DVDizzy Forum

UmbrellaFish wrote:Disney’s Mulan for people who don’t like Disney’s Mulan.

Sotiris wrote:The delivery of the Emperor's line was particularly bad.

Sotiris wrote:It seems the film will focus on the relationship between Mulan and the Witch which is an interesting approach. They have more scenes together than I expected.

farerb wrote:"people like us"? What does she mean?

D82 wrote:It seems this Emperor is going to be more like the characters Jet Li usually plays and less like the calm and wise ruler of the original.

D82 wrote:Maybe the witch is the real villain after all and Böri Khan is just someone she uses to achieve what she wants, instead of the other way around.

farerb wrote:"people like us"? What does she mean?

nomad2010 wrote:I feel like some of that beautiful drama is getting lost. And I’m sure there will be some, but I’m worried this is going to go like the Pacific Rim sequel did and stay all during the day and lack the dramatic visuals the original did.

Sotiris wrote:

D82 wrote:Maybe the witch is the real villain after all and Böri Khan is just someone she uses to achieve what she wants, instead of the other way around.

If this were a WDAS or Pixar movie, I'd be more inclined to believe they'd pull a twist like that, but it seems they're trying to make the Witch sympathetic by having her relate to Mulan through their common experiences as non-conforming women in a patriarchal society. That's evident when Khan calls Mulan a girl, she corrects him and calls her a warrior. So, I think they'll probably go for the sisterhood angle and eventually have the Witch join Mulan. But it's also possible, she'll be revealed as the mastermind behind Khan who'd been manipulating him the entire time in order to showcase how cunning, smart, and effective women can be in positions of power. We'll see.

So, it goes without saying that a lot of people here in Indonesia are excited for the live-action “Mulan.” Fans of the original animated movie are obviously familiar with the story and most have an idea what to expect from the trailers. How would you describe 2020’s “Mulan,” though?
This 2020 “Mulan” live adaptation will be a very special viewing experience. From what I saw and absorbed on set, it will feel more epic and dramatic in tone, wight light, fun moments on one end while pulling our heartstrings on the other. I think audiences will appreciate the story arc and stunning visuals and that it’s not a shot for shot remake.

What was the most enjoyable part of being part of this movie for you?
Well, aside from working on a timeless Disney classic, just being on set you can feel the passion and the focused energy from both cast and crew. We all became a family on a mission and it was a very special journey which was led by our director, Niki Caro. Niki was our Mulan behind camera. She led by action and you felt the love and support for her vision from producers Jason Reed, Liz Tan, Barry Osborne and our great DP [Director of Photography] Mandy Walker. From training to rehearsals to filming, Niki set up a world for all of us to bond so our characters could thrive and do our thing.

On the flip side, were there any aspects of working on “Mulan” that surprised you or became a bit of a challenge?
For me, personally, I enjoyed all aspects of “Mulan.” Training was hard but we all loved it. Niki had her trainer Bojan—ex Serbian special forces—kick our butts into shape in Boot Camp. The cast as a whole bonded because of it. When you know that your director, producer and DP and other department heads were training at 4 to 5AM every day, you better give it all you got. That, along with working with a great stunt team, horse trainers, dialect coaches to our incredible costumes, Niki created an environment for all of us to easily transition into our characters.

The new “Mulan,” we think, faces a unique double challenge: A lot of people want it to be faithful to the 1998 animated film and it also needs to be respectful of the original folklore. Do you think that “Mulan” manages to do this?
Absolutely … which is why I think this version is so special. I think the direction that Niki and Disney went in will satisfy true “Mulan” fans while also paying tribute to the original folklore. Look, I know fans were upset when news first broke out that there was no Mushu or singing, but it’s nice to see after the official trailer came out, that those same critics are jumping aboard for the ride. As you can surmise from the trailer, an Eddie Murphy Mushu wouldn’t fit in this version. The tone is different. In my opinion, this version is more grounded in reality, which in turn will make it even more heartfelt than the animation. Niki and the writing team did an incredible job in making this version honest and heartfelt … you’ll see.

All in all, what do you think will audiences around the world take away from the movie?
Family; empowering yourself to do the right thing; anything is possible when you put your heart and mind into it.

D82 wrote:The images come from the two books in the following video. I haven't read the text or watched the entire video, but I'm sure it does contain MAJOR SPOILERS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHDYnWT ... =emb_title

Sotiris wrote:This is truly a Disney remake. All the same story beats from the original are there, just made worse!

Sotiris wrote:The acting of Mulan's father is really poor. There's no feeling in his words. He's just reading lines. Nothing like the emotive performance of Soon-Tek Oh.

Sotiris wrote:

D82 wrote:The images come from the two books in the following video. I haven't read the text or watched the entire video, but I'm sure it does contain MAJOR SPOILERS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHDYnWT ... =emb_title

Thanks for sharing! This is truly a Disney remake. All the same story beats from the original are there, just made worse! Even the climax is underwhelming. I'm surprised by how little impact the Witch actually has. Her importance was overblown in the trailers.

D82 wrote:Significantly, “Mulan” was not made as an official U.S.-China co-production. While a co-production might have offered the studio a greater share of the China box office revenue, the complications of working in China can outweigh the benefits. Among those is the requirement that an overseas release cannot precede the Chinese release.

D82 wrote:"For instance, we picked a location for the battlefield that was very mono-tonal, so that the red of her costume would be what your eye goes to straight away."

D82 wrote:"Mulan has this power — we call it Qi [or ch'i]," Walker said. Qi is a force that forms a part of any living entity, and can also be translated as "air" or "energy flow," and is also tied to martial arts. "It's her special power, which means she is actually an elite warrior. She realizes she has this power during her training, and then she becomes one of the elite warriors."

D82 wrote:Speaking of Mulan's father, here's an interview with Tzi Ma where he talks about Mulan. He explains how he got the role at this point of the interview, and here he speaks about the differences between the original film and the remake.

nomad2010 wrote:I had a feeling this was the case because we hadn’t seen any night scenes or fireworks or anything even slightly climactic looking for a finale. But I really can’t believe just how bad and boring this sounds. This character deserved so much better. Especially since they cut the music and changed so much. I was hoping it meant a bigger, more epic-scales feature but that doesn’t seem to be the case. In fact it seems the opposite.