“Raya and the Last Dragon” was the best animated movie out of all the nominations I watched. It wasn’t just because of the real life animation style, but also the captivating plot. This animation style let me imagine a live-action version of this movie, which I appreciated. The story itself was also great. Raya is the princess of the heart of Kumandra. Her main goal is saving the land from the Druuns that are threatening to destroy the heart of Kumandra. In the movie, she ends up bringing back the dragon who destroyed the Drunns hundreds of years before. Raya uses Sisu, the dragon, in the hopes of getting help to bring her dad back. The storyline gets emotional, and I found myself on the edge of my seat multiple times watching the fight scenes. I’ve never seen Disney and Pixar produce something this action packed, outside of “The Incredibles,” but I enjoyed it. I enjoyed getting to watch Raya’s adventure into saving Kumandra all while knowing the secret of how the Druuns came to be. The character development along the way was another interesting factor of the movie. Raya started as a not very intelligent girl who was impulsive and reckless. But, by the end of the movie, she had turned into this strong, thoughtful and independent leader. I feel like, in a sense, I watched her grow up and become the person leader she is. Another person who had a big character development was Raya’s enemy from the very beginning, Namaari. Namaari is the princess of the Fang of Kumandra and has had it out for Raya since the very beginning of the movie. Towards the end of the movie, she learns what’s right from wrong. She ends up helping Raya at the end and helping to bring Kumandra back together. I also like that this movie was a very family-friendly movie. If I had to guess, I would say that the targeted age range for this movie is 7 year olds to 11 year olds. Overall, this movie was a very captivating one and I enjoyed watching it. I think this movie should be the one to win the best animated short oscar award. It deserves it after all. All the character development throughout the movie, all the tear jerking moments, the animation itself, it was outstanding. I will say “Encanto” gave this movie a run for its money, but at the end of the day I think “Raya and the Last Dragon” deserves the title of winner.