“Awww I want Dragons!! Stupid non-dragon world.” I honestly felt that

“Ma’am, I know you’re panicked, but you just body-slammed a child.” CW: *proceeds to add one win*

I think Raya’s “doom walk” is one of the cinematic highlights of the movie for me. Especially the part where she splits a Druun *without even slowing down*, complete with a little flourish of the cape.

Something I picked up on, I liked how Sisu’s human form, her teeth wasn’t perfect In sooooo many Disney computer animated movies nowadays, their teeth are perfect

I like how the Tail chief died. She didn't just get turned into stone and come back with the rest. She hid herself behind a fortress and slowly wasted away because she was too paranoid to trust anyone else further reinforcing the message in this movie

I'm just very happy someone else is finally saying that "trust everyone blindly" was never the message of the movie.

“If you lost a puppy and someone said ‘WeLL wE sTiLL hAvE a BiG cHuNk oF It!’, would that make you feel better??” Is single-handedly my favorite line from a Disney movie.

Anyone else notice just how many people the Druun wiped out? If there were 5 clans to begin with, Tail is essentially a person-less wasteland, Heart got abandoned when the Gem split, and Spine got wrecked by the Druun with only a sole survivor, there were only 2 clans left: Talon, built on the water, and Fang, walled off by water on an artificial island. That means that about 60% of the world got wiped out just by the Druun.

I gotta give Raya some props for being a action and adventure film from Disney, haven’t seen something from them like that since treasure planet .

Fun Fact: All the fight scenes were choreographed, performed and filmed IRL and then used as reference for the animators. So all of them are somewhat real performances you are watching.

The trust theme would be fine if it weren't so incomplete. The problem is that Namaari lacks any kind of redemption arc. She betrayed Raya, and in a way that completely destroyed the known world - not a small betrayal - and does nothing at no time ever in the film to indicate that she is deserving of a second chance. Without that redemption arc, without requiring that Namaari demonstrate *some* kind of desire to change, the trust theme is dangerous. That's how people get trapped in abusive relationships. The world, the real world, our world isn't suffering due to a lack of trust, it's suffering due to a lack of repentance (meaning change of heart, not even religious). Were people who caused harm more willing to admit their wrong and actively change, trust would immediately follow.

"Almost like poverty and crime go together" OUCH, I just burned my finger on that hot take

Don’t mind me, just waiting for ‘Everything Great about Luca’ Edit: “Ah yes boops, the universal language”

I think we need to touch on how great the animation is, especially when things are wet. The slight darkening of Benja's gloves after he dips them in the water in the beginning, or the shine on Raya's hair after everyone comes back, or the way Sisu's "hair" kind of clings to her head when she does that little spin in the water. Even the shine on Raya's cheek after she wipes her tear right before she awakens Sisu. The animation in this movie is so smooth and detailed in some shots and it's beautiful the whole way through. I love how you can see the individual fiber strands that make up Tong's tunic, too

13:44 I always interpreted it as Namaari being sad, since the dragon she’s been a huge fan of since childhood is now growling at her in anger.

"Magic is definitely afoot" *shot of feet going up stairs* I laughed.

DUDE, I was literally just wondering where CinemaWins went and here you are with an upload! Great to have you back man and glad everything is okay.

Raya: Uses "Princess undercut" as an insult Me, with an undercut: D:

When he started listing southeast asian weapons and martial arts i got really giddy for no reason lmfao. As a southeast asian individual who hails from the philippines, it's so amazing how he was able to recognize fighting styles, and research the weapons used by Namaari, and Raya, like the Filipino Arnis. These were small bits I didn't think western people would get, but i'm pleasently suprised! thank you

Dunno if anyone things about this, but it really sucks that Raya's father missed like 6 YEARS of Raya's growth. That's time he'll never get back. It's like he went to sleep and she was a kid the last he saw her, and then the minute he woke up again, she was a full grown adult. Time passed for Raya, but for the chief it could have felt like the blink of an eye. That had to be so jarring, and I honestly don't think that they made that clear enough. He recognized her immediately, but I really would have appreciated some mention of 'how you've grown' or 'when did you get so big?'

