By Monique
Sometimes, Disney underwhelms me, what with the lackluster Alice in Wonderland live-action Tim Burton movie (which gave us the eye-searing sequence of Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter break dancing for no DOGGONE reason).
Then there are times when Disney will surprise me. First, it was with their announcement of animated film Moana. Now it’s with their announcement that animated classic (and one of my all-time favorites) Mulan will become a live-action film. My reaction to this news is the same reaction Mulan and co. had to Shang lifting those clay pots in the air with his staff, only to smash them with eloquence and precision. (Hence, the cover picture for this post.)
The decision to bring Mulan to the live-action stage is after the success of Cinderella, which did do big bank at the box office. I’m much more excited about Mulan than Cinderella, though—as much as I love the original animated Cinderella film, the story is one we’ve all heard beaucoup times. Mulan’s story, however, is one we could still use a retelling (or two or three or a hundred) of.
There’s not much news about this story aside from The Hollywood Reporter‘s recount of the amount of live-action Disney remakes there have been in recent years. But the big news I want to know is who will be cast as whom and will certain characters, like Ling, Chien-Po and Yao be cut out. Double-big news would be if Mushu will make an appearance and if Eddie Murphy will reprise the role. And will George Takei come back as the Great Ancestor (who looked eerily like Uncle Phil from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air)? So many questions. One of my big questions will be addressed in another post later this week.
Until then, let’s all jam out to Donny Osmond(!) as Shang’s singing voice in I’ll Make a Man Out of You (This song had better be in the movie):
What do you think about Mulan coming to theaters in a live-action form? Who do you want to see play the characters? Give me your opinions below!
Screencap from Mulan
Julian 