Raya and the Last Dragon: creation of the first Disney film focused on Southeast Asia

Raya and the Last Dragon is Disney’s first animated feature film to feature characters of South Asian descent. And the team behind the film did a significant amount of research to create a world that was both alive and fantastic – a world where dragons once roamed and a fantasy villain could turn living things into stone – while still being grounded in realistically in south-eastern elements. Asian Culture and Geography: Raya is set in the fantasy world of Kumandra, divided into five distinct dragon-inspired regions: Fang, Heart, Talon, Spine, and Tail. Each region has its own topography, architecture and personality, influenced by the countries of Southeast Asia. To bring this world to life, artists have traveled through Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam. “We and all of our collaborators are committed to in-depth research, community engagement and constant collaboration with our cultural departments,” said Co-Director Carlos López Estrada.

Disney has also worked closely with their “Southeast Asia Story Trust,” a coalition of scholars in various fields including visual anthropology, linguistics, botany, choreography, architecture, martial artists and more. Producer Osnat Shurer, who previously worked with a team of ocean experts for Moana, described the creation of the Southeast Asia Story Trust as “a really organic process. We met many people as we prepared for the research trips, and we met some people on the research trips.

The night markets in Talon, for example, were influenced by the floating markets of Southeast Asia, and the environmental team strove to create the visual density of the stalls, boats, lanterns and delicious food. necessary to make the world feel real and lived in. even included textures like steam from stalls and representations of humidity in the tropical climate. Environmental modeling manager John Aquino was also able to draw on memories of his growing up in the Philippines.

Of course, at the heart of any world are its main characters. The film centers on Raya (voiced by Kelly Marie Tran), an 18-year-old woman who sets out on a hero’s journey to find the last dragons of Kumandra, in order to restore safety and harmony to the land. She is physically strong and courageous, yet emotionally closed due to the trauma of losing loved ones at a young age. The writing of the film’s central hero, Raya, was a deeply personal experience for screenwriter Adele Lim, who grew up in Malaysia.

“As a woman from Southeast Asia, the character of Raya has special meaning for me,” Lim said. “There is a history of strong women leaders and warriors in the region, and I personally grew up in a family of truly amazing women who inspire and scare me every day too. It is therefore important that Raya’s actions and attitude embody that same spirit. And you can see it in her leadership and fearlessness, her love of family, the sense of responsibility she takes towards others.

For Qui Nguyen, co-writer and martial arts consultant, Raya’s individuality and characterization were of particular importance, given stereotypes and symbolic portrayals of Asian-American characters in the past. “When characters who look like me appear in action movies, they are always portrayed in a certain way: stoic, serious, weirdly obsessed with honoring our family,” Nguyen said. “Raya is an action star who looks like us too. She is funny. It is ironic. She is intelligent.

The team looked at dozens of possible names for their titular hero in consultation with language experts from the film’s Southeast Asia Story Trust. When Lim first heard the name “Raya”, she had an immediate emotional response. “In Malay, it means ‘celebration’ and refers to that happy time when people gather around a lot of food,” she said.

Raya’s costume also went through many iterations – including a sampot, a traditional Cambodian garment made from a rectangular textile tied at the waist – to ensure that the final design matched her character’s journey and was based on traditional Southeast Asian clothing. Rather than putting her in the restrictive dress styles that animated female stars have worn in the past, Raya’s clothes, and even her hairstyle, were designed with her combat prowess in mind. “Because she’s a warrior, she really needs to be very nimble,” said Amy Smeed, head of animation. Throughout the film, Raya is seen fighting with swords, climbing dungeons, and dodging obstacles.

Raya’s hairstyle has been kept clean and functional, with two braids that keep her line of sight clear. It also helps the audience to see their facial expressions more clearly. The animators also worked with Dr. Steve Arounsack, associate professor of anthropology at California State University, Stanislaus – a visual anthropologist who was part of the Southeast Asia Story Trust and heavily involved in many of the film’s design elements – to create the Raya’s hat, the slope of which resembles a stupa.

As a martial arts consultant and co-writer, Qui Nguyen ensured that the action scenes in the film had cohesive fighting styles, realistically based on Southeast Asian martial arts. Raya’s fighting style is mainly based on the Indonesian martial art style pencak silat, as well as the popular Thai fighting style of Muay Thai. “Although it was a fantasy, the only thing we didn’t want to do was make our fights fantastic,” Nguyen said. “There is no one running over the treetops or shooting fireballs. Every punch, kick and block was ingrained in real-world physics.

The two screenwriters, Lim and Nguyen, are thrilled to have added a Southeast Asian action star to the Disney canon. “As a writer and a parent, my goal is to create superheroes for my children that I have never been able to see,” Nguyen said. “So to finally be here, to share with the world our very original hero who looks like my family, well, it’s an absolute dream come true.” It’s a very powerful thing to know that my two Asian American boys will now always have Raya and her motley team representing them in the big Disney universe.

Raya and the Last Dragon hits theaters and on Disney + with special access on March 5.