Raya And The Last Dragon⭐️⭐️⭐️

Raya And The Last Dragon – PG-13 – 1 hr 54 min
NO SPOILERS Movie Review
Watched in theater Friday April 2, 2021
AMC Lakewood 12 – Lakewood, Washington
17th new movie seen in theater in 2021

Several kingdoms are protected by a giant gem that was forged by dragons in a pact to keep the water-fearing Druins away from turning people to stone. When the kingdoms can’t agree on who will control the gem, it breaks into five pieces.

Raya’s father casts her into the river to embark on a quest to reunite the kingdoms, piece back together the five gems and summon the final dragon to assist.

We took our grandchildren to see this in the theater, age 6 and 4 and surprisingly (to us anyway) they made it through the entire movie without bailing. This was a first. Apparently, they had seen this at their house several times, so must have been a premium buy through Disney+ for that. They liked it enough to stay with it, and it seemed a little more suited to young girls than boys, but hey, we were excited they watched it all the way through again (for them).

As for us? It was an entertaining movie. The kind that Disney knows how to crank out on an assembly line. It is lacking the music and songs that normally accompany movies like this. There’s like one moment, maybe two, where Raya starts to break into singing something, but it’s not a full song.

So, this becomes a quest movie with the goal pretty clear: try to retrieve all five gems so the dragon can help them reassemble into a single, big gem. This keeps viewers engaged, because we want to see what happens if/when they get all those gem pieces back. Along the way obstacles and conflicts are thrown in their way.

When we talked about the movie, Kara and I felt similarly toward it. Not bad, not amazing, just kind of an average Disney animated movie. Would we have paid $30 for this to see as part of Disney+ premium? Nope. Glad we saw it with our grandchildren. They had a good time.

No, we don’t recommend this, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth seeing. It’s the kind of movie when it finally appears on Disney+ without the $30 fee that you might want to check out. Again, I think younger girls would be more interested in this movie than boys. Adults will not be bored by it, so that’s a win.

Rating (out of 5 stars): ⭐️⭐️⭐️  (Todd) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Kara)

Some Independent Data Suggests Raya And Last Dragon Premium Sales May Have Underwhelmed for Disney+

We’ve kicked around Disney+ $30 Premium fee (see: Mulan is available on Disney+ now, Have You Seen It, Yet?) for watching some of their movies available in theaters and whether or not it worked for us. So far, we haven’t bitten on the deal, but how many others have reached for their plastic?

New data found Raya and the Last Dragon had 20% less purchases on Disney+ during its early March opening weekend that Mulan had last fall, per Antenna. The analytics startup additionally found there to be a 30% decline in signups for the streaming service between March 5 and 7 in comparison to the first four weekends Mulan was available on Premier Access (via Business Insider).

Did Raya And Last Dragon Make Money On Disney+? Here’s What The Data Suggests – CINEMABLEND

The most obvious sign that the deal is working better than some might think — perhaps much better than this independent data suggests — is that Disney+ has committed to further experimentation (or implementation, depending on your perspective) with Black Widow and Cruella both receiving the same day in theaters and premium.

We still haven’t seen Raya and the Last Dragon yet. Almost zero percent chance we’ll pay $30 and watch on Disney+, but we’ve talked with the grandchildren about seeing in the theater. Kara has literally no interest in seeing this film. I might have to go see it alone while it’s still screening. There is only one new movie in theaters this week (Nobody), so catching up with Raya might be just the ticket.

Since we didn’t see it right away on opening week suggests it wasn’t a film either of us were hugely inspired to see, but that isn’t a reliable barometer to whether or not we’ll enjoy the movie. There are several examples of movies we had similar anticipation for that we were fully entertained watching.

Have you seen Raya and the Last Dragon yet? Let us know if/when you’re planning to do so or not in the comments below.

Opening 3-11-2021 in Theaters: The Father, Long Weekend

Theaters: 3/11/2021

Thursday, week #11 of 2021 (3/11 – 3/14/2021): two new movies this week, a drama and a romantic comedy. Am running a bit behind checking out the movie entertainment scene as work — you know, that day job — has been keeping me very busy lately.

It’s good to see new movies continuing to be released in theaters. We still haven’t seen one of the three from last week, but tonight we’re springing for tickets for one of the new ones (we’re still deciding which as this is being written, but leaning toward The Father). By the time this is posted (12:01am Friday 3/12) we’ll have already made our choice.

