- Today's video is brought to you by Sony. Face the mugs. (soft music) What about this, this
making anyone uncomfortable. - Wow, makes me uncomfortable. - This is how people drink. Handle away. ♪ Handle away ♪ Okay, you ready? - I am ready. - Alright. - [Both] Hey brother. - And welcome everyone to our Raya and the Last Dragon review. - This will be a spoiler- (upbeat music) Review for the movie. But before we dive on into the spoilers, we're first going to address the topic of whether or not it is worth renting, slash purchasing this movie with premier access on Disney+. So, if you haven't watched it yet and you're wondering
whether or not to watch it, we will answer that before
we get into spoilers. (upbeat music) - Spoilers it is. - [Ben And J] Hey, brother. (air whooshing) - Guys, before we dive on into the review, we need to give a huge thank
you to today's sponsor, Sony. And specifically their HD, noise-canceling headphones,
the WH-1000XM4's. Ben and I both have a pair of these and the noise-canceling
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them out for yourself, there is a link in the
description down below. (air whooshing) Okay, Ben, so, actually, sorry. I said, spoilers, it is worth watching. I didn't even... I don't actually know what you thought. I haven't talked to you
about the movie at all- - As it's a custom. - Do you agree? - I don't. - You don't. - I do not agree. - Okay. - I think that this is
a movie that is good, but should have been amazing. That was ultimately... If you want my ten second
takeaway from the movie, I think that, thematically, it's a spectacular theme, but I think that every
single impactful moment of the entire movie flat-lines. - Oh, man. - Yeah. - Okay, okay. I will say this to your point is that I was not left thinking... I wasn't thinking about the
movie a ton the next day. I watched it, I enjoyed it and I would recommend
it to people personally, but I wasn't... I watched it Saturday
night and then Sunday, I was like, I haven't really
thought about it almost at all. That is sort of left feeling flat. And then I was like, 'Okay, for work, I should think about it.' And when I was reflecting more on it, I began to like certain
elements of it more. I as I started asking
myself certain questions about the movie. - Right. Okay, so there's a lot of really... And I would agree with that, where... I watched it last night, Sunday,
coming into Monday morning and the same thing, when
I was like showering and getting ready this morning, I was still thinking about
WandaVision from Friday. (laughing) (mumbles) Right? So, interesting topic to
bring up though WandaVision, as it pertains to Raya is that, as what we do here on this channel is very frequently going
through, clip by clip, really heavily trying to make predictions and write theories, and- - Yeah. - Whatever. For WandaVision, we did that in spades. - In spades. - We went through the whole show, every single frame, episode
by episode, peeling it apart. - Yeah. I could not stop thinking
about WandaVision. - Right. - It was infiltrating my dreams. - Yes. - Yeah. - Here at our office, we've had tons of discussions about, does all the theorizing
that we put into it, does it affect our ability to
ultimately enjoy the outcome, if it is different from what we predicted. - Mm-hmm. - Where it's like, 'Oh, it's gotta be this, that, the other.' And it ends up not being
this, that, the other, but it ends up being something that fits thematically with the show. So, there's sort of that question topic that I know that we're
gonna continue to address, more in the future. But with Raya, this was not the case. - Not the case. We went in pretty cold. - We went in pretty cold. And it was a movie that
I was excited about. I just, the title, the idea, dragons, I'm like, 'Yes-' - Yeah, I'm in. - I'm boarded. I'm excited, looking forward to it. So, mostly, I was coming into it with, basically, no predictions at all. I wasn't like, 'Oh, this is gonna happen.' Or, 'I bet this is that.' Or, 'The swords important,'
or anything like that. - Yeah. Mostly I was like, 'Awkwafina
is gonna be funny.' - Yes. - That was true.
(laughing) - That was true. That was true. Awkwafina nailed it. - Yes. - So, I thought that was interesting, because I basically came into it with barely any expectations at all. And what I would say is that, the theme of this movie
is this really big idea of sort of building bridges
between two different ideas and meeting in the middle. - Yeah. - And this trust amongst one another and sort of just coming
together as a whole, instead of operating as a
bunch of separate pieces. - Basically. - Which is an idea that I love 100%. That is probably the biggest
thing that makes me feel... That really brought me even
to the point where I was like, 'This is a good movie.' - Right. - Because I really, really,
really liked the themes of it. And I could get behind exactly the message that it's trying to send. I just wasn't emotionally invested, really, in just about anything. - In any particular character. - In any particular character, the pacing of the movie
is very aggressive. It watches like playing a video game. - It did, it very much in the like, okay, first we need to go to
this town, collect this item. And then we'll go to this town,
and there'll be obstacles, but we'll get this item. Then we have to go to this
town and there'll be obstacles, but we'll get this item. - Right. And you're kind of picking
up friends along the way- - Yeah. - You're becoming allies
and there's all that. - Yeah. - So, I would say up
and up until this point, without really diving into spoilers, that is where I landed with it. - I agree. The messaging I really, really liked. And that, it's all about working together and seeing other points of view. And specifically towards the end, forgiveness was a huge one. - Yes, yep. - And I really liked that. And what I thought about a lot though, was two main things, is that one, Raya is a very
untraditional Disney princess, quote, unquote. - Sure. - Most Disney princesses are
very bubbly, very optimistic, very let's get it done. Raya is the complete opposite. She is expecting a fight everywhere. She is mistrustful of people. And she's pretty
pessimistic all through out. - Yes, absolutely. - Yeah. - Even her key mission, she's not even out
there to save the world. - Yeah. - She is out there to try to restore all