I like how he addresses the trust stuff. all the reviews i've watched all criticise it for the message being 'trust everyone regardless of how they treated you' but this guy gets it but also says that it could've have been a bit better which I wholeheartedly appreciate

"Sisu" is a word in Finnish. It doesn't translate well into English but it's basically the definition of "not giving up" and "having guts to do so". Or as a simple google search says "strength of will" But I don't think the producers knew the word existed although the word describes Sisu in the film pretty well.

One thing I noticed: When they put the flowers in the water, they all put the exact number of people they lost through the druun.

Something I think a whole lot of people miss is that the message of the movie isn't simply about trust, it's about mutual trust. Every instance where trust turns out to be a mistake is one where the characters are interacting with people who have been told not to trust their whole lives, and in Namaari's case, she's also being manipulated/instructed by her mother, who doesn't trust the other lands. Ultimately, a lack of mutual trust created the literal apocalypse (twice, according to Sisu), but its trust that saves the world and begins the process of repairing it at the end of the film. Namaari finally decided to take a risk for someone other than Fang, and Raya and co. realized that holding onto hatred and grudges (which have kept their world back for, oh, 500 years) was only going to make things worse. Edit: yeah, I made this comment, like, halfway through. Thank you, Cinemawins, for addressing this issue and taking a new angle on it I hadn't seen before. Your point is honestly stronger than mine, since it faces a hard truth of life: that sometimes, trust has to go one way before it becomes mutual.

I'm gonna assume that Jeffrey Bezos line was a reference to Inside

One thing I caught in this movie that I wanted to share was that the main vehicle for getting around in the whole movie is a floating restaurant! As the adventure party gathers, they have many scenes of them interacting and becoming family in a place meant for food. I think there is a good theme of eating together brings people together thing going on, set up by Raya's dad talking about the soup made from different ingredients across the land. As the story goes on, we see the party bonding more and more over food the entire time!

I feel that it is less about "Trust everyone no matter what." But rather Trust people to want to help each other when the option is presented.

I think this story would have made an amazing series. Flesh out the different clans and make a ATLA traveling series.

I think my favorite versions of dragons always end up being closest to Sisu and her siblings in temperament. There's just something RIGHT about the intelligent, wise dragon, compared to the ravenous monster. Of course, I'm also incredibly fond of the look of western dragons, all big and wings and stuff, so...

I'm a huge sucker for dragons, and elemental type stuff where different tribes have different elements or areas they live in, so this movie got me hooked in almost instantly. I'm kind of glad that they didn't make Raya and Namaari into those "secret siblings" cliche because that's originally what I thought would happen. The scene where they all turned to stone would've really got me if the credits started to roll.

"Nothing will make you feel like a child more than reconnecting with your previously stone dad after 6 years" damn her father came back from buying cigarettes

Something I noticed when watching the movie is that at you look at Sisu’s older brother when Sisu’s family is using the gem (15:27 in the video) his hands are cupped like how the people who got turned to stone hands are, which means that the pose that those people have is technically them putting their trust in Sisu to use the gem.

"dep la" is spelled similar to the Vietnamese "đẹp lạ": meaning "exotic beauty" So you guys can guess why a lot of us ship those two girls cuz they keep calling each other "beauty" xD

at 10:40 each drop a different number of flowers representing all the family members that were turned to stone. Ngl I cried when I realized.

To help explain Raya's untrust against Namaari with the crossbow and Sisu, we should also remember that her Father was shot by one.

Fun fact Amy Johnston and Lauren Mary Kim choreographed and even did some motion capture fights in this movie. I don't remember what Amy was in but Lauren did mo cap for season 7 of clone wars among many other things. They're both really great stuntwomen

Bo Burnham Inside references get an instant thumbs up.

