Mulan (Live-Action)

[nomad2010]

I’m just trying to figure out where the budget for this went. Now that we’ve seen the book, and we know the basic plot points, where did the spend that astronomical of an amount of money on this? Because the budget was almost 300 million. And that’s not considering the reshoots that we’re done that we’re more extensive than budgeted. Nothing about this looks like it cost much, let alone could ever push to that high of a budget. This should’ve been gorgeous and elaborate and the scale unprecedented. But there’s so little to even look at.

[estefan]

And that’s not considering the reshoots that we’re done that we’re more extensive than budgeted.

I don't think those rumoured months-long reshoots ever happened.

[Sotiris]

I’m just trying to figure out where the budget for this went. Now that we’ve seen the book, and we know the basic plot points, where did the spend that astronomical of an amount of money on this? Because the budget was almost 300 million. Nothing about this looks like it cost much, let alone could ever push to that high of a budget. This should’ve been gorgeous and elaborate and the scale unprecedented. But there’s so little to even look at.

Money can't buy taste. A tentpole movie can be really expensive but that doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be visually appealing. Disney remakes and Marvel movies are a testament to that. I'm sure the reports of a bloated budget are accurate. I can see where the money went to, more or less. There are many and elaborate set pieces, filming locations in multiple countries, intricate costumes and props, CG for the phoenix, and tons of extras. But you're right in that it looks cheaper than its reported budget. If I hadn't known the amount, I would have placed it around 180-200 million based on the footage we've seen.

[Sotiris]

This confirms that an instrumental version of Reflection will be played in the movie probably during Mulan's decision like the director was hinting at.

“I’ve been involved with the new film. I don’t know how much I can talk about it just at this moment. I can tell you that there are there’s a new version of Reflection, and that song thematically plays a large part in the new movie throughout the score,” he enthused. “The film is not song-driven, but my music is present. I guess that’s as much as I can probably reveal at this moment, but the movie’s right around the corner. The film comes out at the end of March. I haven’t seen the whole film, just the parts that required my services. I’m excited to see it.”

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonthomp ... an-remake/

He’s also involved with the upcoming live-action Mulan remake which, according to Wilder, prominently features “Reflection” and quotes a few other songs in the score elsewhere.

Source: https://www.billboard.com/articles/colu ... ew-tik-tok

Q: What have you been focused on? What’s next for you?

Matthew Wilder: Mulan 2020 is also due to be released on March 27, and some of my music from the original is incorporated in the new version.

Source: https://www.culturesonar.com/catching-u ... is-stride/

[Disney's Divinity]

I’m just trying to figure out where the budget for this went. Now that we’ve seen the book, and we know the basic plot points, where did the spend that astronomical of an amount of money on this? Because the budget was almost 300 million.

Good point. In my uproar over the story/soundtrack changes, I haven't spent much time on the fact that this isn't living up to the flashy action film I had expected either.

[DisneyFan97]

If i am honest i am both really anyooed by and very much discaprov of hollywood make so much business with China condsering who the country is run and how the people are treated, I think Hollyweood shouldn't make deals witth a goverment like THAT !

[D82]

Here's another look at the phoenix from a limited edition Mulan doll:


Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/B8jyAfFBQms/


Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/B8YRGi1gOY3/

This confirms that an instrumental version of Reflection will be played in the movie probably during Mulan's decision like the director was hinting at.

That was the song that was most likely to be the chosen one. I guess the scene where it will be used is the one you say too.

Promotional gifs.

The 'Mulan' Live-Action Film Pays Homage To The 1998 Classic In These Exclusive Cinemagraphs
https://www.bustle.com/p/the-mulan-live ... s-21795330

They've made motion posters before, but I think this is the first time they do it with stills, right? I especially like the still with the window and the one of Mulan's refection in the water.

"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."

Source: https://www.insider.com/cinematographer ... nts-2020-2

I don't like that they're giving Mulan a sort of supernatural power. It takes away from her accomplishments. Not to mention, that's not how Qi works in Chinese culture. Everyone has Qi, it's not something given to select "special" people, and it doesn't make you good at martial arts. In certain martial arts like Kung Fu it's believed that when Qi is harnessed and controlled by the practitioner, it can be applied to battle. But it's not like magic that makes you super good at it if you possess it.

That's how I thought Qi worked too. Let's hope it's just the cinematographer who is confused or doesn't know how to explain it and the film gets it right.

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.

Some of the things he said don't apply. He must not have watched the original or not remember it well. Like him saying the live-action Mulan is not influenced by the love interest as she was in the original. Mulan's choices in the animated film were never influenced by Shang. If anything, the opposite is true. When he told her to go home and leave the camp, she didn't listen to him and persevered. She also disobeyed him up in the mountains and carried on with her plan to defeate the Hun army.

I agree. I didn't like when he said that either. I guess it's like you say and he either hasn't watched the original or doesn't remember it well.

[Sotiris]

They've made motion posters before, but I think this is the first time they do it with stills, right? I especially like the still with the window and the one of Mulan's refection in the water.

Yes, it's the first time they're doing motion stills. Those two are my favorite as well.

[Sotiris]

This makes no sense for the character. Just because the actor portraying him is a martial artist, doesn't mean they had to make the Emperor a fighter.

Mulan producer Jason Reed teases Jet Li fight scenes: "Jet Li is one of the greatest wushu masters of all time. The Emperor does not just sit on the throne and read scrolls in our movie."

Source: https://twitter.com/getFANDOM/status/12 ... 5281082368

[Sotiris]

New still.