the pieces of the puzzle. I mean, for selfish reasons effectively. - I mean, she wants her... Yeah. - She wants her father back. - [Both] Yeah. - And so, you're exactly right. I do think that, especially, even if you would compare her with Moana, which was maybe another
similar-ish, type of character- (mumbles) - Yeah, yes, for sure. There was heavy Moana vibes. I wrote down the three other franchises that was like... I feel like all these things... These other three things I love so much. I was like, all of these
things are coming together. And as a result, this should be amazing. And it's falling a little
flat of each of them, but they are Moana,
Avatar: The Last Airbender and Indiana Jones. - I am shocked that you don't
have Black Panther in there. - Oh, really? - Black Panther. It's... I mean, that's exactly the premise of how all those tribes
sort of go out and become- - That is true- - Each of their own. - You're right. - And then you've got especially the one- - Like there was Wakanda, that
was all five and then they... - Right. - Yeah. - Yeah. - Then you have the one that went off. - But I would just... I would throw that onto your list then. - Yeah. - Because I feel that one also- - Your right, it's exactly there. I guess, to me, that was much
more like the Avatar vibe. You have the Fang tribe, who's like.. Very Fire Nation, their
militaristic, and modern. And way ahead of the other tribes. - Right. - And they're very
self-centered and selfish. And then you've got everyone else. And even, all the villages
remind you of Aang and friends, all the villages they visit along the way. - I could see that. - And out of the fact that
each of those other tribes is very heavily inspired
by specific Asian cultures. - Oh, sure. - And that's obviously a play. That was the thing is like, there was obviously so
much thought and care, going into each setting and
character, and environment. - Yes. - I could really appreciate
everything that was happening. It was just, there was a
little something missing, what it felt like. - Well, I would say it
was time spent anywhere. And again I go back to
this idea of pacing. So, you start this movie with Raya, who is already, basically,
combat ready as a child. You're seeing her on her final test of becoming a guardian
of the dragon stone. - The Dragon Gem. - Dragon Gem. - Yeah, she's in full,
Legend Of Kora wear. She's fighting the blue spirit, basically- - Right. - Avatar stuff. - Yes. - She's going through the legend of the temple of the power
stone of doom or whatever. - Right. (laughing) Yes, yeah, that's true. That's true. - Yeah. - So, but, yeah. So, you see her,
basically, on the final... Her graduation day. And it seems like that same day is the day that her dad has arranged for a bunch of people
to come to the village to extend a meal. And let's have that olive
branch put out there, let's come together. - Right, Kumandra. - Yes. He's a very idealist,
he's looking at it like, 'We can do this.' We can come together. Almost to the point where
it seems like maybe, he at the point where he's coming at it from it's maybe a little bit ignorant to how unlikely that outcome is. - Sure. - He's almost a blind optimist. - Well, so 'cause the opening narration, sets up the world as, at once... Once upon a time, everyone
was united as Kumandra. And then at some point the Druun show up. - Yes. - And everyone kinda splits. And then these five dragons come together, Sisu being the one everyone remembers. And then make the Dragon Gem. And that puts the Druun at bay. - Right. - But, then everyone
blames the Heart tribe or associates the Heart tribe success with having the Dragon Gem. - Right. - As opposed to the... What the actual reason
for this success is, probably, more likely
the dad who was the King or chief of the tribe, or whatever. - Right. Well, she's a princess. - She's a princess. So, I guess King makes sense. - Makes sense. - Yeah. They use the word princess. - They do. - So, I'm gonna go with King. So, he's the King of the heart tribe. I would say the reason for
their success is his optimism. - Sure. - His general positivity, but none of the other
tribes think of that. They're like, 'Heart has the Dragon Gem and that's why they're doing well. We need the Dragon Gem. They're not sharing.' - Right, right. - Yeah. - Yeah, so you get... It becomes very, very,
very snappy very quickly. - Mm-hmm. - So, you have everybody show up and they're like, 'Let's go have a meal.' So, they're sitting there and you see Namaari having
this exchange with Raya and it's really adorable. And sort of that sentiment, I think that we all really love, which is that there's a purity to children and it's like they don't see
all these political lines, drawn in the sand that they're
supposed to be navigating. It's like, 'We're both young
kids and we can get along, because we're going through
the same things in life.' - Right. 'Isn't it silly everyone's
against each other.' - Right? - 'I like you.' - 'We can be BFF's.' This is one of those
moments I'll build up to, but she gives her the
necklace, the pendant. - Yeah. - The dragon of- - Sisu. - Of Sisu. And, basically, from there, it's like, 'Hey, let me go show you the thing.' And then it's like, 'Hey, we're
here, alert everybody else.' Everybody else shows up. It gets smashed. And then the plot just starts- - Immediately. - 90 miles an hour. - I mean the second that Gem
is broken the Druun show up. They're like, 'We're here, we're back. Hey, great news.' - Right. Yes. - Yeah. - And I think that that's like a, again, a really interesting way to describe this discord amongst people. Is that, the Druun is fueled by that. - Yeah. I looked it up 'cause I
couldn't remember it exactly. It said they come from human malice. - Okay. - Yeah. - Okay. So, it's the type of thing where... Yes, it is always present. And then, whether or not, it is actively overcoming the people is really the visual metaphor
that I think is at play. - Right. - Is sort of, clearly, the more of them, represents the greater amount
of malice amongst the people. - Right. - And, because it is
now overtaking everybody it means that it's reached such a point that is what it would
represent in the real world. - Right. - Take this imaginary floating... It almost reminded me of the