My list of things I loved about this movie + my list of things that could have been changed: -The effects. Just the lighting of the water and tone of Raya’s skin are stupidly good animation. -The dragons designs. They are long fluffy magic noodles. That is just beautiful. -Shisu’s misunderstanding of the world around her. It makes sense that, after the last thing you remember doing o save the world is having to trust people, you would naturally think that everyone is to be trusted. -The angry old lady chief. Idk why. She makes me happy even tho she betrayed Shisu. -The FOOD EFFECTS. GOD IT MADE ME SO HUNGRY WATCHING -The fact that Tounge(I think??) likes the baby because he misses his own child. -Just seeing how the hatred had changed Raya after Shisu was killed. She was ready to kill. It added a great effect. -The symbolism. How, because Shisu is the last dragon, and she is a water dragon, her being killed drained the water. Water truly is ‘magical’ in this world, as it acts as protection against the Druun. Also, how when they basically become un-stoned, the rain is what washes it away. Rain is water. It is Shisus magic and trust that saves them. Now, things that should have been changed: -A better Namaari redemption arc. We didn’t have much of her in the movie. I believe that there should have been more of her realizing how corrupted the world was, and how she wanted to change it. -A close up of her finger off the trigger, not on. If they had showed that she was hesitating on shooting and had decided not to. If that had been shown, it would have created the impression that Namaari had finally been redeemed. However, it was Raya lashing out in her distrust that killed Shisu. I’ve operated a few crossbows, and hitting them while they are loaded DEFINITELY sets them off. That was all for now. I will update more later.

Another fun detail I love about this movie is when Raya comes up to have her final confrontation with Namaari. When she brings the stone up and repealed the Druun coming towards her, two of them are shown being repelled, showing that one life just ended so that they could replicate, meaning they had JUST killed Namarri's mom or relatively recently. This gives her even more reason to be angry and spiteful towards Raya, giving the last battle that much more tension.

"Stupid no dragons world" - most relatable saying Ever.

Yes! As a kid of SE Asian parents growing up in the 80's and 90's this film hit hard in all the good ways. Happy to see it here to undergo the "Wins" treatment.

Guys, listen up. Who else is still waiting for Everything Great with “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” except for me? If you are with me for this video, smash the like and answer whatever thoughts you have for this animated movie.

i can't stop thinking about how much potential this movie could've had if it was a series. it's so gorgeous and the world is amazing but it was too big for an hour and a half

I would LOVE to see you cover "The Prince of Egypt".

After watching this, trust doesn’t sound like a word anymore

Finally got round to watching the film this morning (as well as Encanto, waiting for that EGA vid) and it is beautiful. There was one moment that had me in floods of tears, when Raya and her father see each other on the bridge and how she says "Ba" before running to him. So much heart and loss and relief and joy crammed into one small word.

I realized something about the scene leading to the Dragon Gem breaking. All the Fang people saw the firework and immediately knew what the signal was for. This means that Namaari was NOT the only one in on the plan to steal the gem, and based on her other interactions with her mother, I doubt it was even her idea. Also, Chief Virana seems like a smart enough ruler she would have given flares and instructions to multiple people, not just her own daughter, so the plan would have more chances at succeeding. You do mention some of this at the end of the video, but I just really like when movies that give redemption arcs to the main antagonists don’t make them completely unlikeable from the start.

You should do Everything GREAT About Tangled

Don’t mind me, just waiting for Everything great about Dead Man’s Chest

"I love that sweet and cutesy Sisu pulls off ferocious like a champ" Unfortunately the comparison is unavoidable but Sisu can't pull off sweet and cutesy or ferocious like Toothless can.

3:55 When you hear a tone shift in Namaari's voice, you know that Namaari played Raya.

