From the trailer, I could see this would have an expensive budget, and I wasn't disappointed. The animation was absolutely gorgeous. The character designs were very good, had realistic facial expressions, all the imagery were a visual treat. The action scenes were so well made. I didn't expect the dragon to have an Elsa-face though, but that's just me nitpicking, and apart from that, It's so good.
However, the movie had some serious issues when it comes to writing and the pacing. The movie constantly shows you what happens when you go around trusting strangers randomly, and then there's Sisu constantly blabbering about trust. I thought maybe they'd give Namaari a better redemption arc, but boy was I wrong. Naamari never apologises for the two times she messed up - and while I do agree that Raya had her faults too - but Naamari should have apologised. In the sacrifice scene, Naamari should have stepped up, sacrificed first, and the movie would be a lot better. Raya has enough trauma from Namaari's action, and she definitely shouldn't forgive her that easily. While Sisu argues that and tells Raya about how she trusted the other dragons and they trusted her, it should be noted that they were literally siblings, while Naamari and Raya weren't even friends - they knew each other for a few hours only. There's a huge difference between them. And thus, the movie delivers the message that, no matter how much someone hurts you and how much trauma they cause you, you should learn to forgive and trust them. That's incredibly toxic and that's where the movie fails.
Honestly, the movie did have the potential to be great. In fact, had it been a series, or slightly longer movie, the character relationships could be explored further. It'd have been better with slightly slower pacing.
But one could argue that we shouldn't look too deeply in a disney movie. And in that case, it's a pretty good movie! It will make you laugh and you'll enjoy all the interactions between the characters. Boat guy had some funniest scenes!
Over all, a solid 6/10 for me.
However, the movie had some serious issues when it comes to writing and the pacing. The movie constantly shows you what happens when you go around trusting strangers randomly, and then there's Sisu constantly blabbering about trust. I thought maybe they'd give Namaari a better redemption arc, but boy was I wrong. Naamari never apologises for the two times she messed up - and while I do agree that Raya had her faults too - but Naamari should have apologised. In the sacrifice scene, Naamari should have stepped up, sacrificed first, and the movie would be a lot better. Raya has enough trauma from Namaari's action, and she definitely shouldn't forgive her that easily. While Sisu argues that and tells Raya about how she trusted the other dragons and they trusted her, it should be noted that they were literally siblings, while Naamari and Raya weren't even friends - they knew each other for a few hours only. There's a huge difference between them. And thus, the movie delivers the message that, no matter how much someone hurts you and how much trauma they cause you, you should learn to forgive and trust them. That's incredibly toxic and that's where the movie fails.
Honestly, the movie did have the potential to be great. In fact, had it been a series, or slightly longer movie, the character relationships could be explored further. It'd have been better with slightly slower pacing.
But one could argue that we shouldn't look too deeply in a disney movie. And in that case, it's a pretty good movie! It will make you laugh and you'll enjoy all the interactions between the characters. Boat guy had some funniest scenes!
Over all, a solid 6/10 for me.