cloud from Lost a little bit, the black smoke. - It did, yeah, the black smoke cloud. - Theory, like wippy and whatever. Or even a little bit the other one was from
Fantastic Beasts, the Obscurus. - Yes. That is exactly what it was looking like. It was the Obscurus. I could not quite place that. I was like, 'This, look... This cloud looks so familiar.' Yes, it looks exactly like an Obscurus. - Yes. - Yeah. - So, take that out of play, I think that it still sort of works, even if you don't have
this parasitic force that's moving through the
villages and everything, you would still have a level of malice that would be such that
would be causing civilization to, effectively, fall apart. - Right. So, do you think that's the commentary, that is in the real world, the Druun are the physical representation of people's negativity against each other? - Yes. - Yeah. - Yeah. That's exactly the way that I (mumbles). - Okay. Well, I'm glad you said that, because the other thing that
I was reflecting on yesterday was that once Sisu, the dragon,
who's played by Awkwafina is reborn or whatever. She immediately feels out
of place a little bit. In terms of- - You mean at the shipwreck? - Yeah, at the shipwreck. - Okay. - Yeah. When she comes back and Raya, I dunno, re-animates her or whatever. She immediately just feels way different than all the other characters
you've been exposed to so far. She is upbeat and positive,
and cracking jokes, and stuff. And, I think, a little bit of it is that she feels way more
2021 modern day humor. (air whooshing) (upbeat music) - Have you ever done a group project, but there's that one kid
who didn't pitch in as much, but still ended up with the same grade. - Sure, yeah. - She was breaking the... (chuckles) A little bit breaking the fourth wall. And you're making sort of
jokes that people in this, from this world are not capable of making, 'cause it's a style that they wouldn't have been
exposed to or something. - Yes, yes. - Yeah. - I absolutely had that same
feeling where it's like... It reminded me, actually,
a little bit of Genie, showing up in Aladdin. - It was exactly what it felt like. - Yeah. - Yes, exactly. Very similar vibes. She even holds her up and it's like, 'Hey, what do I call you?' - Right, right. Yes, yes. That exact moment that happens in Aladdin. - Yeah. - So many inspirations for this movie. But, anyway, I was wondering
the whole (mumbles). I was like, so, I think part of that, the way in which Awkwafina's humor works, makes her feel a little bit
out of place in time there. But at the same time, I was like, 'Why does Sisu character
feel so out of place?' It's like, what is it about her character? And it's like, the answer is that Sisu was eternally
optimistic and positive. And her solution to everything is like, 'Let's give 'em a gift.' - Right. - She just is very trusting. And just, it... To me it was interesting that this character feels unrealistic,
because they're positive. And I was like, 'Boy, I
don't like that sentence.' - Yes, yes. That is so true. - As soon as I hit that
sentence, I was like- (thuds) 'Oh, that's what they're trying to say.' That's the commentary thing. Is that everyone here in the
real world, I don't know, to me, it went to a
very social media place. The world we live in
is very toxic at times. And to the point where a character that's just genuinely nice and happy, and positive felt unrealistic. When it's like, 'That should not be true.' (laughing) - Right. Yeah. It should not be the case
that you see a character that's positive and be like, 'Unlikely.' - Yeah, I know. - Like, 'Take it down a skewed.' - Okay, dragon. - Right, right. No, that's a really, really good point. And so, yeah, I think
that Sisu's character is super well executed. I think Awkwafina does a really great job. And even the human version
of Sisu, I thought it was... It reminded me... It was almost like a caricature of- - Oh, it looked exactly like her. - Yeah. I was like, 'Oh, my gosh, that's so perfect.' - Well done. - Yeah. But, that was one of those things that I actually had written down. 'Cause you had mentioned
the giving of gifts thing. - Yeah. - That was like... It almost felt this established thing, that it was almost
supposed to be where Sisu was so very opposite of Raya. Where it was like, Raya's like, 'No, I had that experience
with gifts one time. So, I don't do gifts.' - Right. - It was like, 'Well...' (chuckles) Is that... 'Well...' It was like... It felt like that is what they
chose to sort of be this... Raya had this experience with
that pendant early on, that... With Namaari where... - Mm-hmm. - I felt every single time
Sisu was bringing up the idea of giving a gift's, it was supposed to, almost, be like salt
in the wound for Raya. - A little bit. - But like... It was just something that I was like, 'I don't really get it.' - Yeah, I agree. And to me, the reason it didn't ring true was because Raya's associating
all this gift giving with the pendent. And I'm like... To me, the pendant didn't
even seem like a real gift. It was like... The pendant was just part of the trick. - Right. - It was just... That wasn't a gift. All of it was a trick. It was all just deceit. Why are you counting that as a gift? - Right, right. And it wasn't even like you
had it for years and years. And it was this special memento. And then eventually the betrayal came or something like that. - Right, yes. That would have been one thing. - Right. - If they exchange it with friends and five years later, it's like, 'Oh, we're such good pals and buds, we've been on so many adventures.' And then she turned on her. - Right. - That would have been- - See- - A little more impactful. - Again, I keep going back to pacing, but I feel, again, that's
almost what you needed. Was a meeting of Raya and Namaari
as little children, maybe. - Mm-hmm. - Where the gift does happen. And then when you see them again as these teenagers- - Yeah. - Maybe Raya's wearing
it and it's sort of like, 'Oh, the pendant, of course.' - Right. - And they commemorate
that moment or whatever. And then it becomes a
greater mark of the betrayal, instead of just being like you're saying. - Yeah. 'Cause you're right. The foundation to their
friendship is 30 minutes long. - Right. - And it's obviously been
a ruse the entire time on Namaari's part. - Right. - None of it was real for her. - Yes. Yeah, exactly. - Yeah. - So, that's a big one. And then really, you kind of
