See How Disney’s Newest Sidekick Character Came to Be!

By Brooke Izzo Leave a Comment

Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon has taken off since its release on March 5th on Disney+ and in theaters! We have fallen in love with these characters, especially Raya’s iconic sidekick.

Raya and the Last Dragon Sand Sculpture

Disney is notorious for having some of the best sidekicks. We have seen Dante from Coco, Olaf from Frozen, and Hei Hei from Moana. Most recently we were given Tuk Tuk from Raya and the Last Dragon, and now we’re looking at how this lovable character was created!

Tuk Tuk is made up of three different parts — part-pill bug, part-pug, and part-armadillo. Through the concepts, you will see different characteristics from these three parts start to come through! Tuk Tuk didn’t start out as cute as we see him now. Thanks to a post on Disney’s Twitter, we can see the first concept drawing! As you can tell, it looks pretty different from the character we see in the movie.

Bringing color to Tuk Tuk in this concept drawing gets closer to the Tuk Tuk we are familiar with, but is still very different. Also, we can’t imagine him rolling around with super-speed here. It looks like this Tuk Tuk would move pretty slow!

In this concept drawing the long tail is gone! We start to see more of the pill bug-type shell and pug cuteness come through in his face. Raya still doesn’t seem as thrilled with this Tuk Tuk. Maybe it’s the ears…?

This last concept brought softness to Tuk Tuk’s face. They also brought more brown tones and got rid of the gray. In this particular concept drawing, he looks a little like a worm but we just want to curl right up with this Tuk Tuk!

And Voilà! The Tuk Tuk we know and love is created with a shell fit to transport a warrior!

Raya couldn’t ask for a better sidekick! We think Disney animators did an awesome job in creating Tuk Tuk for Raya and the Last Dragon! He is too cute, and although Tuk Tuk may not be a lead character, he steals the show! We’ll keep you updated on more behind-the-scenes bits with Disney!

Try this adorable Tuk Tuk snack in Disney’s Animal Kingdom!

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Who is your favorite Disney sidekick? Let us know in the comments!