This weekend, the new work "Raya and The Last Dragon" (Raya and The Last Dragon) created by Disney Animation Studios was released in a slightly low-key manner.
Said it "low-key" mainly because it didn't take too much effort before the release, and in addition to the theater, the film was also launched on Disney+ simultaneously, plus the "Oriental Culture Theme" setting, I always feel Disney There is not much ambition for "The Legend of Dragon Hunting"...
If you want to find a general position for Raya in "The Legend of the Dragon" in the "Disney Princess Girls Group", in terms of genre and popularity, it is almost like Melida in "Brave" or "Pocahontas" Moana in the movie—In short, Disney has lit up another map of the world, and from now on they have another princess from Southeast Asia.
Compared with this not too provocative but also pretty good-looking animation film itself, the strength and confidence of the film industry reflected behind it is what makes me pay more attention and envy.
[Friendly reminder: There will be spoilers below. 】
I won’t talk about the technical advantages of "Looking for the Dragon" anymore. In short, you can think of the proficient commercial film elements of Disney animation, such as exquisite graphics, gags, cute pets, low-intensity risk-free adventures, etc. Wait, you can find it in this movie.
I will only briefly mention a few thoughts.
The story takes place in the "Longyou State" in an overhead world. You can indeed think that the prototype of the stage is Vietnam, Thailand or a Southeast Asian country, because the film is full of local features and cultural elements: hot and humid environment, lush The vegetation, lightweight clothing, simple and airy architectural decoration, close-to-fist fighting style, and many details such as food and accessories all have a very strong Southeast Asian flavor.
Raya’s mount is a watermelon worm designed after an armadillo. The image of "dragons" such as Xisu is also quite an orthodox Asian dragon. As a Chinese audience, it should be easier to accept the appearance of "The Legend of the Dragon" After all, the influence of cultural radiation lies there, and everyone who understands it understands it.
Disney did enough homework when making this animation. In addition to the above-mentioned "Eastern elements", the film's story theme is also quite Oriental "and culture".
500 years after the dragons sacrificed themselves, defeated the Dark Demons, and saved mankind, the people of the five tribes of the Longyou State did not cherish the hard-won chance of survival. Instead, they fought endlessly for the Dragon Crystal left by Xisu, in order to change this situation. , The patriarch of Dragonheart City Pengga, who has crystals, summoned the remaining four tribes to gather together, hoping to resolve the conflict, but his kindness failed to get a good return, and the Longyou State once again encountered the catastrophe brought by the black demon...
The main spiritual theme of "The Legend of the Dragon" is how to rebuild trust and unity in an environment of opposition and hatred.
The starting point and general strategic direction of the Ponga patriarch is correct, but without the most basic preventive measures, how can he lack the means of thunderbolt in order to show the bodhisattva's heart?
After the failure of such a wishful thinking attempt, it also made trust an even more distant and extravagant hope -the heroine Raya, who caused a catastrophe, would no longer believe in Namari, who betrayed her. (In other words, this time Even the prince is saved, all princess singers).
But the most contradictory part of this story is precisely here. I want to reorganize the shattered dragon crystals and exert the powerful magic power that can defeat the black devil. Collect the five tribes of the dragon heart, dragon tail, dragon claw, dragon spine, and dragon tooth. The fragments in the hands are only the first step, and more importantly, the people holding the crystals can trust each other and work together.
Therefore, it is the most reliable solution for Sisu to give gifts and hand in a good "bad idea" ... In fact, if it weren't for the constant resentment and suspicion between Raya and Namali, Sisu was for a time. By manslaughter, the crisis in the film may have been resolved long ago.
"Legend of Dragon Hunting" always reveals the importance of unity from various settings and details : after letting go of hatred and prejudices, humans can use Shenlong crystal to disperse the dark demons and bring vitality, just as if they were put into five tribes. Only after the special ingredients can we make the most delicious fresh soup of Longyouzhibang.
This film is particularly suitable in today’s world . The economic/political/public opinion environment is deteriorating day by day, nationalism and conservatism are rampant, and antagonistic emotions are constantly rising. As long as there is more trust and unity between each other, everyone may be one step earlier. Get out of the shadows and quagmire.
Of course, reality cannot be as simple and idealized as movies. Some people will continue to betray the trust of others, and there will always be people who will not let go of the opportunity to take advantage and retaliate... But the pickle in reality does not damage the "Legend of the Dragon". Goodwill and beautiful vision delivered.
This is a Disney fairy tale with high intentions and excellent execution .
That’s right, all my praises for "The Legend of the Dragon" are based on excellent "fairy tales." Disney is really good at blowing such colorful and dazzling bubbles. If you take the seriousness of the adult world or the movie The expansion of the narrative is required, I am afraid that this film is not enough to watch... Therefore, my recommendation for this film is: You don't suffer when you watch it, and you don't lose it if you don't watch it.
I am more concerned about the strong film industrialization power reflected in the film than the film itself which is not much readable .
I have noticed that in addition to the screenwriter Ruan Ji, more than 90% of the voice actors of "The Legend of the Dragon" are Asian , and many of them include a large number of acquaintances such as Okafina, Wu Shanzhuo, and Lao Wang. (Friends who love watching American TV shows should be able to Finding more familiar faces), such a gimmick operation similar to "Black Panther" looks nothing. It can be combined with the content of the film and the theme, which just shows that Hollywood can find materials all over the world, and the scary talent pool that can be used for fancy work. Execution ability.
And to be honest, "The Legend of the Dragon" is not very good in the Disney/Hollywood animation film sequence. It is a standard assembly line product that is good in all aspects. Disney should have known it will not be possible when it was launched. Explosive style...but it is still made. It can be the best, but it can also be lost. The heavy lifting is so light , which makes people sigh.
What's more, although some movie fans don't "see" "Tale of the Dragon", the larger the number, the more viewers tend to choose to watch such movies-mature commercial movies that are still effective even with routines.
If this is a domestic animated film, I am afraid that its reputation will rise to a higher level, because this is not only a film, but also a manifestation of the level, strength, and heritage of the film industry system (not to mention that Disney’s subordinates There are fairy studios like "Pixar").
A well-regulated "Legend of the Dragon", once again let me see the distance between domestic animation and even domestic movies and Hollywood -to compare with the best, it is a good thing to have the goal of catching up .
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