Martina Rosazza
Story Analysis/ Notes on the movie “Raya” by The Walt Disney Animation Studios
FIRST ACT
Background story presentation with different art style is clever and gorgeous
This sequence is clear, brief and artistically stunning which always helps with keeping the attention of the viewer.
Animal helper is adorable and has personality – could use even more!
Tuk-tuk getting easily distracted while they’re on a mission is cute and adds personality to the animal helper, something that I think used to be a huge part of Disney movies but has been lost in more recent movies where the animal helper is more of a presence than a character with a personality that serves a purpose (like the pig and rooster from Moana who feel like they’re just there but the story would be just the same if they weren’t compared to Abu in Aladdin or Sebastian in The Little Mermaid whose active role in the story actually changes it). I think Tuk-tuk had a little personality, which is great, but I think he could have used even more.
First scene is great to show Raya’s personality
It’s great to understand little Raya’s personality at the beginning. This is the kind of treatment that I think was missing in Disney’s “Wish”, where by the end of the first act the viewer still feels like we don’t know Asha at all. However, I think that little Raya is more likable and has more personality than older Raya, which is a problem because we see the older one for most of the story.
Scene of Raya explaining the history of the tribes loses the viewer
While Raya briefly explains what the other 4 tribes are about, there’s just too many of them and it’s impossible to remember them or what they’re about for a viewer who’s seeing this for the first time. I don’t think the movie needed 5 tribes as even just one opposite tribe, the one that Namaari belongs to, would have been enough to have a villain. If we think of Mulan, they only fight one enemy and it would have been just confusing if they had been fighting 4 different armies coming from 4 different places. If right now I told someone I have 4 sisters and their names and their jobs, it’s unlikely they would memorize any of them. But if I told them about one of my sisters who’s really struggling with something specific, like her quest to become a mother, then I would have a lot more chances people will retain that one piece of specific information I just gave. I think Raya would have benefitted from this: having one enemy tribe but giving the viewer something specific about this one tribe they are against.
There’s too much information unpacked through someone speaking about it
When Namaari explains the legend of Sisu, this movies starts to feel like it’s just super packed with information that someone is telling. This happened at the very beginning of the movie when Raya told the story of how the reigns got divided (and it worked then because a) it's the first one b) the art was stunning c) we expect that at the beginning of the story with the classic "once upon a time..." sequences which are very common at the beginning of animated movies) , then it happened again when Raya explained that there’s 5 tribes and what they’re about and then it happens again in this scene when Namaari is explaining what the legend of Sisu is about.
There is a very common note when editing novels that says “show, don’t tell” and it’s used when the writer is explaining things instead of showing them through action. It’s much more compelling to see someone getting their cheeks turn red, and their knees shaking and being unable to put together a normal sentence because they’re speaking to their crush than just someone saying “Mary has a crush on John”. I think this is the main issue with the first act of Raya. In the first 25 minutes there’s 3 whole sequences in which a character is explaining and giving a lot of details about things instead of it being shown and it kills the excitement.
Namaari betrayal doesn't suit Disney's typical plot/values and brings morale down
Raya trusts Namaari but she betrays her. This works for the plot but it goes against what Disney's values usually stand for. I think this move particularly backfires in this movie because the overall message from the whole movie is to trust more but then it was just shown in the first act how awful the cost of Raya's decision to trust Namaari ended up being. The whole war, Raya's father's death and people being turned into stone was caused by Raya choosing to trust so it comes off as really confusing when then the overall message of the movie later on is to trust more. It also adds to a sentiment of Raya being a victim as it is normal for little girls to trust other little girls, so it’s almost like she didn’t necessarily do anything wrong, yet she caused a war and her people to be turned into stone just by one innocent decision. I think this is a case in which the plot works out logically, but it just isn’t a very charming plot and it just makes the main character appear like a victim, which is the opposite of what an inspiring character usually is.
At minute 25 of this movie there’s not been any joy
At minute 25 of this movie there’s been a whole series of unfortunate events happening: a war starting, betrayals, people dying, people being turned into stone, action scenes, battles, etc. and not a single joyful event. I think it is necessary to add little victories here and there to keep the audience from just feeling bad about everything that is happening. If we think of Aladdin, even though he doesn’t turn his whole life around in the first act and he does get caught by Jafar, he still gets away from the guards, helps little starving children and has a romantic encounter with Jasmine which are all little victories that keep the morale of the movie up as well as portraying Aladdin like a charming winner rather than just a victim of events in his life. I think the overall first act and Raya’s character likability would have hugely benefitted from this kind of small victories in the first act.
Raya’s first act may have benefitted from:
- Showing instead of telling at least 2 of the 3 instances in which stories/legends are told
- Adding small victories
- Showcasing Raya as a fighter capable of earning such small victories, rather than a victim of unfortunate events
-Choosing a different cause to the war and not the innocent decision of a young girl to trust another young girl
