Whenever you watch a Disney movie, you can be sure there will be an
Easter egg or 10 hidden within it. It's no surprise, then, that Raya and the Last
Dragon continues this proud tradition, and we're here to help you spot them.
Although Pua the pig is a whole lot cuter, as far as animal sidekicks go,
Heihei the rooster is the creature who accompanies Moana on her adventure in her 2016 movie. Indeed,
the not-so-bright bird winds up traveling with her across the sea after accidentally stowing away on
her boat. He might be dim-witted, but he still manages to get into all sorts of shenanigans.
Alan Tudyk, the actor who provided Heihei's voice,
also voices Raya's pet and steed, Tuk Tuk. Possibly as a nod to Tudyk's previous role,
Heihei shows up very briefly in Talon's busy central marketplace.
Tuk Tuk is Raya's constant and adorable companion and he's also her steed:
We most frequently see him rolling underneath Raya like a living unicycle.
This isn't just a neat idea, though — it's a cultural reference.
Tuk-tuks are a type of vehicle commonly seen in many Southeast Asian countries,
also called an auto rickshaw. They are open-air, have three wheels,
and get their name from the sound they make. Tuk-tuks originated in Japan in the 1930s,
and went on to become popular throughout Southeast Asia. Raya's Tuk Tuk might not be motorized,
but he does make a slightly automotive noise as he rolls along the roads of Kumandra.
As Raya walks through Talon's busy streets, a number of shots reveal a dog that looks somewhat
like a Xoloitzcuintli, also called Xolos, the type of dog portrayed in Disney's Coco. In fact,
this pooch might just be a reference to Miguel's beloved pet, Dante. Though the dog isn't exactly
a visual match, he could also be an Easter egg in reference to Southeast Asian culture.
In keeping with the meticulous design of the film, the Talon dog is most likely to be a
Southeast Asian village dog. Village dogs, which are found throughout Asia, are not
quite domesticated, and they are not purebreds. They are genetically diverse, and thought to
be descendants of the original domesticated dogs of Central Asia from 15,000 years ago.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Lao visual anthropologist Steve Arounsack discussed
several of Raya's cultural details, including what inspired Sisu's design: the legendary Naga.
In Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, Naga are, according to Encyclopedia Britannica,
"[...]a member of a class of mythical semidivine beings, half human and half cobra."
They have the ability to shapeshift and can be good or bad, though they're usually good. They
also live near and in bodies of water. One big difference between the Naga and Raya's dragons,
though, is that Naga have no legs. Design-wise, this would've made it very
hard to depict Sisu holding the magical Dragon Gem, so the design of the dragons was tweaked.
Depictions of Naga appear throughout the lands of Kumandra. This reflects real life:
Naga have been carved into doors, adorned canopy beds, and guarded gates in the form of enormous
statues. Basically, they're revered both in the film and in actual Southeast Asian culture.
Raya's sword, which belonged to her father and which she uses after he is turned to stone,
has a dragon and gem for a hilt. This repeated motif is a depiction of Sisu, the one being who
binds the lands of Kumandra together, even as they drift apart. Additionally, the dragons who
were turned to stone 500 years before the story begins dot the landscape: When passing through
a valley full of the dormant creatures, Namaari and her entourage make sure to show them respect.
But literal depictions of dragons aren't the only way Sisu and her magical siblings are referenced
in Raya and the Last Dragon – water symbols are everywhere in the film. One example is the
raindrop motif on Raya's cape. The dragons' powers over water are a huge part of their magic — there
is no life without water, of course, and rain is a big part of that relationship.
After the Dragon Gem is shattered, the freshly-empowered Druun attack Kumandra
with terrifying strength. It takes Raya six long and arduous years, armed with a potent
shard of the Dragon Gem, to search through all of Kumandra's rivers and eventually find Sisu.
Raya grasps the exhaustive nature of her search as well as the audience does: She
comments on how many tributaries the main river of Kumandra has when looking at a map of her world.
Given that the main inspiration for that key body of water is the real-world Mekong River,
it's no wonder it took her so much time: The Mekong is about 2,700 miles long!
This mighty river flows through and between the Southeast Asian countries of Laos, Thailand,
Myanmar, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The Mekong is also associated with the legendary Naga,
particularly the mysterious phenomenon known as the Naga fireballs. That makes
a Mekong-inspired river the perfect setting for Raya's search for Sisu.
Much of the architecture of Kumandra resembles Cambodia's iconic Angkor Wat temple complex,
especially in Fang. Inspiration taken from the Indonesian rumah gadang style
of house is also evident. Though the term "Southeast Asia'' encompasses
several countries, there are only five in Kumandra, and so the filmmakers drew
inspiration from more than one when developing each land's distinct look.
Consider the gorgeous, chaotic, totally-filled-with-thieves floating market of
Talon. This unique environment draws inspiration from two distinct Southeast Asian settings: The
Vietnamese water markets of the Mekong River, and the luminous night markets of Thailand and Laos.
Such blended cultural details are also apparent in the types of weapons each land prefers,
the type of clothing everyone wears, and even people's jewelry. Raya, for example,
wears something very reminiscent of the Filipino salakot. This combination of
various Southeast Asian cultures allows for more of them to be showcased in the film,
while firmly establishing the fictional style of each land.
