Mulan was one of my favorite Disney movies about a princess, second only to Beauty and the Beast. What drew me to Mulan, was the way she was able to capture the message of being strong and independent while still being feminine. So I was really excited when I heard a live-action Mulan was being made.
When you hear live-action, most people assume that it's the same movie being filmed just with actors/actresses instead of animation. Of course, there might be some small changes with the story details along the way to make it more interesting for those who have seen the animated version thousands of times. That's to be expected though and it so far it has seemed to work. Just look at some of the live-action movies that have been or will be released. Beauty and the Beast, The Jungle Book, Aladdin, and The Lion King are all classics of Disney that have been met with high praise upon their release or upcoming release in LK's case.
However, I don't believe I'll be going to see this new remake of one of my favorite movies ever, Mulan. As I said, some changes were to be expected, but Disney might have gone too far this time. Director Nick Caro revealed back in 2017 that the remake was going to be a "girly martial arts" movie rather than a musical. That statement seems to still be holding true today.
It's seems Disney is trying to stick closer to the source material for this remake which would be the poem that tells the tale of "Ha Mulan." It also seems they are trying to appeal to China as their main audience instead of the U.S., which isn't necessarily a bad thing. This is due to the fact that Disney was heavily criticized for its original version. However, instead of trying to find a middle ground between the original poem and Disney's version like one would expect, they have cut out most of everything from the original Disney version.
With this version of Mulan they have take away what made the animated version so amazing in the first place. The romance centered around Mulan and Shang mixed with the comedy of Mushu are what made this movie so iconic. Not to mention having some of the most memorable songs out of the Disney movies which no small feat for a Disney musical. The way things seem to be going, one of the best Disney animated movies is going to be a huge flop when it hits the box-office.
Now of course everyone may not agree and some see this as a huge improvement on the “original" saying the songs aren't that iconic and Mushu is not very important to the story. Well I would say to them that they are wrong. Shang and Mulan's relationship grew because of their desire to do everything they could for their fathers. Without Mushu, Mulan doesn't have anyone to guide her or motivate her to not give up. Removing Mushu from Mulan is the equivalent of Aladdin without the Genie or The Lion King without Rafiki, it just doesn't work.
At least we have the two animated versions to lift our spirits and look back on. Unfortunately it seems that Fa Mulan was not “a girl worth fighting for" in Disney's eyes.
