Friday, September 04, 2020
Mulan
This is not a sneak preview. This film is currently streaming on Disney+ for $29.99.
Disney has updated their 1998 animated Mulan film with a new live-action version. The House of Mouse has now revamped their children’s princess story to more closely portray China’s legendary woman warrior from its ancient musical records & poems. The story is still about a young maiden disguising herself as a man to spare her aging father from serving in the Imperial Army. This story is steeped in Chinese culture & traditions. The visuals are outstanding from the landscapes to the sets to the costumes. The fight scenes are spectacular. Yifei Liu is amazing as Mulan. Donnie Yen, Jason Scott Lee, Jet Li, Tzi Ma, Rosalind Chao, & Li Gong are among the more familiar names & faces in the talented supporting cast. The film could have benefited from further expanding on some of the other character backgrounds. This is tale about honor, family, serving your country, & not hiding from who you really are. If you were a huge fan of the original Disney feature, you may be disappointed by the lack of those musical song lyrics & omission of that humorous Mushu character. But then, what would be the point of making an exact real life duplicate of the original. The addition of the witch & the Phoenix were nice touches.
Alien gives it 3½ “loyal, brave, & true” stars out of 4.