just jump right into this story and the process of getting
the first piece of the Gem is from the sort of booby trapped tree, where the elder had clearly
booby trapped it so aggressively that she was actually left
caught inside of the space and just died there. - Yeah. (mumbles) Indiana Jones. (exhales sharply) - Right, yes. Yeah. Very, like the bag on the- - Yeah. - Whatever. So, right out of the gate, you kind of go and get this first one. And then Boun, who is
the shrimp boat captain, immediately becomes a
part of the crew, who... Boun, the whole time, I kept thinking- - I know exactly what you're gonna say. - Was the little boy from Moana. (laughing) Is doing the dance, to
impress her or whatever. - They were like, 'Let's make that character
a full character.' - Yes, people loved him. So, we'll just literally
put him into a movie as a main character. - I liked Boun, but the problem I had with Boun's character, which is totally not like
plot relevant or anything, where did he keep getting all the shrimp? - [Ben] Yes. - Every time they came back to the boat, he's like, 'I got more.' And I'm like, 'That's a tiny boat, man.' (laughing) Where... Why do you have... There's no way you have that much shrimp. You seem hard up for
Jade at the beginning. - Right. - Are you fishing while
Raya's off doing her thing? Anyway. Not a big deal. - Non propelled boat. - Yeah. And you're not propelled boat. (chuckles) - No, that's a good point. It did seem like they had it, just a sheer surplus of goods. - Yeah. - For that. And on that note. So, I think you go from Boun to Noi, who is the little baby with the three- - Let me tell you, Noi, is maybe, my least favorite part of the whole movie. - Yes. - The little baby. - Yes. - Yes. - It is such a weirdly O.P. child, who is, actually, as like... (mumbles) by the movie,
you see Noi reunited with her parents. And it's just an infant. - [J] Right. - That should not be able
to scale castle walls. - Exactly. It's so weird, 'cause
you're already watching a fantasy movie. - Right. - Where dragons exist
and special powers exist. But my suspension of
disbelief does not extend to martial arts con-baby. And with highly trained monkey friends. - Yeah. - It just, if... I could have gotten on
board with little baby is in, on pretending to cry, because some other older character is- - Pulling the strings. - Pulling the strings and it's like, 'You cry, we'll lure them in.' - That's very Zootopia, because you have the little like... - Yes. - They're getting the
elephant pop or whatever. And you've got the little- - Mm-hmm. - It's like a little creature that is dressed up like an elephant, but it's really just an
adult creature or whatever. - Right. It's just, infants can't do that. - Right. - And it's like, that was just... It seems silly. I don't know why that couldn't
have just been a little girl. - I think really the setup for
that was moving on to Tong. - Mm-hmm, your right. - Who was voiced by Benedict Wong, which I could not place the entire time. - Yeah. Once you looked it up. - It was like, 'Oh, yes, of course.' So, I thought that was amazing. That made me really happy. Benedict Wong is in
Doctor Strange, as Wong. Yeah, as Wong. - Yeah. (laughing) - I have his name right, right? - Tong, yes. - Yeah, okay, Tong. Okay, so- - Wong is Tong. - Wong is Tong. - Yeah. - So, you get Tong into the fold and his story, again, I
think is one that's supposed to tug on your heartstrings a little bit. And, because you go in
and you kinda find out, he's the last man standing
from his whole tribe. - Oh, yeah. Well first you learn his baby- - Yes. - Has been taken. But then you learn he's the
last one of his whole tribe. - Right. Which is, I think it's a moment that... This is where I think that it was just... It was too quick. Because I didn't feel attached
enough to the character. And so, for me, I jumped
to the movie Klaus. The Netflix movie about- - Mm-hmm. - Sort of the origin
story of Christmas, a la the post-service and all that. - Yeah. - And then you have Klaus,
who's kind of out in the woods and he's this big lumberjack type of guy. - Uh-huh. - He seems big and menacing, and carries an ax, and all this stuff. But ultimately what you find out is that he failed at having a family. I'm choking up talking about it. - Oh, no. - It's like, that's how much it hits me. - Right. - But when you find out his origin story, I legitimately cry every
single time I watch it. It is so sad. And it's so well-established
and so I would say the... At best, what was happening
is that I was reminiscing that scene from a different movie and remembering that
movie scene being exposed to this family, not that... That didn't happen or
had this heart break. That is what choked me up, more than the actual scene that
was being played before me. - Yeah. Yeah. The other thing that I thought
was not helping Tong's cases is that the... Effectively, 'cause what
tribe was Tong from, I had to write it all down. - Spine. - Spine. Is that if he's the last
member left of all of Spine, it just seems weird to me
that no one knows that. (mumbles) And also Spine was apparently just this one barricaded village. - Right? - They didn't seem very big. - No, not so much. - Not at all. I don't know, it didn't seem realistic that an entire, I don't know, country, within these countries
could have been that small. - Right. - Which was a little we're,
was such just one village or shouldn't... Maybe they should have been like, 'I don't think there's any Spine left.' They were the first to fall or something. - Right. - But on that note then, I guess Tail, which was the first one, they were pretty much
just completely gone too, except for scattered
people out in the desert. - Well, Boun specifically says that he doesn't leave the ship- - Yeah. - Because he's so afraid
of being attacked. - Yeah, by the Druun. - By the Druun. So I do think that you're, probably, talking about
civilizations that are falling. Talon seems to be pretty bustling still, that's where Noi the baby comes from. - Yeah, 'cause they were on the water. - Right. 'Cause they were on the water. So that helps them. And then of course, Raya's from Heart. And then finally the
last piece of the puzzle is, ultimately, ends up being
Namaari, who is from Fang. - Mm-hmm. - Which it does seem like... There's sort of a throwaway
