Mulan
Jun Yu - Cricket
Screenplay - Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Elizabeth Martin and Lauren Hynek
Release Date: 4th September 2020 - Australia (Disney+)
Production Companies
Walt Disney Pictures
Jason T. Reed Productions
Good Fear Content
China Film Group Corporation (CFGC)
Distribution
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Australia
Genre: Action/Drama
Rating: M
Runtime: 115 minutes
Budget: $200,000,000
Box Office Gross: $69,965,374 (Worldwide)
Plot Summary
To save her ailing father from the horrors of war, a young Chinese maiden named Mulan masquerades herself as a male soldier named Hau Jun and takes his place in the Imperial Army. After rigorous training, the courageous Mulan sets out her goal of proving herself as a warrior when China is in great danger from the Northern Invaders led by Bori Khan.
Cast
Yifei Lui - Mulan
Donnie Yen - Commander Tung
Gong Li - Xianniang
Jet Li - Emperor
Jason Scott Lee - Bori Khan
Yoson An - Honghui
Tzi Ma - Zhou
Rosalind Chao - Li
Pei-Pei Cheng - Matchmaker
Xana Tang - Xiu
Ron Yuan - Sergeant Qiang
Chen Tang - Yao
Doua Moua - Po
Jimmy Wong - Ling
Crystal Rao - Young Mulan
Elena Askin - Young Xiu
Vincent Feng - Longwei
Ming-Na Wen - Esteemed Guest (Cameo)
Crew
Director - Niki Caro
Executive Producers - Tim Coddington, Mario Iscovich, William Kong and Barrie M. Osborne
Producers - Chris Bender,
Jason Reed and Jake Weiner
Co-Producer/Visual Effects Producer - Diana Giorgiutti
Co-Producer/First Assistant Director - Liz Tan
Casting Director - Debra Zane
Production Designer - Grant Major
Supervising Art Director - Ian Gracie
Art Directors - Damien Drew, Mark Robins
and Jill Cormack
Art Director: US/Supervising Art Director:
Additional Photography - Thomas P. Wilkins
Art Director: US Jason T. Clark
Art Director: China - Calvin Tsoi
Standby Art Director - George Hamilton
Set Decorators - Amber Richards and
Anne Kuljian
Property Master: Additional Photography -
Kris Peck
Creative Supervisor: Weta Workshop -
Richard Taylor
Head of Manufacture: Weta Workshop -
Rob Gillies
Weapons Master - Joe Dunckley
Costume Designer - Bina Daigeler
Hair, Makeup & Prosthetics Designer - Denise Kum
Hair & Makeup Department Supervisor -
Rick Findlater
Director of Photography - Mandy Walker
Second Unit Director - John Mahaffie
Stunt Coordinator - Benjamin Cooke
Stunt Coordinator: Additional Photography -
Scott Rogers
Fight Coordinator - Nuo Sun
Stunt Fight Coordinators: Additional Photography -
Heidi Moneymaker and Shane Yan
Special Effects Supervisor - Steve Ingram
Special Effects Off Set Coordinator - Karl Chisholm
Senior Visual Effects Supervisor: Weta Digital -
Joe Letteri
Visual Effects Supervisor - Sean Andrew Faden
Visual Effects Supervisor: Weta Digital -
Anders Langlands
Visual Effects Supervisor: Framestore -
Hubert Maston
Visual Effects Executive Producer: Image
Engine - Shawn Walsh
Previsualization Supervisor - Rpin Suwannath
Film Editor - David Coulson
Additional Editors - Paul Rubell
and Lisa Lassek
Supervising Sound Editor - Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
Supervising Sound Editor/Sound Designer -
Kyrsten Mate
Sound Re-Recording Mixers - Anna Behlmer
and Terry Porter
Foley Artists - John Roesch and
Shelley Roden
Music - Harry Gregson-Williams
Score Recordist & Mixer - Alan Meyerson
Review
The remake of MULAN has been delayed indefinitely many times due to the COVID-19 scare. Thankfully, it made its way into the streaming service of Disney+ and some international theatres that have shown it on the big screen. After watching the film, I wasn't aware of the negative comments about the remake. Chinese moviegoers weren't happy with this film. While I don't mind the songs and the dragon character, Mushu, which were excluded from the new interpretation as it opted for a realistic and darker tone. Although, a phoenix character took over Mushu's stead as Mulan's guardian and didn't do much. Gone is the empowering message, and a few scenes from the original film are nowhere in the remake. What is also missing is Shang, the eponymous heroine's love interest.
The cultural elements of the movie have been poorly handled, especially with the word "chi", which is not a magical power. I was also disappointed by some aspects, such as the bland characterisation, poorly choreographed action, redundant fantasy elements and overproduced visuals, which lessened its impact. Some acting is wooden, with actors like Yifei Lui not taking their roles seriously. However, there are good performances from a few other actors, like Gong Li and Jet Li. The scenery and landscapes are impressive in the movie. These locations shot in MULAN are partially from New Zealand. It so happens that the film's director, Niko Caro, was born in that country. Unfortunately, these saving graces are not enough to keep MULAN from dishonour.
It isn't the first Disney live-action remake that has tried to disappoint me. I'm glad this isn't a carbon copy of the original movie, which thankfully isn't like The Lion King. At least MULAN manages to retell the same plot. I'd always hoped this film would be like the 2009 version, Rise of a Warrior, in realism and respect for its cultural heritage. I was wrong. It was, at best, a lacklustre remake that failed to impress me or even fans of the original.
Star rating: (5/10) Average
