Mulan – Aaron Sarnecky
Generally, I don’t think popular movies need remakes. But if I were to remake a Disney movie on a whim, I would remake Mulan. First off, this is not saying there was a problem with the cartoon version, because there wasn’t. It was great, though perhaps underrated and forgotten by those who weren’t around when it came out, unlike The Lion King or Beauty and the Beast.
However, my interest in a live action adaptation is not centered on reclaiming prestige or reminding people why the original was good. In fact, I would like to see the remake diverge from the cartoon. Or rather, stay truer to the source material. The animated version threw in a supernatural element with the character of Mushu. While Eddie Murphy played him excellently, Mushu is not present in the original Chinese poem.
In the live action remake, Mulan would simply be a daughter taking her ill father’s place in the Chinese army. And since it would be about warfare in a realistic setting, don’t expect it to be anything but PG-13. I normally dislike gritty reboots of children’s stories, but to reiterate, this is more of a retelling of the poem, not the cartoon. There are a lot of interesting things that could be done, like shooting the battle sequences with IMAX film. As far as I know, we haven’t had a war epic like this shot in the format. Just imagine the battle in the mountains. Think of how amazing the avalanche would look.
The movie could retain some plot elements of the animated feature. For example, Mulan could have a love interest in the army, like she did in the cartoon. And Mulan would definitely still struggle maintaining her secret identity. The movie could also keep the Hun leader, Shan-Yu. Or just even his falcon. The falcon was awesome.
Now, what are the chances of this movie getting made? Very slim. In fact, I doubt Disney would find the idea all that appealing. Another studio would be more likely to make it. But I can dream, can’t I? After all, that’s what Disney is all about.
https://youtu.be/00BZSEWFhTo
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