comment that you hear from, I'm trying to... I think her name was Virana. - That's her mom. - The mother. - [Both] Yes. - There's a throwaway line where they've, basically, built an
Island civilization out. So, they're fully protected by water. - Yeah. - And it seems like it's a
pretty well established place. And people are happy and running about. - Much more like modern
and militaristic and- - Yes. Yeah. They have an army. - Yeah. - That they can mobilize. - Right. - You get to their civilization and they're talking
about we need to expand. It almost sounds like they're having a possible overcrowding issue. And what they've effectively run into is we can't make the Island any bigger. - Right. - The Island is as big as the Island is. - Right. - The only thing we
can do is move to land, where we would then be at the
mercy of the Druun, again. - Right. - Again, I think you've
got another problem that maybe could have been a little bit more brought centerfold, which would have been this
idea of we need more space. We can't go anywhere else. This civilization works, but we are limited by
this Island that we have. - All of this is... You're right. It must've been a throw away line. 'Cause none of that was
even apparent to me. - Right. - And to me, one of the problems with what the narrative of the
movie was Fang's position, basically, that everything
is so clearly their fault. They're the ones who
initially broke the Dragon Gem and brought the Druun back. - Right. - And at the end, the Druun... They're closing in on
them from every angle. And they're like, 'What do we do? What do we do?' It's like, I don't know. Namaari is the one who
shoots, Sisu with the arrow. And I don't... It just felt like, obviously, bringing the whole orb back
together was the answer. You seen the dragon at this point - Right. - It was like, your position
to not help everyone is not believable. - Right. - Like, 'Hey, guys, the threat is here. You saw the threat come back. You were physically there. And we're the cause of it. And the solution, there is
literally a dragon now.' (chuckles) - Yes, yes. - Your daughter has seen it. You're... - And I think you're right. I think that's what you have to take away, is you have to have
Namaari be trusting Raya when she would have, basically, a life-long rivalries
worth of reasons not to. - Mm-hmm. - Where that's what it comes down to. But, I mean, the dragon is the evidence. (bleep) Our camera turned off, we're
gonna pick right back up. But if there was like a bleep, that's why. Sisu dying- - Right. - Is another one of these examples to me of something that just
did not feel as emotional, as I feel it was supposed to. - Yeah, I agree. One, because at no point did I feel like, 'Oh, no Sisu's died forever.' - Right, right. Yes, I know. Well... Right. But I feel like you should have been, at least within the context of the movie it should have been the case. 'Cause I'm pretty sure Sisu
actually dies in that moment. - Yeah, for sure. I think she is dead. - It should have been like... I did not feel the same way about that as I did when Bing Bong disappears. - Right. Or like Olaf dissipates or something. - Right. Where you're like, 'No, it can't be.' And, I mean, Olaf comes back, but Bing Bong doesn't. - I mean, all three of those characters, serve very similar purposes. They are the super positive force. - Right, right. Yes, inside of the whatever story that they're revolving around. Where you've got Joy, who is struggling with
maintaining her joy. You've got Anna who is struggling with maintaining everything. - Yep. - And then you've got Raya who pretty much from the beginning was kind
of pessimistic, anyway. - A little bit. - So, but with that... That situation is just weird to me, because it's, I don't know. You've got Namaari who shows
up holding the crossbow for some reason. Despite the fact that, yeah, like we said, the dragon is there. - Yeah. - There is proof that she should be
contributing to this cause, because clearly a dragon is back. - Yeah. - And then it's sort
of like a weird moment where it's kind of no one's fault. It's kind of everybody's fault, where you've got Raya who
uses her super, fancy sword to whip the crossbow. The crossbow fires, shoot Sisu. - Oh, no. - And it's like, whose fault is it? Everyone's, no one's. - Right. - I don't know if that was maybe something that was meant to be left ambiguous, because if Namaari just
straight up shoot, Sisu, that makes her irredeemable. - Yeah, it's hard to tell. Me and Beth talked about this as we were watching it, what... 'Cause it looks like she's on the cusp of pulling the trigger and it's like, I don't think she was gonna shoot Sisu, I think she was aiming at Raya. But, then because Raya intervenes and she ends up shooting Sisu. But you were still on the trigger. Yeah. It doesn't seem like
you should have pulled the crossbow at all. - Right, right. Yeah. The whole scene felt a
little, I don't know, a little bit disjointed, but then even after that, you have a scene where Raya and Namaari just
go into full blown battle mode with each other. - Oh, yeah. Well, so, Sisu dies and then apparently that makes all of the... Apparently she was keeping
all of the water in the world, I guess, 'cause all the
water just dissipates. - Yeah. - So, suddenly the Druun is able to just, straight up invade Fang. And what Raya does is hunt down Namaari, and be like, 'We're fighting.' - Which is so random. - It is. It's like... Same thing, me and Beth,
literally, look at each other, we're like, 'Why are they
fighting each other right now?' I don't.... The Druun are all around. Everyone is at stake. What are you doing? - Right. - This fight doesn't make sense. - It doesn't make sense. - Yeah. - And I think that's... It's like, I don't know. It's so odd. It's like, how can the world, literally, I mean, as, literally, be on
fire, as it could possibly be and you guys are in there,
dueling it out as rivals. If this is not really related and I don't think that
Raya pulled from it at all, but the TV show that
I'm currently watching is called Cobra Kai. - Okay. - Which is like The Karate Kid, but the main characters
are grown up and adults, and they run rival dojo's. And the whole idea is that
they are constantly... Karate is the answer to everything. - Yeah. - It's like, they're
constantly getting in fights- - Got a problem punch it.