"vastly-underrated She-Ra reboot." So I'm not the only one. YESS!!

No mention that Raya and Namaari have an "are they, aren't they" thing going on the whole movie

I like Pengu's design ^^ He's a unique dragon like his fellow dragons

One of my favorite things about the movie which you skipped over was the paper cut outs in the opening prologue are a really gorgeous representation of Indonesian shadow puppets. I remember making them in school and my mum had a few of them when we were growing up. Really stunning piece of art.

7:08 Oh god, we've lost another one to the furry horde

The music is some of the best Disney had produced in decades. The battle theme as Raya goes to battle Namaari at the climax is amazing, and every part of the score works

I've watched Raya yesterday, for the first time. I cried like a baby for like the last half hour of the movie. I wanted to see a review that praised it. I kept thinking to myself "Is this that 'Disney magic' people talk about?" I was in love. The animation, setting, characters, voicework, the female-lead plot that had LITERALLY all the major players as women, not something you see often... I searched, literally, "raya is good", wanting to see a positive reaction such as mine. The first five or six videos were "Raya is NOT a good movie" and variations of that. Then, a glimmer of hope. A CinemaWins video. Thank you for being such a positive person. Besides me, your're the only other person I've heard of that still found a way to enjoy TRoS.

1:19 cuteness overload

Mmm, the water disappears if all the dragons die… humans are made out of 55% to 78% of water.

“On Fleek, Savage, Lit!” 😂😂😂

9:23 Is it me or that kid is like a mixed version of Alberto and Luca design ? He really reminds me of Alberto personality wise too..

Here's something I noticed fang does puppet shows and in tangled in the dream song they say fang does little puppet shows. So I found that hilarious.

The ONE thing that bugs me about the movie: why does everyone the Druun petrify have that pose? WHY? What's the significance of it?

And when the world needed him the most... HE RETURNED.

16:38 that caught me off guard i heard Astrid and my brain went how to train your dragon

Honestly, I love the “totally lowkey unnoticeable” digs on society throughout the video! They confirm that my dude over here has got a good head on his shoulders 😝❤️

I literally went “YES!” when this video notification popped up

Raya was probably the most fun I'd had with a Disney film since Wreck it Ralph.

The movie felt like an overly extended version of one of those short films in the trailer sequence at the movies (something like Disneys lava)

I absolutely love the moment right after Sisu is shot where it zooms in on Raya and shows her reaction. From the animation that shows the true fury in her eyes to her raged filled breathing. It’s such a subtle detail, but it was one of the most realistic animated scenes I’ve ever seen.

Could you cover Everything Great About Rango? It would be greatly appreciated.

The exposition at the beginning looks just like the exposition animation in Moana

The scene where Namaari teared up at seeing Sisu had me choked up as well. It showed the emotional nuances between those sides.

I went into this movie not knowing anything about it and having no expectations, and ended up loving it so much. The message about trust is incredibly timely, though it's probably falling upon deaf ears among the politically inclined adults. I hope the kids who grow up after watching this movie will remember it when they're in charge of the world.

'I read that in a book once; obviously I had no friends as a child' had be choking. Why.

I get to finally listen to something positive about this movie

I would seriously love a tabletop RPG built around something like this. South-Asian inspired fantasy setting with fantastical creatures but little to no magic on the people side of things sounds like so much fun to just mess around in. tbh the worldbuilding in this movie is just top notch

"Anger is never the answer" But it IS an excellent motivator!

Yeah, I was lowkey disappointed that the fight scenes weren't just "The Raid Redemption, but for kids," but seeing Raya and Namaari use Pencak Silat and Muay Boran respectively in their first fight really tickled the martial arts nerd inside of me.

I can tell that he likes CinemaWins more than CinemaSins cause sins is all about stupid plot holes and cliches used, while wins is all about the love and thought that was put into the movies.

Finally, someone else acknowledging the amazing score!

