“I grew up on action movies, and sci-fi movies. “I really wanted to make sure that the martial arts that were in the film were very distinctly Southeast Asian,” she said. Nguyen also confirmed that four types of martial arts are seen in Raya and the Last Dragon: Pencack silat from Indonesia and Malaysia Muay Thai from Thailand Arnis from the Philippines and traditional Indonesian wrestling. We wanted to make sure she didn’t just look like an animal,” she said. “We pulled it a little bit more away from the reptilian. She also explained that this was why Sisu is animated to look more like a serpent than a dragon. Image: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection. We didn’t want a dragon that came in to empower Raya to hit people more we wanted one that would inspire her to open up and trust.” “And the Nāga, because it’s water, it’s life and hope. “The difference between an Eastern or Chinese dragon versus the Nāga is that a Chinese dragon is based on luck and power,” she said. She explained that Sisu, Kumandra’s last dragon who is voiced by Awkawafina, is based on Nāga, a water dragon in Southeast Asia. Screenwriter Qui Nguyen also confirmed to Polygon in March 2021 that Raya and the Last Dragon was based on multiple countries in Asia. Schurer also revealed that the filmmakers learned martial arts and gamelan instruments, traditional instruments from Indonesia, as part of their creative process. Producer Osnat Schurer told the magazine that the creators for the film took research trips to several countries in Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. The Hollywood Reporter reported in October 2020 that Raya and the Last Dragon isn’t based on just one country in Southeast Asia but was inspired by many places in that region of the world.
What country is Raya and the Last Dragon based on?
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Lucky for us, the screenwriter for the movie has that answer. Though Raya has been described as Disney’s first Southeast Asian princess, viewers still wonder if Raya and the Last Dragon is based on a real country or was inspired by various places in Southeast Asia.