[Punching Sound Effect] - Right. Yes. And it's like, 'Should we fight?' 'No, do not fight.' 'Are we gonna fight?' 'Most definitely, we are, because that's what
moves the plot forward.' - Right. Gotta make bad decisions, because that's what makes it interesting. - Right. - Yeah. - So, that's exactly what
I was feeling about Raya- - Okay. - Where it's like, 'Why
are they fighting?' - Okay, so, actually, the
way we're talking about it, it's reminding me a
lot of Game Of Thrones. - Okay. - I feel like we're pulling
from so many different things for this movie. - We are, we are. - But, okay, so when everyone talked about in Game Of Thrones is like... You're like, 'Oh, all these
people are fighting about, who's gonna be on the Iron Throne.' But the White Walkers are right there. So, maybe you should
stop fighting each other, 'cause it's not gonna matter. - Right, right. It's like, 'This is a bigger problem.' - Right. - 'It's over there.' - It's over there. That's the Druun right there. But so, the big thing everyone
said about Game Of Thrones, was that the White
Walkers were an allegory for climate change or something like that. - Sure. - We're all sitting here
arguing about whether or not... All these minor problems. And it's like, it doesn't matter, this is gonna defeat everyone. - Right. - So, stop. - Right. - Excuse me. So, as we're talking about it, I'm wondering if this is a very similar, maybe this is part of the messaging of the toxic internet social
media environment we live in. That like, 'Hey, hey, every...' Stop yelling at each other. There are bigger problems. (laughing) Right? You're watching the movie like, 'This fight doesn't make sense.' And the movie's yelling back like, 'Exactly, shut up.' - Right, yeah. Stop fighting with each other, there are bigger problems. - Yeah. - Come together. That is how we've... That is how we solve the things. - Exactly. - Yeah. So, that's what I love about
the movie, is the theme. - Yeah. - I think that is- - That realization minorly
blew my mind in the moment. (laughing) Oh, I see what your say. - I get it now. I guess it's frustrating
to watch, isn't it? - Yeah. (laughing) The movie's like, 'Oh, is it frustrating?' - Yes. - It is. - That's what I'm saying. - Exactly. - That's what I'm saying. Yeah. No, that makes complete sense. But so, anyway, so you see that though, because then the answer to everything, apparently, is... Basically, the... Everybody coming together. So- - Yeah. - You have a huge reflection
of what was the original scene and what I kept trying to figure out is whether or not each of Sisu's siblings was supposed to represent one
of the nations, so to speak. - Right. 'Cause there's five dragons and there's five countries
or whatever, tribes. - Right. - Yeah. - And basically what you
have in the beginning it's the dragons, four of
the dragons coming together, putting all their powers and
creating the Gem to begin with and then sending it off with Sisu. - Yeah. - And it's sort of like
the five of them together, is what can solve the problem. And then in the end you have, effectively, the exact same situation
happening where you... Raya's gone through. She's, not even on
purpose, but inadvertently, collected a member from
each of these societies. And by having them all come together and place their piece of stone or the Gem in one place- - Yeah. - That is ultimately the solution. - Right. So, then I... Let's see, so do the powers match up? Is that what you're wondering? - I don't know. What are the power? So, you have rain, shape-shifting. - Yeah. - Fog. - And glowing. - And (mumbles). Good power. - And glowing. - Everybody- - Which- - Highly underrated. - By the way... Speaking of underrated... Yeah. There's this sort of running joke that Sisu's power is like,
'I'm a really good swimmer.' - Yeah. - And it was like... I kept thinking like, 'Oh, yeah, see that you've been showed you, she's a good swimmer.' But I kept thinking that
she was gonna end up, having like a other power. - It's something else. - Oh, that was a joke. And she's always thought it was her power, but the reason they chose her is because of her secret fifth power, which I guess wasn't true. Unless you want it to be... Unless literal super power trust or- - [Both] Optimism. - Or something. - Yeah. I think- - Yeah. - And I would go so far
as to say that is it. - That... Sure. That's fine. - Because Sisu doesn't even see herself as the most powerful among them, if anything, she even makes
a comment that says like, she was like the least powerful. - Right. - I'm not the best dragon. - What I would like to believe is that the other four, what
they saw in her was like, you are the optimism in us. - Right. - Take this and go and that's sort of what does it. But the sort of interesting thing is that when they do that it
returns all of the people who have been turned to
stone, but not the dragons. - Right. - But then when the people do it, it returns all of the
people and the dragons. - Yes. - So, why is that? - Well, yeah. I had that same question and I think maybe they sort
of say something in the intro that the dragons came together and it brought all the people back, but it didn't bring us together. It divided us. - Oh, that's true. 'Cause the Gem showed
up and that sort of... I think Raya makes a comment- - Yeah. - Where she's like, 'It should
