History WesternAnimation / RayaAndTheLastDragon

* BrokenAesop: Chief Benja believes that one should not withhold trust from someone just because they are from another tribe, another land and this call to trust is a noble one and hard to argue with. Sisu also believes similarly, reasoning that the world was so broken because people won't learn to trust each other. However, this is very different from withholding trust from someone who has deliberately and intentionally betrayed you. This caused Raya to shut down completely and not trust anyone, but her experiences in the story encouraged her to open up again, including to Namaari, who unfortunately, betrayed that trust a second time. Ultimately when dealing with betrayal, one side should not be expected to do all the heavy lifting and always be the first to give forth trust especially when the side that betrayed you never openly acknowledges the hurt they caused.

* AnAesop:
** You can't ever hope to improve the world if you are unwilling to have faith in its people to work with you. Distrust will only make things worse for everyone. However, there is a distinction in this trust. Chief Benja believed that one should not withhold trust from someone just because they are from another tribe or another land. This is very different from withholding trust from someone who has intentionally and deliberately betrayed you and doesn't acknowledge the hurt they caused or ever apologize for their actions. In other words, if you don't have trust, you have nothing.
** Whether the decision you are making is the "smart" or "morally right" one, think of the long term consequences as well as how it would affect the others involved. For all of Virana's talk about making the "smart" or "logical" decision, she essentially turned her city into a GildedCage due to the blame-shifting which would have doomed her people to starvation if it wasn't for Raya. [[spoiler: Then it goes FromBadToWorse when the Druun quakes bury her people alive in the climax and turned the rest to stone if not for Raya's crew evacuating the survivors]].
** Swallow your pride and admit your fault when you have done something wrong rather than going NeverMyFault. Namaari's refusal to do so led to the conflict dragging out more than necessary by [[spoiler: bringing her crossbow, which resulted in Sisu's DisneyDeath]]. It takes [[spoiler: finding her mother being turned to stone and seeing the Fang city being swallowed by quakes for her to admit she was wrong [[ZigZaggedTrope (though not without also blaming Raya)]], leading to Raya sparing her life]].

** You can't ever hope to improve the world if you are unwilling to have faith in its people to work with you. Distrust will only make things worse for everyone. However, there is a distinction in this trust. Chief Benja believed that one should not withhold trust from someone just because they are from another tribe or another land. This is very different from withholding trust from someone who has intentionally and deliberately betrayed you and doesn't acknowledge the hurt they caused or ever apologize for their actions.
*** In other words, if you don't have trust, you have nothing.

* OurDragonsAreDifferent: The movie depicts Lung-style dragons, combined with qualities of the ''Phaya Nāga'' (serpentine creatures from Thai mythology considered to be the patrons of water). Collectively they are all associated with water and life-giving rain. As Sisu explains, they also each have a unique magical talent like conjuring fog or {{Shapeshifting}}.

* OurDragonsAreDifferent: The movie depicts Lung-style dragons, with some aquatic features. Collectively they are all associated with water and life-giving rain. As Sisu explains, they also each have a unique magical talent like conjuring fog or {{Shapeshifting}}.

* Darker and Edgier: It features a post-apocalyptic setting for the first time since the aformentioned DINOSAUR, the protagonist using bladed weapons, the horrors of the shadow demons known as the Drunn, selfishness, and warfare, the sight of skeletal corpses laying in a ruined temple, an entire tribe wiped out by panicked warfare, the Accidental Murder of Sisu, and a climax that kills off every main character... temporarily, of course

* ActorAllusion: [[Creator/GemmaChan Namaari's]] hairstyle is curiously similar to that of [[Film/CaptainMarvel Minn-Erva.]] Bonus points for being another ProudWarriorRaceGuy.

* NotQuiteFlight: Dragons are able to "fly" by jumping off of raindrops.

* ArtifactOfHope: The Dragon Gem is a PowerCrystal created by Raya and her siblings to seal way [[OurDemonsAreDifferent the Druun]] and undo their petrifying effects on others. Aside from that, it is never shown to have any other magical capabilities, though most of Kumandra believe that it is somehow responsible for Heart's prosperity. After it's shattered, the gem is still able to repel Druun in a very localized capacity, ThePowerOfTrust being the key component to reassembling the gem.

'''Previews:''' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BPMTr-NS9s Teaser Trailer]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VIZ89FEjYI Official Trailer]].

The film is heavily inspired by the cultures, aesthetics, and mythologies of [[UsefulNotes/{{Asia}} Southeast Asia]]. It features the voices of Creator/KellyMarieTran and Creator/{{Awkwafina}} as the titular Raya and Sisu, with other supporting characters voiced by Creator/GemmaChan, Creator/DanielDaeKim, Creator/BenedictWong, Creator/SandraOh, Creator/AlanTudyk, and Creator/RossButler. It had a simultaneous release in theaters and on Creator/DisneyPlus Premier Access on March 5, 2021, and became available to all Disney+ subscribers on June 4th. As with ''Film/Mulan2020'', the film was released on other VOD providers a month after its premiere. The teaser trailer can be viewed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BPMTr-NS9s here]], and the official trailer can be viewed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VIZ89FEjYI here]].

* TheMagicComesBack: In the end, [[spoiler:the dragons return and bring back life to Kumandra]].