6:59, not furries... since this was a dragon movie, a lot of dragon-based fursonas will be made in the future. FYI Lizard-types or the cold-blooded guys are called scalies.

Living for such a subtle Eragon reference with a 'Thunder of Dragons'

"A thunder of dragons". Don't think I didn't catch that Inheritance reference.

You did something new in terms of animation. It'd be fun to see you do something a little older? For the sound design, score, animation, shot composition, and overall visual aesthetic alone this movie deserves it's time in the spotlight. I give you, Atlantis: The Lost Empire.

I actually really liked this movie and I don't know why people hated it. It was wonderful

PLEASE. You HAVE to make Everything Great About Legend of thew Guardians, The Owls of Ga'Hoole! That movie NEEDS your treatment!

One of my favorite details for the world building was the consistent water-centric theme to EVERYTHING. The dragon's magics are based around/act like water, the language ("What's drippin?", Super flow plan, right?", etc.), the martial arts used are all [more] heavily based on using streams of actions rather than single moves, the spirits being moved by the Druun all slip away smoothly with tendrils following like a current, even the map is water centric! Absolutely loved it.

I can't believe it took me this video to realize that it hit so hard to me because I developed "don't trust anyone" as a defense mechanism and I miss the faith of trusting in things just because - like Sisu does. Hello I did not sign up for therapy I just wanted to see some positivity about this movie 💀💀💀

Now this is a Disney princess who can fight and still look fabulous Raya has the most amazing hair out of all the Disney princess my opinion

This movie is gorgeous. In terms of the music, the fight scenes, the VFX, animation, story and portrayal of humanity, visuals/camerawork! Everything was just, beautiful.

The ending edit was the icing on the cake. Guffawed so hard at all the "trust" cuts

19:58 A "thunder" of dragons? Oh yeah, I got that reference. Angela is such a great character.

Can we just win the gorgeous and intricate details in the animation. Not just the landscapes but the unique look to each of the dragons and the details in the clothes and hairstyles. The animation is just stunning.

Amazing movie. Since theaters were closed in my country for many months, I had to watch this movie on Disney+. I haven't seen any trailer for it so it was a completely blind watching. The only thing about it that I heard were some rumors from people on youtube saying that it wasn't that good and the main plot is boring, so my expectations weren't too high. But this movie really impressed me. I liked the story about Kumandra, the dragons and the druuns, the main characters were interesting and the side characters were funny (I think I don't need to mention the outstanding visual quality). One of my personal little favourites were the fight scenes. I'm a star wars enjoyer, so I really love some good animated sword fighting scenes and this movie had some of the best I have seen in years.

18:49 Well, now you've started the train of comments for Everything Great about the Great Mouse Detective. G o o d.

So a really cool thing, Sisu's "water stepping" is in the "Avatar" world as well! In the Avatar Kyoshi books she learns a technique that all benders can use called Dust Stepping- Water Benders do this (little suspended water/ice platforms they leap on) Airbenders and Firebenders do short bursts of air or fire, and Earthbenders grab dust/sand/small rocks and jump off those

Look, I’m just glad someone else is finally sticking up for this absolutely gorgeous, sweet, heartfelt, adorable and fun movie after months of just seeing “Raya is the devil and here’s why” videos being shoved in my face when I didn’t even ask. My only big gripe with this movie is that maybe Sisu should have stayed dead? Then again, after all the growth everyone went through and the genuine comradery they finally achieved after so long being implied that’s the reason the dragons came back, it wouldn’t make sense to leave JUST her dead. Seriously, though, it’s a huge understatement that this movie is gorgeous to look at. Compare this to Dinosaur to see how much Disney has improved over the past 20 years. If people are so keen to not take everything at face value, then I think these movies by Disney deserve the same, because they genuinely fo have heart put into them. (Also Namaari best girl)

3:42 asians dont even wear shoes into their own homes so this feels right in my eyes since i am south east asian