have brought us together, but instead, it's what divided us.' - Right. - Because everybody wanted a piece of... Or a piece of, or quite
literally the Gem itself. - Right. So, this is more a now all
the people are in fact... It's like the world's returning to it's naturally balanced state, I guess. - Which is Kumandra. - Kumandra. - Right. Which I wounder what that means. - (mumbles) the river that
looks like the dragon. - Yes. - I loved the way the dragon
looked better in the river. That was a cool choice. - It was exceptionally cool. - Yeah. - I would like to live there. On the banks of that Lake. River. - Right? - Yeah. That would be extremely cool. I wonder if Kumandra somehow
means unity or peace or... - Oh, I don't know. - Something like that. It's gotta have some type of- - Yeah. There's definitely some
meaning behind that. - Yeah. - For sure. - That's cool. Okay. So, this isn't really related, but can I complain about
just one other thing, because there was one other thing that I felt really needled me. - Let's go. - It was the sword. - The sword. - The sword itself. Raya has the sword that... It was her father's sword, which is cool. - Yeah. And it had that wavy thing and it could do the whip. - Right. - More Indiana Jonesing over there. - Yes. - Yeah. - So, it's got these unique abilities, unique characteristics. It's honestly, to have a
clever take on a sword. It's one of the oldest weapons there are. - Yeah. - So, on that note, it's like, 'Well done.' - Yeah. - A unique sword, that's pretty cool. - Do swords like that exists, where you can like, I don't know. I assume you need some sort of, retractable button on the blade. (laughing) - Right. I don't know. - I don't know. - A really good spring. - Really... Feels unreliable and extremely dangerous. - Yes it does. Yeah. Let me just fling about my
shards of sharpened metal. - Yeah. - But the sword itself is so cool looking and it's like a really
iconic, unique, neat sword that effectively has no history
or added meaning at all, other than just being this
token of her father's. - Mm-hmm. - Which I was even trying to remember. Does she have it when
she falls in the water or did she almost definitely
have to go back and get it? - Oh, I don't know. - Anyway, that's not important. - Okay. - But the other thing
about the sword though, is that there are these
big moments that you have. It's used in a reflective sense in- - Like a mirror. - Like a mirror. - Yeah. - Like more than one time. And even that, has almost nothing to do with anything else in the movie. - Yeah. I mean, there was like
very Mulan-esque vibes from the reflections in the sword, but... Yeah. Maybe if we dig deeper there is some noticeable
theme going on there, but to me it wasn't obvious
in the way like Mulan it was, where, I mean, there's
a whole song called- - [Both] Reflection. - Yeah. - And the logo is her two
different reflections and- - Right, right. Yes. - Yeah. - It's... Yeah, it's very, very,
very prominent in Mulan. - Yeah. - And so, I think that was
just something that, to me, I was kind of, it felt
like a really big set piece that really had absolutely
no pay off whatsoever, other than just kind of
paying homage to her father. - Yeah. I don't know necessarily what... If there was a.... There's more to it than that. Although, speaking of
Mulan, that brings it back to the Disney+ conversation of- - Yes, it does. - You have this... This is the... Only the second time Disney
has the premier access thing. - Right, for worth $30- - $30 to get it. And the argument everyone always gives is, if you were taking a family
of four to the movies, you would easily spend more than $30. - Right. So, I think the... It's hard to step outside
of quarantine brain- - Right. - And go back to that thought, where the thought of going and entertaining your entire
family for a Friday night for $30, might be considered
an expected amount that you might spend. - Yeah. - Going to the movies with your family, it's not a new idea in
any way, shape or form. - Right? - Not that I'm saying that
it's cheap to go to the movies, because it certainly
never feels like it is. - Not anymore. (chuckles) - But still, you're watching
what was intended to be a- - Theatrical release. - A theatrical release at home. And so, you have that fine line that you're walking of, is $30 a lot, 'cause I just watched it, me and Alyce. - Yeah. Like us watching me and Beth. - Right. So, that would be, obviously,
a fairly expensive, per ticket price, if you
were going to the theaters for just two people. So, the argument doesn't
necessarily work in our house. - Right. - So, I don't know. Yeah. I guess my question to you, 'cause you started off
the review by saying that it was worth it. I started off the review by
saying it wasn't worth it. Have I swayed you at all? - Well, may be a little, yes. - Okay. - I think a little. I think you've brought
me more to your level, though, have I swayed you at all? - No. - No. (laughing) No, still where I'm at. - Still where I'm at. Yeah. No, I think I'm still there- - Yeah. - Where I'm not... Yeah. I'm not sure about the choice to do it. The other thing too, is
that you're coming off of WandaVision. - Yeah. - And even releasing
it the same day as the- - [Both] Finale. - Of WandaVision. - It's so... I do not know what was going
on over there at Disney+, because to me the really, really
