A beautifully fresh adaptation of the classic Chinese folk story The Ballad of Mulan, Mulan is the new Disney movie that’s got everybody talking! As a child I saw the Mulan release of 1998, an animated musical which had a deeply compelling and inspirational story, and made every young girl want to become a warrior. I will certainly be having a re-watch. But back to the movie at hand. A riveting, vibrant production with alluring costumes, a delightful aesthetic and a magical soundtrack that I believe will age gracefully with time. Visually stunning, with amazing sweeping scenes and landscapes that most of us could only dream of seeing on our travels.
Our titular character, played by Yifei Liu, embraced a different Mulan to what we have seen previously. This story of Mulan; whilst delicately touching upon her personal relationships, majorly focuses on our female lead becoming a formidable warrior with the sole purpose of serving her emperor. We unfortunately do not get to enjoy the return of Mushu the dragon, a fan favourite from the previous Disney movie of the same name. Whilst not necessary to the story, or having been in the original folklore, I felt as though there was a missing dynamic I had loved in the animated version. We see Mulan growing up to love practicing martial arts with her father, right up until what I can only assume as when she reached adolescence. Her family decides it’s time to expose her to a matchmaker, in order to find a suitor. It is clear that they do not believe that she is mature enough or in fact even close to being wife material, but her father gives her a harsh reality check in order to teach her the need to become the woman everyone expects her to be in order to bring honour to the family. Here we see a bit of a personality makeover – no longer the outgoing, bubbly Mulan! I actually found the next part of the story a little lacking, as we find out nothing about how she lived or what she did for many years after her conversation with her father. But of course that isn’t integral to the story. The years pass by and the events that transpire call for a single male from each household to come forth in order to join the army to help defeat an evil group who are gunning for The Emperor. As we know already Mulan’s father is old and weary; having already served for his country in his younger year - and we know where the story goes from there!
Not every Disney movie has to have a love story, a princess or a romantic wedding ending, I agree. Don’t worry. But it did seem like there was something missing with this film. I can’t quite put my finger on it, so if anyone else can do let me know! The production itself was fantastic, the music was sensational, such intricate and detailed outfits for each character, and what an absolute star-studded cast. Gong Li and Jason Scott Lee as the antagonists was such a great call for casting choice. Gong Li does not look a day over 35… I would never have guessed the gorgeous actress is now 54 years young. Jet Li stars as The Emperor everybody is fighting over, with a very impressive moustache I might add.
My only other criticism besides the depth of storyline for Mulan as a character is that I wasn’t able to view this terrific movie on the big screen. Mulan could absolutely have been movie release of the year for me. Thank you for reading and I hope you’re able to enjoy what I considered to be a thoroughly enjoyable film!
A review by CB
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