As one Disney remake concludes its promotional campaign, another one begins.
For some context, Mulan is one of the films that defines my childhood. It is, as well as The Lion King and Pocahontas, my favourite animated Disney film of all time, and I am one of the rare individuals that actually does want all of these animated classics to be made into live action, so while Mulan is very sacred to me, it is impossible to deny its potential as an extremely powerful and stunning Chinese war epic.
In recent weeks, there has been some controversy with regards to whether this 2020 adaptation of Mulan is going to feature music or see the return of Eddie Murphy's Mushu, and while I am not overly fussed about Mushu for the purpose of maintaining a serious tone, before watching this trailer, I have felt that the inclusion of musical numbers from the original is absolutely vital, since I think the soundtrack is among, if not the very best Disney soundtrack. I'll Make A Man Out Of You could be one of the most epic sequences ever put to film, but it seems that this remake will pay homage to the original, but is going to commit to the epic tone, and therefore musical numbers could feel somewhat out of place, and upon watching the trailer, I understand.
This trailer is stunning, nuanced, chilling, and epic, and while I do question consistencies with certain points in the story when comparing to the original (for example, she is clearly not disguised as a man when the avalanche happens), when I look past those queries, its everything I could want. The shots of battle look riveting and the shots of Mulan in battle even moreso, which are powerful and, again, subtle. I am already in love with the performance by Yifei Liu, because, she is 'quiet', 'graceful' and 'composed' - she only has two lines and they are silently powerful, as is every other shot of her in the trailer. So far, she is perfect.
Based on the universal reaction to this trailer and the statistics attached to it, Mulan has seriously strong potential, critically and commercially. There is very premature conversation that Disney may push this heavily when awards season comes around, and naturally, where box office is concerned, this, if received well, may become one of the highest-grossing films of all time, thanks to the popularity of the animated classic in the United States and the significance the Ballad of Mulan has to Chinese culture, and the United States and China being the two biggest movie markets in the world. It has all the tools to be a cultural moment (like Black Panther) and a historic success. I am won over. It looks like the team behind the live action Mulan film has brought honour to us all.
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