Sisu, the dragon from Disney’s newest animated film, Raya and the Last Dragon, did not breathe fire. She is like a snake and dyed blue, more hairy than scaly, and more interested in making friends than oppressive enemies.
That’s because the filmmakers behind Raya and the Last Dragon he looked beyond Western dragons, or even East Asian dragons. Sisu, voiced by Awkwafina in the film, was inspired by the Naga of Southeast Asia, snake-like creatures associated with water. The aesthetic choice is also subtly impregnated with symbolism.
“The difference between an oriental or Chinese dragon and Naga is that a Chinese dragon is based on luck and power,” explains screenwriter Qui Nguyen. “And Naga, because it is water, it is life and hope. It is only a small difference. We didn’t want a dragon to come to strengthen [human protagonist] Raya to hit people more; we wanted one that would inspire her to open up and trust ”.
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Image: Disney
As to why Sisu looks less serpentine and more fluffy and shiny in the final design than the traditional representations of Nāga (taking some on the Internet to compare it to Elsa’s Frozen fame), director Don Hall (Big Hero 6) says it has to do with accessibility. “We took him a little further away from the reptilian. We wanted to make sure that she didn’t just look like an animal. “
Raya and the Last Dragon it takes place in the fantasy world of Kumandra, but it was important for filmmakers and cast members in Southeast Asia that the fantasy world clashed with the cultural elements of real life. Disney has come a long way since the days of Mulanthe culturally inaccurate haircut. Nowadays, filmmakers regularly consult with a diverse group of representatives of the cultures they use as a backdrop, as they did with Moana in 2016. Raya marks another step forward; While Moana was written by three white men based on authenticity consultants, both from RayaThe screenwriters come from Southeast Asia and were able to bring their specific cultural identities to the film.
A longtime lover of action films, Nguyen specifically felt that it was pertinent to incorporate real-world martial arts. Four martial arts are specifically highlighted in Raya: Pencack silat, which is Indonesian and Malay; Thailand’s Muay Thai; traditional Indonesian struggle; and Arnis, from the Philippines.
“I really wanted to make sure that the martial arts that were in the film were distinctly from Southeast Asia,” says Nguyen. “I grew up watching action movies and sci-fi movies. But if I loved Star Wars, I couldn’t go out and study like a Jedi. If I love this movie, I can go out and study these martial arts that are real. These martial arts, food and architecture are all real. “
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Image: Disney
Some reviewers expressed frustration at seeing Southeast Asia portrayed as a monolithic culture, stating that, although Raya it has specific details of different cultures, it paints them in a reductive way as a merged entity. This is a valid point of view, especially considering how little screen time and nuances are given to Southeast Asia in Hollywood. But, as screenwriter Adele Lim points out, there are places in Southeast Asia where various cultures come together in a melting pot. She cites her home country, Malaysia, specifically food, as evidence of this particular merger.
“We have so many different people in this cultural space,” she says. “It is very easy to see these differences as things that separate us. But when you look at everything that is wonderful about our culture, and particularly our street food – which is the best in the world – it is wonderful Why of all these different elements. [Food] it is also our language of love and our language of community. “
As with any film that focuses on a culture rarely seen in the mainstream of Hollywood, there is an impossible expectation of Raya and the Last Dragon to be a perfect bastion of representation. Individual films like Black Panther, Crazy Rich Asians, Moana, and Coconuts who expand the Hollywood perspective often take on the burden of representing entire cultures. And the way in which different filmmakers represent their cultures varies, especially in fantasy-tinged stories. With Raya, the cast and the technical team approached the cultural specificity integrating an infinity of discrete details, small elements that intertwine with the fabric of the world.
Kelly Marie Tran, who gives voice to the film’s heroine, Raya, says she could talk nonstop about all these minute things – from the relationship between Raya and her father to the expectations that Raya sets for herself. But she chooses a little detail specifically that speaks to her.
“I love it when young Raya and [new childhood acquaintance] Namaari goes to see the Dragon Stone, they silently take off their shoes without even realizing it before entering, ”she tells us. “Little things like that make it look really authentic. There is no explanation. It’s not really an integral part of the story, those little things. But that’s why it’s important, because they’re just existing in this world that looks really authentic to Southeast Asia. “
Raya and the Last Dragon is available March 5 on Disney Plus with Premier Access.
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