When animating DisneyB次元官网网址檚 new film B次元官网网址淩aya and the Last Dragon,B次元官网网址� Vancouver-raised Benson Shum says he honed in on the subtle details to ensure cultural accuracy.

Available in theatres and on Disney Plus with Premier Access on Friday, the epic adventure follows a Southeast Asian-inspired warrior and her pals as they battle an evil force in the fantasy world of Kumandra.

ItB次元官网网址檚 the first Walt Disney Animation Studios film to have a Southeast Asia-inspired setting, and Shum says the filmmakers made research trips and used three expert consultants from the region to make it authentic.

They also brought in professional Southeast Asian martial artists, and spent time with a group Disney called the Raya Southeast Asia Story Trust, which included anthropologists, architects, dancers, linguists and musicians.

B次元官网网址淭hey did a ceremony sort of thing and we sat around and watched what they did, how they sat, how they positioned themselves when they were sitting,B次元官网网址� the Los Angeles-based Shum said of the Story Trust.

The ceremony helped the team add specific details to a scene in which different tribes are sitting together on the floor as RayaB次元官网网址檚 father speaks to them.

B次元官网网址淚 tried to bring in gestures that I thought I would see Asian or Southeast Asian people do, and one thing I learned was that pointing is actually considered rude,B次元官网网址� said Shum, who is of Chinese heritage.

B次元官网网址淪o instead of pointing with a finger, like B次元官网网址榣ook over there,B次元官网网址� we might do a gesture where weB次元官网网址檙e using our whole hand.B次元官网网址�

A scene in which Raya takes off her hat and places it on a cape before entering a temple was also informed by the experts.

B次元官网网址淲e were told from the cultural consultants that you would never place hats on the floor, you would always put it on something else,B次元官网网址� said Shum, who joined Walt Disney Animation Studios as an animator in 2012.

Kelly Marie Tran voices Raya alongside Awkwafina as Sisu, the legendary last dragon in Kumandra, which is broken up into five ancient lands.

Don Hall and Carlos Lopez Estrada directed, while Paul Briggs and John Ripa co-directed. Qui Nguyen and Adele Lim wrote the screenplay.

The story is one of trust and unity as Raya tries to repair fractures in the tribes of the once-harmonious society of humans and dragons.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 just cool to be animating an Asian warrior princess, daughter of a chief,B次元官网网址� Shum said. B次元官网网址淎nd bringing something from myself into the film was really fun.B次元官网网址�

Shum said the part of himself that related to the material was the sense of community and coming together.

B次元官网网址淲e gathered at my grandmaB次元官网网址檚 house every single Sunday growing up,B次元官网网址� said Shum, who has also worked as an animator on films including B次元官网网址淲reck-It Ralph,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淔rozenB次元官网网址� and its sequel, B次元官网网址淏ig Hero 6,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淶ootopiaB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淢oana.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淓ven if there was no event happening, it was just the fact that we were all eating together. And that was something that was really special to me. I didnB次元官网网址檛 necessarily appreciate it when I was younger, but looking back, every week all my cousins, my aunts and uncles were all (together).

B次元官网网址淚t was a big family, and to be able to see that in a film where theyB次元官网网址檙e coming together and theyB次元官网网址檙e eating together and itB次元官网网址檚 a very Asian thing to doB次元官网网址�that was really nice.B次元官网网址�

Shum said there are about seven or eight Canadians working at Walt Disney Animation Studios and the list B次元官网网址渒eeps growing.B次元官网网址�

He and his colleagues are used to sitting next to each other while working, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to create B次元官网网址淩aya and the Last DragonB次元官网网址� remotely from home.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 the first film that weB次元官网网址檝e done fully from home, and it was nice to see it all come together,B次元官网网址� he said.