The Father

Anthony Hopkins is the standout reason to see this film here. He’s a great actor. Does this script about an elderly father facing the ravages of time.

Anticipation: 5/10

Long Weekend

Not much is sticking out in this trailer. Sort of the standard fare rom-com trailer.

Anticipation: 4/10

Which one of these movies most interests you? Wherever you are watching movies this weekend, happy watching to you!

Cinemark Passes on Screening Disney’s Raya And The Last Dragon, AMC and others Will Play

We’ll be seeing Raya and The Last Dragon at an AMC theater in the area, but if you only have a Cinemark theater open in your area and want to see it, then you’ll have to pay the $30 premium fee and watch on Disney+. Cinemark couldn’t come to acceptable rental terms with the studio.

How can an exhibitor be cool with Warner Bros. day-and-date theatrical HBO Max titles, and not a Disney+ PVOD title? Essentially I hear from sources that Disney remained quite tough on their terms for Raya. If exhibition didn’t like the terms, well, then they don’t have to play the movie. On the flip side, I hear that Warners on their recent HBO Max titles, i.e. Wonder Woman 1984, Judas and the Black Messiah, The Little Things and Tom & Jerry lowered their rental terms

Cinemark Won’t Be Playing Disney’s ‘Raya And The Last Dragon’: Here’s Why – Deadline

Disney might be a giant studio, but this action shows theater chains will still balk at rental pricing and terms. This isn’t about the day and date release, clearly. While we would side with the studio in most these cases, not this one. Studios should want to show their movies at a fair price, especially if they are going to release on their streaming channel simultaneously.

Raya and the Last Dragon will still be screening in 2,000+ theaters on opening weekend in the United States. That’s a good amount of screens all things considered.

Are you planning on seeing this movie?

Opening 3-5-2021 in Theaters: Raya and the Last Dragon, Boogie, Chaos Walking

Theaters: 3/5/2021
+ Disney+ premium ($30)

Wednesday, week #10 of 2021 (3/5 – 3/7/2021): three movies.

Say that again with some emphasis: three movies!

That’s how many are opening in theaters this weekend. What has largely been a case of one here, one there, we’re finally getting more several movies screening.

Given one of them is also showing on Disney+ as part of their Disney+ Premium experience (see: ), but this probably won’t that much impact on theaters. We saw this last weekend with Tom & Jerry. People will go to the theaters even if they can still watch it at home. Have always thought that the whole day and date ruins box office receipts is overstated. You can’t get the theater experience (easily) at home. Yes, it can be done, if you have your own home theater room, but watching movies on your TV screen — even a large one — isn’t the same as watching in theaters.

Raya and the Last Dragon
FIRST LOOK

We won’t be paying the premium $30 fee to watch this on Disney+, no more than we did for Mulan.

Anticipation: 4/10

Boogie

This has been getting a lot of preview love in theaters. Basketball sports story of a talented Asian player who is being racially stereotyped.

Maybe it’s from seeing the previews so many times, but I’m interested. The last basketball-related movie we saw was the one with Ben Affleck as an alcoholic coach of a young basketball team. This seems to center more specifically on one player.

Anticipation: 6/10

Chaos Walking

Wherever you are watching movies this weekend, happy watching to you!

FIRST LOOK: Raya and The Last Dragon

Disney isn’t done with their premium streaming experiment (see: The Disney+ Mulan Premium Digital Launch Fiasco). Raya and the Last Dragon will also cost $29.99 like Mulan, eventually to appear later with no premium charge to Disney+ subscribers.

Raya and the Last Dragon, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ latest theatrical feature, will cost the same $29.99 Premier Access fee on Disney+ as the live-action Mulan remake. The new animated fantasy epic will be the first such release on Disney+ since Mulan, appearing both on the streaming platform and in theaters on March 5. The film stars Kelly Marie Tran and Awkwafina as the two titular protagonists.

Raya & The Last Dragon Will Cost The Same On Disney+ As Mulan

Those interested don’t have to drop 30 bones to see it on Disney+, it will also be available in theaters.

Offical trailer:

Raya and The Last Dragon will be available in theaters and on Disney+ premium access on March 5, 2021.