Raya and the Last Dragon Plot Summary
Raya and The Last Dragon is a 2021 animated fantasy-adventure Disney film which deep dives into the mythical world of Kumandra. Initially, the mythical land was a single nation where humans and dragons lived in harmony. However, Kumandra found itself in chaos when Druun, mindless spirits which transform every living being into stone upon contact, ravaged the land.
To protect Kumandra, the dragons sacrificed themselves but at the cost of a divided nation. Centuries later, Kumandra exists as 5 warring chiefdoms – Fang, Heart, Spine, Talon and Tail.
When a peace meeting turns into a resurrection of a past catastrophe, it is up to Raya, the princess of the Heart tribe, protector of the dragon gem, to find the last dragon, destroy the Druun, turn the world to normalcy while reviving those turned into stone.
What is the dragon gem?
The gem contains the magical energy of dragons which was used by Sisu, the last dragon, to banish the Druun from Kumandra. After Sisu’s disappearance, Kumandra was divided into 5 warring states as each wanted the power of the dragons for themselves to dominate the world. Currently, the Heart tribe is the protectorate of the dragon gem.
How are the Druuns released after 500 years?
Raya’s father, thinking that Kumandra can be united, calls all the chiefdoms to a feast. Namaari, the princess of the Fang tribe befriends Raya. Raya, believing in the apparent goodness of Namaari, shows her newfound friend the chamber which protects the dragon gem.
Namaari betrays Raya to catch hold of the gem which was the fundamental reason for the Fang tribe’s presence in the feast. She sends a signal and all the tribes arrive in the chamber.
Learning that the Fang tribe is trying to steal the gem, all the tribes fight for the gem. The gem falls due to the scuffle and breaks into pieces. The broken gem unleashes the Druun, which were contained by the gem’s power.
Unbothered by the consequences of the broken gem, the tribes grab at the gem’s pieces and leave. Meanwhile, Raya and her injured father try to escape but it’s too late. Realising that the Druuns are repelled by water, her father throws Raya into the water before he turns into stone.
Why can’t Sisu make another gem?
Raya is successful in summoning Sisu after 6 years of searching. Sisu was asleep for 500 years and she reveals that the gem had the magic of her brothers and sisters and was made by them. She only turned the gem in, which is why she is incapable of making another. However, since Sisu can respond to the gem’s magic, Raya and Sisu decide to assemble the pieces of the gem to save Kumandra from the Druun.
What was the key to fixing the gem?
Raya and her allies – Boun from Tail, Tong from Spine, Little Noi from Talon and the monkeys – try to evacuate residents from the Fang palace. Namaari had previously accidentally shot Sisu who was dropped into the river and was presumed to be dead.
Raya and her allies, along with Namaari, are cornered by the Druun when Raya remembers what her father used to say.
For centuries, the people of Kumandra had lived divided with a deep distrust for each other while the magic that vanquished the Druun arose from the trust that Sisu’s siblings put in her. And so, realising the key to fixing the gem, Raya puts her trust in Namaari and turns into stone. All her allies do the same.
Namaari, seeing their sacrifice and contribution, hurries to put the gem together. She later joins the team and turns into stone.
Does Sisu come back to life?
After a while, the stone comes alive with a strong spiritual energy which leads to rainfall, splashing life back into those turned into stone. The energy of the gem, amplified by the sheer trust of people from the different tribes, leads to the awakening of the dragons who return to Kumandra after 500 years since the first Druun attack. They further revive Sisu through their collective magical energy.
What happens to Kumandra in the end?
The mystical rain revived all those turned into stone along with the dragons. The sheer sacrifice of Raya and her friends along with the revival of the dragons leads to the tribes coming together, placing trust in each other, and reestablishing the unified land of Kumandra.