The First Trailer For Disney’s ‘Mulan’ Remake Trades Songs For Martial Arts Battles
Well, this looks very different indeed.
Over the years, Mulan has slowly evolved to be one of the more popular titles in Disney’s back catalogue.
Beloved for its subversively feminist values, its bold and anthemic songs — ‘I’ll Make A Man Out Of You’ being the favourite, of course — and its clean, impressive animation style, the film is something of a modern classic.
Which is why it’s so interesting that Disney’s new live action remake chucks out pretty much everything that people liked about the original.
Yup, this new take on the story contains no songs, no talking dragons, and very little in the way of comedic relief. Instead, it’s a stone-cold serious martial arts film, based on an ancient legend, that sees a young woman offer herself up to fight an invading force led by a cruel warlord and a witch.
Of course, that means that there will still be some of the elements that audiences will know and love — it wouldn’t be Mulan without a training montage, for instance. But this is a bold strategy. It’ll be interesting to see if it will pay off.
Watch the trailer below and decide for yourself whether the new film will honour a legacy, or besmirch one.
Mulan hits Australian cinemas in March 2020.