Throughout most of Raya and the Last Dragon, the audience sees Raya as the good princess
and Namaari as the bad one — though of course, the film's climax reveals they have far more
in common than they think. One thing that is very different, though, is their approach to fighting.
When we first meet Raya, she is trying to get into the temple in Heart that houses the Dragon Gem.
In order to open a secret stone doorway, she pulls out two bamboo sticks and puts them
in holes in the stone to turn and unlock it. Those sticks are used in the Filipino
martial arts form Arnis, which is also known as Kali and Eskrima. Arnis is mainly defensive
and involves fighting with sticks, swords, and daggers. It is a combination of various
fighting forms developed over thousands of years. Raya also uses Pencak silat,
which combines the art of movement, self-defense, physicality, and spirituality. Furthermore,
Chief Benja's sword, which Raya wields after her father is turned to stone, is an Indonesian kris,
which has a wavy blade and is considered to be a spiritual object as well as a weapon.
In contrast, Namaari uses Muay Thai and Krabi krabong. Muay Thai is somewhat similar to boxing,
while Krabi krabong uses weapons. Both fighting styles originated in Thailand.
As Raya, Sisu, and their friends travel across Kumandra, Sisu frequently suggests giving gifts
as a way of getting their merry band into the good graces of the people they're visiting. The giving
of gifts is tradition in all of Asia, but there are different customs in different countries.
Another important cultural norm is the use of a hand gesture to greet others.
This is given a twist in Kumandra, as the characters make a gem shape
with their hands when meeting each other. As Steve Arounsack told The Hollywood Reporter,
"That's a creative take on the common greetings you'll see in the entire
[Southeast Asian] region, where you have clasped hands. It's called a nop in Lao
and a wai in Thai, but it's the same theme of bringing your hands together."
In Kumandra, the height of the gesture indicates the amount of respect given:
Sisu receives the highest greetings of all, even from Noi and her mischievous pack of Ongis.
After Raya and Sisu meet 12-year-old Boun, he winds up going with them on their quest
for the remaining pieces of the Dragon Gem. This allows the party to travel aboard his boat — or
as he calls it, his "Shrimporium." Boun ferries them from land to land along Kumandra's river,
but he doesn't do it for free — Raya has to offer him some of her jade as payment. As they travel,
things become increasingly perilous for the gang.
Ferrymen frequently function as symbols in literature and myth. Consider Charon,
a figure from Greek mythology who ferries the dead across the River Styx to Hades — a
dangerous journey on a good day. The dead need to give Charon one coin as fare for safe passage,
much like Raya has to bribe Boun with jade. Likewise, at the climax of the film, all the
characters except Namaari wind up turned to stone, a form of death that is undone once Namaari is
able to put the Dragon Gem back together and defeat the Druun. The Gem is used as a form
of payment — albeit, one that brings the dead back over the border to the land of the living.
Savvy Disney fans know that the studio loves hiding Mickeys all over the place. There are,
in fact, multiple books and websites dedicated to finding every "hidden Mickey"
possible. A hidden Mickey isn't an actual drawing of Mickey Mouse placed somewhere,
as in a Where's Waldo? puzzle, however. It's a simple representation of Mickey's
head — one larger circle with two smaller circles on it.
In a recent interview with Malaysian website Says, directors Don Hall and Carlos López
Estrada stated that there are hidden Mickeys in the land of Talon, including
"tiny little" ones. If we're correct about one of those "tiny little" ones,
then the three-dotted patterns on Talon chief Dang Hu's hat certainly count.
Other possible hidden Mickeys can be seen to the right of the kitchen
Raya and her father enter early in the film, and on the larger of Raya's leather arm bands.
It's not a huge secret that Disney sometimes recycles animation in its film. But sometimes,
a scene is less recycled than it is deliberately echoing another Disney property. In this case,
the shipwreck scene in Raya and the Last Dragon echoes the one in Frozen II.
In Frozen II, Anna and Elsa find a shipwreck which turns out to be the ship on which their
parents perished. In what might be a wry nod to that scene, when Raya and Tuk Tuk
come to the end of their search for Sisu, they find a wrecked ship. Raya comments,
"Six years of searching and we end up at a literal shipwreck." Is the film making fun
of Anna and Elsa's sad discovery? Probably not. But pointing out such a similar scene,
even though it has a different outcome, is no doubt a wink to the Easter egg-savvy Disney fan.
The Hollywood Reporter quoted director Don Hall as saying that some of Raya's
"swagger" is pulled from Guardians of the Galaxy's Star-Lord.
"Who?"
"Star-Lord. Legendary outlaw? C'mon."
That's definitely not the only movie Raya references.
When Tong decides to throw in his lot with Raya and Sisu, he says,
"I wish to join this fellowship of buttkickery."
We're counting this as a shout-out to another fantasy epic, The Lord of the Rings:
The Fellowship of the Ring. Raya even wears her childhood hair ring on a necklace,
after all, just like Frodo does with the One Ring!
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