Chinese talent behind Disney heroine

Huang's cultural background, with his knowledge of traditional values and the nuance involved in expressing family affection and dinner etiquette, has helped him to obtain a deep understanding of the story.

Disney relishes creating stories inspired from exotic cultures and the studio had arranged two groups of filmmakers to go on research trips throughout Asia-including Laos, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia-in order to experience local cultures.

"Coincidently, I traveled to Thailand a few months before starting to work for the movie. I was very impressed by the 'tuk-tuk' (an auto rickshaw), which has also inspired an important figure in the film," says Huang.

In the movie, Tuk Tuk is a fictional hybrid creature. Raised as a little, adorable pet by Raya, it has grown up to a giant "horse" to transport the princess like a high-speed vehicle which rolls rapidly on bumpy roads.

As a sizable project, the film animates more than 72,000 individual elements, including nearly 19,000 human characters and over 35,700 nonhuman figures, among which are 23,836 fish, according to Disney.

Joyce Tong, the other Chinese animator and the film's effects lead, shares her insight.

"I spent most of my work time just sitting in front of the computer," she says.

"I need to use many Lego bricks (referring to program instructions) to build objects that match the depictions from the directors," says Tong, who comes originally from Hunan province.