Taking a step back from swing-for-the-fences epics, Pixar’s Luca tells a tale about courage, acceptance, and friendship through a pasta-chomping triathlon. The Italian Riviera comes to rousing life in Disney’s newest animated adventure, celebrating the underdog with joyful performances and playful animation. Where Onward and Soul perhaps bit off a little more than they could chew, Luca lives comfortably in its charming, small-scale journey. Minor spoilers ahead…

Gorgeously realized with Disney’s signature heart and warmth, Raya and the Last Dragon is another feather in the animation studio’s cap, even if its muddled representation and thin plotting occasionally get in the way of its emotional beats. An epic action-adventure with an all-Asian voice cast, Raya balances its huge stakes with human moments and particularly charismatic performances from Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina, and Gemma Chan. Minor spoilers ahead…

Mulan, which saw its unprecedented streaming release on September 4th in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, rises above the recent spate of facile live-action Disney remakes by trying something a little different, but the bar is so low that it barely feels like a victory. And while there’s something undoubtedly stirring about seeing an all-Asian cast in such a high-profile tentpole film, Mulan’s representation only extends to the actors in front of the camera, resulting in an end product that is woefully dispirited and underwritten. In the end, by glossing over rich historical detail and ignoring an era of atypically empowered women, the film’s all-white producers and writers are never more apparent, especially when tackling what could have been the story’s most fascinating addition: Gong Li’s sorceress villain, Xian Lang. Minor spoilers ahead…