We haven’t been to the movie theaters in years, partially just due to having kids and partially because theaters were shutdown for a year during the pandemic. Now that my youngest is 3 I figured he might be old enough to sit calmly in the theater. My older two girls love all things Disney, so when we heard about Raya and the Last Dragon I knew we just HAD to go! Luckily this movie did not disappoint and we all enjoyed our time at Alamo Drafthouse Raleigh!
Movie Review
I’ve been a little disappointed with the most recent Disney movies. Soul seemed more like an adult movie to me, and the live-action Mulan just didn’t keep my attention. Raya is the newest Disney princess on the scene and she’s a very relatable character. Even my husband said she might be one of his new favorite Disney princesses!
The movie was easy to follow along and had a great story that will appeal to all ages. The animation is absolutely amazing and it’s just an extremely pretty film to watch. It definitely had it’s share of mystical magic, but it all made much more sense than the magic in Frozen 2. In fact, if I had to compare the two movies, I enjoyed Raya and the Last Dragon much more than Frozen 2, which we saw at Marbles on opening weekend as well!
Movie Summary
The premise of the story follows Raya (Ri-yah), who is the daughter of the chief of the village named Heart. Each village in the movie is named after a dragon body part, including Spine, Tail, Fang, and Talon. The five villages all used to be united as the land of Kumandra, but divided due to tragic events that happened 500 years prior. Back then, magical dragons used to roam the land, each with their own specific powers. Sinister monsters named the Druun attacked and turned everyone to stone. The last remaining dragon concentrated all of the magic into one stone that wiped out the Druun and returned all of the people to life, but unfortunately did not save all of the dragons, who remained as stone statues.
After the creation of the magic stone, the villages fought over who should keep and guard it. A squabble between villages causes the magic stone to break, which brings back the dreaded Druun. Raya must then recover the 5 pieces in order to save the world and all she loves in it
Overall Impressions
This magical story has lots of ups and downs, but has a positive moral to the story. The druun can be a little scary, and there are people in the story that you believe to be lost forever. I definitely cried at the end, but none of my kids were overly scared. The best part is that the whole story points back to uniting the land, which I think is completely applicable to our current world today. The characters in the story can only achieve this unity with mutual trust and respect, and the extreme show of trust at the end was something we can all learn from! I highly recommend checking out this new movie, but be forewarned that you will probably cry and your kids will probably start having sword fights just like their new favorite Disney princess!
Alamo Drafthouse
For our grand return to the movies we were torn between visiting Marquee Cinemas in Wake Forest or Alamo Drafthouse in Raleigh. Unfortunately all of the Regal Theaters nearby are still closed during the pandemic. We decided to go with Alamo Drafthouse since they were also offering free giveaways on opening weekend (3/5-3/7/2021). The kids got to pick from a Raya themed backpack, hat, or journal, and we ended up going home with all three! These freebies are only around while supplies last, so it’s not a definite that you will get one, but it was a nice additional Alamo touch. They were passed out after the movie in the lobby.
Family-friendly showings
Alamo Drafthouse has a strict no talking and no cell phone use policy while in the theater. They make special exceptions for their family-friendly showings that are scheduled before 6pm, which is what we attended. For all other showings, children 3 and up are allowed for shows that start before 6pm, and ages 6 and up can attend shows after 6pm. You may not enter the theater late, so we recommend arriving about 30 minutes early to get seated and get your food. We attended the 11:30am showing and the theater was filled with other children and families, but surprisingly everyone stayed very quiet! The theater also has a strict mask policy. They require children age 3 and up to wear face masks unless actively eating or drinking.
Full menu table service
The theater has a full menu of food options that you can preorder online, or use the card at your seat to order during the movie. Just write your order down and place the card in the slot at your table, which will alert a server to come over and take the order. They will deliver your food to you at your seat, so no need to get up and move around. They also have the best reclining seats so you can watch your movie in comfort! We purchased the endless popcorn bowl, which we ate surprisingly fast. I was glad there were unlimited refills!
So what do you think? Will you be returning to the movie theater, or just continue streaming your entertainment for now? The good news is that Raya and the Last Dragon is available to watch at home for only $30 with a Disney+ subscription! That is much cheaper than our Alamo Drafthouse excursion, so give it a try if you want to save a little money!