Sotiris wrote:I liked Raya, but I didn't love it. My biggest gripe is that it wasn't a musical. I know not every film needs to be musicalized, but with Raya in particular it felt strange that it wasn't. Not only does the setting and the plot in general lend themselves to musicalization, but the way some scenes were set up made you feel a song was about to come up, only to never materialize. It just felt off. Also, I would have preferred there was a real villain. The earlier idea of Namaari being the one controlling the Druun and the Drunn being concrete, machine-like creatures was much more appealing to me. I also missed having romance in the film, even just as a subplot like it was in Mulan or Frozen.
First of all, sorry for the late reply. I'm glad you liked
Raya. Personally, I didn't have a problem with the things you mentioned, but I understand why you did since we are used to get those elements in a Disney film, especially in a princess one. Regarding the songs, I guess I didn't miss them because I had already accepted it wouldn't be a musical, but I agree that despite it being a bit more action-oriented than other Disney films, it could've worked perfectly with songs. I didn't miss not having a real villain either. I think the true villain here was the division between the clans and their mutual lack of trust, and I liked that. I also found Namaari and Virana satisfying as antagonistic figures, even though they're not really evil (Although, even at the end of the film I still don't completely trust Virana). As for the Druun, on the one hand, I would've liked them to be more human or robot-like too, but they were also quite menacing as they were, and the good thing about them being like a mindless plague is that it allowed for more time to develop the other characters, which was something needed given that there were so many in this film. They could've given a more concrete explanation for their existence, though, or for why they appear when they do.
Also, to be honest, I guess I'm not as big a fan of villains as most Disney fans. Disney has great villains and I love many of them, but the villain is never my favorite character in a Disney film and a movie without a villain or without a traditional one can be just as good to me. That said, I hope traditional villains never disappear from Disney. Right now, it seems they do what's on trend at the moment. I'm not against twist villains, redeemed ones or movies with no villains at all, but don't like that there have been so many of the same kind in a row lately. I wish their films were a bit more varied in that regard.
I suppose I'm not as much into romance as most fans either. I like romantic stories and I think films usually need to have an emotional core, but a friendship or a family relationship can be as interesting to me as a romantic one. Sometimes, I even prefer there wasn't a romance in some films, as many times they add that element just to make it appealing to a broader audience, but it isn't well developed or believable enough. Though, of course, as with villains, I wish Disney doesn't stop including romance in their films either.
Finally, I want to make clear that I don't think Raya is a perfect film. Like in all the films from the revival there are some plot holes, some things that don't make much sense or some cringe-worthy moments, but there are things in it that are really good, in my opinion. I love its message, for example, I think the third act is very strong (though I find all the film enjoyable), Sisu is a great sidekick to me, Raya a good protagonist and I pretty much like all the other characters as well, especially Namaari, Boun or Benja. Visually, the film is also very attractive to me, especially the character design and the sets and it has interesting world building.
Sotiris wrote: 
Frozen II is kind of a mess with all the plot holes, retcons, contrivances, and tonal shifts, but worse than Chicken Little? I think there were plenty of good things in there like the songs, the art direction, the costumes, the character design, the backgrounds and layout, the animation etc., whereas you'd be really pressed to find anything redeeming about Chicken Little. You are perfectly entitled to your opinion, of course, it's just surprising you feel so negatively about it. Is there something in particular that turns you off?
Well, I didn't say
Chicken Little was better than
Frozen II, just that I personally prefer it to that film. And yes, there are two main things I especially dislike about
Frozen II. The most important of the two is the solution to the mystery which is the excuse for all the adventure; the reveal that Elsa is the fifth spirit. Although, at first I wasn't thrilled about the idea of a sequel, the fact that it would explore where Elsa's powers came from sounded really interesting to me, so eventually I was quite excited for the movie. But when I finally saw it, I found that reveal extremely disappointing. In my opinion, it just doesn't work. Her being the fifth spirit doesn't explain why she has ice powers nor makes much sense. Plus, they barely develop the idea. They don't really explain what the fifth spirit does, why it is so important or why Elsa likes being it so much. When she discovers she's the fifth spirit, suddenly all her problems disappear. She doesn't need to know what a fifth spirit does or anything; just knowing what made her different had a name and she isn't a "weirdo" anymore is enough for her. I don't find that too believable. And to top it all, the musical number in which this is all revealed, though quite good, is a rip-off of "Let It Go", dress transformation included. But the problems don't stop there for me; the ending undoes some of the things solved in the first film. After spending all her life isolated, the ending of the first movie shows her finally being happy and accepted surrounded by her sister and her subjects, and here they made her a hermit once again. Plus, I don't know why they had to separate the sisters again. I know they can still visit each other, but still.
It may seem something small, but in a film like this with a mystery at its centre, if the reveal is not satisfying, it can ruin the whole movie. And that's what the third act does for me. There are many good ideas, characters and scenes in the movie. The film even surpasses the original in a couple of aspects (for example, I find Anna and Kristoff's romance more believable here), but in my opinion, all that's wasted by the weak foundation the film has. In fact, the positive aspects only make it worse for me, because when the film ends I'm left with the feeling that this is such a huge loss opportunity. The same happens to me with
Mary Poppins Returns, for example, but for different reasons. It's true that
Frozen II is superior to
Chicken Little in many aspects, but at least I find
Chicken Little entertaining and I don't get that feeling of frustration when I finish watching it.
The other main problem I have with the film is that it's almost like a different genre than the original. The first film has a classical fairytale feel and the usual good vs. evil kind of magic, while the sequel has this kind of tribal magic which is not good or bad. The spirits act like animals or forces of nature. Sometimes they're benevolent, but sometimes they can be quite dangerous. I guess that's original for a Disney movie, but that's the problem for me; it doesn't feel very Disney to me. Plus, I don't find any of the spirits likeable. I don't know how Elsa can befriend the spirit that killed her parents, for example. I know he just acts like the animal he is and didn't have anything personal against them, but still. There are more things I don't like about the film, like for instance, it having too many themes or some characters not getting much to do, but those are minor complaints compared to the two I explained.
I do enjoy the songs and some of the other elements you mentioned on their own, but it's not enough to make me rank it higher. Maybe if they could make a really good third film which gave answer to some of the unanswered questions from this one, it could redeem it for me, but I highly doubt they can do that and I don't think my opinion of it would change drastically either.
I hadn't thought about that, but you're right; at that moment you still haven't had time to wonder anything. Although, now that I think of it, there is something I wonder each time I watch it. What's the object in the opening shot? Does anyone know? Is it a fountain? 
