Raya and the Last Dragon Movie Analysis Essay Example

As far-fetched as evil spirits that turn people to stone and fleecy magical blue dragons, the Disney film Raya and the Last Dragon uncoincidentally connects many thematic elements with Christian beliefs. While historically, The Walt Disney Company and the movies produced by its animation studios have no direct religious affiliation, Walt Disney had grown up in a Christian household and largely attributes his success to his Christian upbringing. Raised by two devout Christian parents, Disney regularly attended Sunday school and "firmly believed in the powerful influence that religion has on one's life." However, as the company has evolved and its modern films, Disney has embraced various ideas, characters, and cultures that don't patently advertise themselves as Christian. In contrast, Raya and the Last Dragon, which features a predominantly Asian cast and draws inspiration from Southeast Asian customs, showcases elements of faith, salvation, and resurrection, to name a few. These pillar characteristics of Christianity are not simply subtle references to particular biblical stories but serve as a medium that can introduce Christianity to atheists. Through thorough analysis and identification of biblical allusions in the film Raya and the Last Dragon, we can better understand Disneys' influences on its audience and incorporate religious elements into society through their movies. 

Raya and the Last Dragon takes place in the land of Kumandra, which splintered into five territories following the attack of evil spirits known as the Druun. In the form of a dark purple mist, the Druun turns all humans into stone upon contact with it. Following this initial attack from the Druun, the land of Kumandra splits, and in its dissension, the Druun reemerges two hundred years later to terrorize the people again. The opening scene depicts this history in an animation of hand-cut paper puppets showcasing Kumandra in harmony with humans and dragons. The scene then transitions to show the invasion of the Druun as a voiceover monologue explains the sacrifice the dragons had to make to ensure the extinction of the evil spirit, which cost the lives of all remaining dragons, but Sisudatu. The film follows the protagonist, Raya, a princess of the faction Heart, and her journey in searching for Sisudatu, the seemingly only possible option to save the people from the Druun once again. 

While this synopsis may seem entirely unrelated to the Christian faith, there are, in fact, numerous interrelations between the two narratives with one outstanding characteristic: a savior figure. Biblical allusions, more specifically character comparisons to Jesus, in film and literature, are not uncommon. Movies such as Star Wars, The Chronicles of Narnia, and even Superman feature savior figures that are all evident allusions to the Messiah, directly translating to "anointed" or "promised deliverer." In Star Wars, Anakin Skywalker is named "The Chosen One," prophesied to balance the force by destroying the Sith. The symbol and upstanding morals of a lion in the character of Aslan from the film The Chronicles of Narnia is another apparent reference to Jesus. Lastly, Superman himself is an implication of the Son of God being the one sent to Earth from space which can compare with Heaven regarding the Christian gospel. 

Like these classic films, Raya and the Last Dragon are no different. The metaphoric character in a savior or Messiah figure realizes herself as Sisudatu, the Last Dragon. In the Bible, when sin runs rampant in the world, it is not until God sends his son, Jesus, to sacrifice himself on a cross saving the world. Just as Raya searches for Sisudatu, who had hidden from the world, as the Druun terrorizes the people, it is not until Sisudatu makes a sacrifice that the people are saved. The discovery and manifestation of The Last Dragon in Sisudatu, the savior, is a direct comparison to Jesus and his sacrifice.

Further, as seen in the film's opening scene, uncanny similarities are evident to The Fall of Man set in the Garden of Eden. As told in the Bible, the story is that when God had created the world, he had made everything perfect; "good in God's eye." It was harmony between land, water, sky, animals, plants, humans, and God, just as with humans and dragons in Raya and the Last Dragon. The perfect harmony comes crashing down when The Serpent tempts Adam and Eve, the first humans created by God from dust, to eat the forbidden fruit. As they succumbed to temptation, Adam and Eve began to discern right and wrong and essentially introduced sinful nature into the world. In the scheme of Raya and the Last Dragon, the idea of harmony disrupted by downfall is the same story evil in the form of the Druun's destruction of Kumandra. The two narratives are identical, the fracture in Kumandra identical and The Fall of Adam and Eve with sin. 

In addition to the characters of the film that portray biblical figures, the themes of Raya and the Last Dragon are unmistakably comparable to the Bible. One motif that stands out, in particular, is sacrifice. The Dragons' ultimate sacrifice in the first attack of the Druun is the primary act of salvation; however, this theme continues to showcase itself later in the film. In this instance, Sisudatu chooses to lay her life in the hands of a human. Unlike the first sacrifice in saving humanity from the first Druun attack, in this instance, Sisudatu asks for Raya's nemesis, Nemari, to put down a crossbow. In a tension-filled scene, the result is unideal with Sisudatu shot. Although on a remarkably smaller scale, we later find out that the reason Sisudatu chooses to put her life on the line is to protect Raya. This act of sacrifice of taking an arrow exemplifies the many ways Jesus sacrificed on top of his ultimate death on the cross, saving humanity.

Another motif seen in several scenes is the concept of faith. Raya's relationship with faith characterizes itself by her lack of trust in others. Raya has to learn to have faith in others, especially when she encounters people she has just met. This struggle of her absent faith is rooted in her childhood, where she blindly trusted Nemari and showed her a sacred religious ground containing the most valuable resource in all the land: a dragon gem. In that scene, Raya leads Nemari through treacherous precautionary traps only to be ambushed by Nemari, resulting in the robbery of the dragon gem. From then on, Raya is susceptible to being deceived and misled, ensuing an overly cautious facade to strangers. While Raya rightfully has no reason to trust others blindly, her journey to gain perspective has, in turn, led to an understanding of why people do what they do. 

The idea of faith is generously scattered throughout the Bible in stories such as Daniel's faith in God when being thrown into the lion's den or how Moses trusted God to help him lead the Israelites out of Egypt in the wilderness for forty years. However, biblical faith is only fractionally represented in Raya and the Last Dragon. Biblically, faith is more assurance of things hoped for and the belief in things unseen. While this is somewhat represented in Disney's film, Raya's faith is founded on her logical reasoning based on her perception of human understanding. The reality, however, is that faith is the combination of both types represented in the Bible and Raya and the Last Dragon. We all have faith that has some aspect of logical reasoning regarding the placement of our trust, along with a proportional blind uncertainty. In this sense, this Disney film sheds light on a more holistic approach in defining faith, encapsulating both aspects from the narrative and biblical point of view. 

Glowing gems materialized from thin air made by dragons is indeed far-fetched; however, upon watching Raya and the Last Dragon, I understand how films can profoundly impact people, especially in this instance with so many biblical allusions. While religious connections may be hard to interpret and extract from seemingly light-hearted animations, these references can reflect an even more remarkable story, such as the narrative of the Bible. Through the comparisons of sin to the spirit and attacks of the Druun, to the figure of Jesus imprinted on the last Dragon, Sisudatu, Raya and the Last Dragon have references that are far too many and accurate to say that it is a mere coincidence. The effect of films is evident in Disney's animation in showing how the most predominant themes of a religious text, such as sacrifice, salvation, and faith, can be interwoven throughout a film seemingly intended for children.