Chinese talent behind Disney heroine

Revealing she's responsible for creating effects based on concept art drafts and setting up simulations of natural elements such as water and fire, Tong recalls one of the most challenging parts of the work was to animate the "raindrops", a magical thing created by dragons. When the dragons zoom to fly across the sky, the raindrops emerge under their claws sort of like antigravity pedals to help them move and ascend.

"More than 100 dragons appear in the last epic sequence. I believe most audience will be stunned to see this spectacle," she says.

Tong says the film has made her feel more culturally relatable than her US colleagues.

She says her knowledge of Chinese culture has helped her better understand the designs, citing the example that in most ancient mythologies, celestial beings could summon clouds to stand above them and travel to the heaven palace.

A group interview was held recently online for the Chinese media to hear more behind-the-scene views from the film's major creators.

Vietnamese-American scriptwriter Qui Nguyen says during the interview that they created Raya and her story "kind of the same way that the West built King Arthur's legend and Camelot" through a dramatic re-creation of Irish and English legends.

"But it has been special to build a fantasy that is uniquely our own. So I think all the elements that we're pulling from Southeast Asian cultures were to better enhance that story," he says.

"The characters and the fantasy world came from something that was real. If children love it-even if they are not from Southeast Asia-they could experience the beautiful cultures in Southeast Asia, from the food to the martial arts and the clothing," adds Nguyen.

Because of unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak, nearly all production for the film took place from the homes of more than 450 artists and crew members. In total, more than 900 Disney employees worked remotely contributing to this film.

Speaking about the pandemic impact, director Don Hall says: "We have been making films for nearly 100 years. The technology has obviously changed quite a lot since the 1920s. But the way we make our films is essentially the same. It all starts with a group of creative people in a building together, working very closely."

"We love this story. We have put everything we had into it. Despite it being a massive culture shift for us, we were able to make that transition," says Hall.