss of humanity; children being separated from parents; death; betrayal; revenge; mistrust

Violence

Raya and the Last Dragon has some violence. For example:

  • There is frequent animated violence. There are also numerous fight scenes.
  • Raya battles a masked man to reach the gem.
  • Raya and Namaari fight over the gemstone.
  • Raya’s father is shot in the leg and struggles to get away from the Druun.
  • Namaari and a band of soldiers track Raya to the desert, where they try to attack her. Raya must fight her way out.
  • Raya fights a baby to get back the pieces of stone.
  • Raya and Namaari have a sword fight followed by a fist fight. They hit, punch and kick each other until Raya collapses on the ground.
  • A village has only one survivor after a Druun attack.
  • An evil-looking soldier from Spine brags about how he crushes the skulls of his enemies.
  • Namaari shoots Sisu in the chest with an arrow, and she falls over a cliff into a river.
  • People turn on each other and try to kill each other.
  • Raya tries to kill Namaari to avenge Sisu.

Sexual references

Raya and the Last Dragon has no sexual references.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

There’s no use of substances in Raya and the Last Dragon.

Nudity and sexual activity

Raya and the Last Dragon has some nudity. For example, there’s a brief glimpse of a baby’s bare buttocks in one scene.

Product placement

Raya and the Last Dragon has no product placement.

Coarse language

Ideas to discuss with your children

Raya and the Last Dragon is an animated Disney adventure and an epic tale of good versus evil. The animation is excellent, and the plot is fast paced. Although the story is full of darkness, there’s plenty of hope and humour too. Despair never gets a chance to take hold.

Raya and the Last Dragon has some animated violence, upsetting themes and scary scenes, which mean it’s best enjoyed by older children and adults.

The main message from Raya and the Last Dragon is that humans are capable both of great evil and also great good. If we can overcome prejudice and misunderstanding to unite as a human family, we have more power than any dragon. We have the power to conquer fear and hate and to change darkness into light.

Values in Raya and the Last Dragon that you could reinforce with your children include teamwork, hope, forgiveness, trust, creativity, sacrifice and persistence.

Raya and the Last Dragon could also give you the chance to talk with your children about what would happen in real life if you:

  • blindly trust those who only pretend to be your friend
  • refuse to believe that there’s good in someone
  • refuse to trust people
  • accept that someone is bad just because of what others say about them
  • care only for yourself and refuse to act in the interests of others.

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Raising Children Network is supported by the Australian Government. Member organisations are the Parenting Research Centre and the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute with The Royal Children’s Hospital Centre for Community Child Health.

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