When thinking back to 1998 animated feature Mulan, most people remember Eddie Murphy’s Mushu, the voice work of Ming‑Na Wen and the film’s amazing score. Sadly, none of those three are present in Disney’s first trailer for the live-action remake of Mulan.
We’ve had The Jungle Book, Aladdin, The Lion King is just around the corner and now Mulan is here too. It seems Disney has found success with their live-action remakes/reboots and they show no sign of slowing down.
Here, The Forbidden Kingdom‘s Yifei Liu takes over duties as the lead, who was originally voiced by Ming-Na Wen. There’s also no dragon and there are rumours that the soundtrack has been altered too. Don’t expect to hear any of the cast singing. The music has been changed to instrumentals instead.
In fact, if you didn’t know any better, the new film could easily be mistaken for the Oscar-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
When the Emperor of China issues a decree that one man per family must serve in the Imperial Army to defend the country from Northern invaders, Hua Mulan, the eldest daughter of an honoured warrior, steps in to take the place of her ailing father. Masquerading as a man, Hua Jun, she is tested every step of the way and must harness her inner-strength and embrace her true potential. It is an epic journey that will transform her into an honoured warrior and earn her the respect of a grateful nation…and a proud father.
The film is directed by Niki Caro and stars Donnie Yen, Jason Scott Lee, Yoson An, Gong Li, and Jet Li.