obvious thing to do, was... I don't know why Raya
came out last Friday, on the same day as the
finale of WandaVision. - Yeah. - To me, it makes way more sense for it to come out this Friday, in between WandaVision and,
Falcon and the Winter Soldier. - Right? - Maybe they were thinking, so many people will be on the app for the finale, that they'll see Raya. - Oh, sure, I can see that. - Maybe there's that,
but to me, it's like, you have now gotten people
just used to looking forward to something on Friday and
they're gonna have a week gap that could have been the week. - That's exactly the way I see it. - Yeah. - Is that, if you've had
eight weeks in a row, where you've been highly
anticipating something, every single Friday
from Disney+ and we know that Falcon and the Winter Soldier is starting two weeks from that Friday. - Right. - Fill the middle Friday. - Fill... Yes. - Right. - What are you doing? - Right. - Especially, 'cause the
final episode of WandaVisions is not short, it's the longest one. - And it's the finale. - And it's the finale. - Yeah. It's like- - Yeah. - It was such a highly anticipated thing. - Yeah. - So, all I can say is that, maybe, it wouldn't have been easy to predict the popularity of WandaVision, but- - That's selling yourself. That's not believing in yourself. You have to believe in
yourself, Disney, jeez. - Exactly. - Watch your own movies. - Seriously. - Yeah. I don't know why they
released it on the same day, when the next Friday
feels so obvious to me. - Yeah. - But, so, I don't know. Disney, if you want tips or tricks to optimize your platform- - You just let us know. - You can call us. We'll be happy to consult with you. You're welcome in advance. - So, that being said though,
can I go back to Mulan. Mulan wasn't necessarily the
most positively received movie. - Yeah. I don't think people loved it. (laughing) - Yeah. That being said, I know the
scores on Rotten Tomatoes for Raya and the Last Dragon. Would you like to hear those
before we give our numbers? Or do you like to give our numbers first? - No, I wanna go... I wanna give mine unimpeded by outside. - Okay, okay. You go first, you go first. - Okay. Well, I'm gonna give it... Maybe you drop me a point or so, but I'm gonna give it a 74. - Oh, man. - Yeah. Am I close, are you the same? - Supper close. The number I've had on my
head all morning was 72. - Oh, so we're very close. - We're right on the same- - Okay. So, it's interesting
that I came in saying, 'Yes, you should watch it.' And you're saying, 'No.' So, 73 is apparently our- (laughing) Number of, this is the line. - Yeah. - If it's better than 73, watch it. - Worth it. Worth it. No, that's so funny. That is so funny. That being said, the... We are currently, I would
say a little more harsh on it than critics that are out there. - Oh, okay. - So, the current audience
review on Rotten Tomatoes is an 84%. - Solid. - As we're recording this video and the current critic review
is certified fresh at 95%. - Oh, critics are ahead. - Critics are way ahead. - That is interesting to me. It almost seems like... 'Cause for an animated Disney
movie being under the '90s on the audience side, feels
like kind of a complete failure. (laughing) No, I'm just kidding. What do you think of every, almost every Pixar movie
comes out above 90. - Yeah. - Or like Moana, I'm sure
it's above 90, it has to be. - I have to imagine. - Yeah. - I would rank Moana firmly
ahead of Raya in my rankings. - Mm-hmm. I would probably go with you there. Yeah. - For sure. I'm sure our own scores on this channel reflected that as well. - Yes, yes. I would have to imagine. - Yeah. - I loved Moana. So, anyway guys, I am extremely curious what your thoughts are leaving this movie. I know that we definitely
had some gripes about it. I come back to the same thing
over and over, and over again is that I love the theme of the movie. - Yes. - And I think that if I
were to really leave you with anything, it would be this thought that the theme of the movie is exactly how I feel
personally, right now, anyway. - Right. I wanted... You wanted a movie with
this messaging to exist. - Yes, yes. - Yeah. - I just think that... I think that through pacing, you had some sort of
underdeveloped characters and I think that you had some moments that could have just had
a bit more depth to them. I never felt heartbroken, heart felt, I was never so emotionally drawn in that I was really, really in
it for that specific moment. - Mm-hmm. - So, that's really where
my criticism comes from. But also my underlying belief is I liked the idea of building bridges, towards other beliefs, instead
building walls against them. - Yes. Optimism, defeats cynicism. - Exactly. - There you go. - Exactly. So, guys, let us know
what your thoughts are in the towel section down below. Did you rent it? Did you find a way to watch it? What are your thoughts? Where would you rank it? On a scale of 100? We wanna hear just really
anything you've got to say. - Yeah, absolutely. Thank you so much- (air whooshing) For watching today's video. Don't forget to leave a like on it [Beep] If you haven't already. If you wanna see our Mulan review, you can check that out right here. If you wanna subscribe, 'cause you're not subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking right here. But, until next time- - [Both] Bye.
