Raya and the Last Dragon is, quite simply, absolutely and utterly gorgeous. Newly orphaned, Benja’s daughter, Raya ( Kelly Marie Tran), takes it upon herself to search for the rumored last dragon in the hope that humanity might yet stand a chance, but even finding Sisu ( Awkwafina) is no guarantee that people can come together to save themselves and each other. One of the land’s leaders, Chief Benja (voiced by Daniel Day Kim), attempts to broker peace with the others, but greed, wariness, and betrayal fracture the last remnant of the dragons’ power, once again releasing the Druun into the world.

Five hundred years later, though, the human population is divided by geography, jealousy, and mistrust. The world only survived through the actions of the dragons, who sacrificed their species to save all others. The arrival of a malevolent force called the Druun left the landscape ravaged and turned living creatures into stone. The land and people of Kumandra once lived in harmony and peace alongside magical beings called dragons.

It doesn’t hurt that it’s also stunningly animated and one of Disney’s most breathtakingly beautiful endeavors yet. Walt Disney Animation Studios’ latest feature, Raya and the Last Dragon, once again revisits that familiar well, but like 2016’s Moana and 2009’s The Princess and the Frog, the film stands apart, through fresh voices and cultures, while still embracing universal truths and ideals. There are outliers, of course, including the likes of Zootopia (2016) and Bolt (2008), but many of Disney’s biggest animated successes return to that core concept and general labeling of “Disney Princess tales.” Eighty-four years after Walt Disney’s first animated feature, the film studio that bears his name has a handful of story formulas down pat, including its most frequently used: a young female’s coming of age sees her caught up in bigger ideas, unintentionally complicating the situation through her actions, and then finally rising to save the day.

Raya and the last dragon landscape