Source: https://www.empireonline.com/movies/new ... ive-image/

“I wanted to thoroughly explore this girl,” Caro tells Empire in the upcoming The Mandalorian issue. “Because I needed a warrior, and I needed a partner. So she did this gruelling audition and then we sent her straight to the physical trainer to do an equally gruelling physical assessment. Weights, push-ups, pull-ups, everything. She was brilliant in the dramatic part of the audition, and in the physical part she never stopped, never faulted. I knew at the end of that day that I’d found my warrior.” It was an ethos that extended beyond the audition process and into production. “She set the bar so high on set. She was so much tougher than any of the boys surrounding her. They were terrified of her strength.”

Source: https://www.empireonline.com/movies/new ... ive-image/

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Looks like the movie is going to be released at the worst possible time in China:

https://futurism.com/mulan-disney-china ... virus-flop

Disney’s Live-Action “Mulan” Could Flop in China Due to Virus Outbreak

According to the Hollywood Reporter, nearly 70,000 movie theaters have shuttered last month, including some of the country’s leading cinema chains, leaving a massive $1 billion dent in ticket sales revenue. Even Disney’s theme parks in Shanghai and Hong Kong closed their doors.

[D82]

This makes no sense for the character. Just because the actor portraying him is a martial artist, doesn't mean they had to make the Emperor a fighter.

Mulan producer Jason Reed teases Jet Li fight scenes: "Jet Li is one of the greatest wushu masters of all time. The Emperor does not just sit on the throne and read scrolls in our movie."

Source: https://twitter.com/getFANDOM/status/12 ... 5281082368

The last trailer already gave the impression they were doing that with the character. We'll see, but it doesn't seem the best decision.

[Sotiris]

Mulan is the first remake to receive a PG-13 rating.

Mulan is rated PG-13 for sequences of violence.

Source: https://twitter.com/stitchkingdom/statu ... 8084197377

[Sotiris]

The last trailer already gave the impression they were doing that with the character. We'll see, but it doesn't seem the best decision.

The last trailer made him seem more cruel, vicious or even blood-thirsty, but it never occurred to me they'd actually turn him into a warrior. This is hands down the weirdest and most out-of-place character change they've made so far.

[JeanGreyForever]

Some of the things he said don't apply. He must not have watched the original or not remember it well. Like him saying the live-action Mulan is not influenced by the love interest as she was in the original. Mulan's choices in the animated film were never influenced by Shang. If anything, the opposite is true. When he told her to go home and leave the camp, she didn't listen to him and persevered. She also disobeyed him up in the mountains and carried on with her plan to defeate the Hun army.

I agree. I didn't like when he said that either. I guess it's like you say and he either hasn't watched the original or doesn't remember it well.

This sounds like the typical revisionist spiel we get for every remake, about how outdated and regressive the animated film was and how the remake improves on that even though most of the criticisms aren't even valid and don't hold even a semblance of truth.

[Tristy]

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.

Some of the things he said don't apply. He must not have watched the original or not remember it well. Like him saying the live-action Mulan is not influenced by the love interest as she was in the original. Mulan's choices in the animated film were never influenced by Shang. If anything, the opposite is true. When he told her to go home and leave the camp, she didn't listen to him and persevered. She also disobeyed him up in the mountains and carried on with her plan to defeate the Hun army.

*Sigh* Same damn thing every time when someone speaks about a remake of at least one of the films that has a heroine involved. Look. I'm not saying that they should like the films or even be humongous fans, but would it really hurt for them to at least say either "It's been a while since I saw the movie", "I haven't seen the movie at all." or perhaps "Sorry dude. I don't watch cartoons."

[blackcauldron85]

Can they not postpone the release in China; are they locked into their advertising so they can't? That sucks that so many theaters are closed when this releases.

[Disney's Divinity]

I didn't read the interview, but Mulan is one of the few heroines where there isn't really a problem. The worst you could say is that all her actions are ultimately fueled by a man (her father). She doesn't have the issues Jasmine or Ariel do. She defeats her own villain and solves her own problems rather than depending on someone else to do it for her.

I don't consider the additions to B&tB to be a correction so much as an expansion. Having the village hate Belle in part because she's an educated woman seems like a natural progression to me, and that she might try to help other women learn to read also felt organic. *shrug*

[Farerb]

I don't consider the additions to B&tB to be a correction so much as an expansion. Having the village hate Belle in part because she's an educated woman seems like a natural progression to me, and that she might try to help other women learn to read also felt organic. *shrug*

Women reading at that time wasn't something that was frowned upon. The original Beauty and the Beast was published in a magazine for women.

Maybe that wasn't their critique on Belle, but "Belle not feminist enough" came when they decided to have her not show any emotion when she departs with her father or not have her cry when she loses her freedom. Instead she tries to escape and lie about it afterwards. Also they critique her love for romance or fantasy literature by having the Beast acting like a douchebag and dissing her literature tase. His gesture of giving her the library was turned into him showing off about how much he has read.

[Disney's Divinity]

Women reading at that time wasn't something that was frowned upon. The original Beauty and the Beast was published in a magazine for women.

Disney movies are not historically accurate. Most viewers accept this as true because these are the things that have happened in years past at some point. I couldn't tell you when B&tB is set--or where--and, to be completely truthful, I don't care either. It's a movie. Unless it had a car driving down the street, I wouldn't care if an outfit or hairstyle or expression is not appropriate to the time.

Beast sneering at her liking romance was more of a "Boys don't like girl stuff" joke more than anything else. The rest is much ado about nothing for me.