Ethan Sip

To me, this film seemed like such a risk; how could Disney take one of the most hated Disney villains of all time and somehow redeem her? It was definitely a hit-or-miss, but I'm glad to say this definitely hit. I personally think many of the negative reviewers tethered their views on this film too strongly onto its predecessor, The 101 Dalmatians, which narrowed and skewed their judgement. On its own, this film showed powerful female characters, an engaging conflict and the development of a likable antihero. To top it all off, beautiful cinematography and a great cast. I like to think of this rendition of Cruella as a separate entity from the classic Disney villain, and I feel that it was Disney's intention all along. Those who saw this as a "redemption film" will sadly be disappointed. There are some parts that don't quite hit the mark and do seem quite rushed and forced, but overall this film is a great family movie and highly rewatchable, and I consider this one of if not the best live-action Disney film of the modern era.

This movie sacrifices plot and overall development of the story for an unsatisfactory attempt at cultural representation and moral teachings. Highly predictable and an absolute bore to watch, it was agonizing to see a rushed film with haphazard naming and an absolute disaster of an ending. Raya was a horrid portrayal of a protagonist and the husk of a hero. The "dragon gem" was a cheap plot device and I was thoroughly disappointed in seeing it become the main goal of the film. Namaari's development as an antihero was extremely open-ended and therefore unfulfilling. The other characters were forgettable and were thrown in only as a forced allegory for unification. The ending was shockingly wretched, and left MUCH to be desired. Being a gross simplification of both the virtue of trust and Southeast Asian culture, this movie was a waste of time and shouldn't even be shown to kids; there are much better out there. Overall, this portrays a simplified and wrongly fantastical view of foreign cultures to the unknowing West and truthfully, disrespects the culture despite its attempts at representation due to its excessive modernisation. Will not recommend to anyone of good taste.