In many ways, the answer is yes, this movie is based on Southeast Asian culture and tradition, which tends to include dragons as powerful and magical beings. The Naga appears in many Southeast Asian cultures as semi-divine creatures that can take the form of humans or serpents. The Naga appears in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism and is believed to have lived in the Mekong river, which flows through Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam and is one of the world's most diversely populated fisheries. This may have helped sprout the idea of water dragons living in the river. "The Naga are protectors of the water realm. Whenever we go to temples or anything that relates to water, you're going to see symbols of the Naga as a protector," says anthropologist Steve Arounsack.