You can't please everyone, and that goes double for people who consider themselves to be hardcore
Disney fans.
More than a few Disney die-hards are up in arms on Twitter over the trailer for the upcoming
live-action remake of Mulan, which will not be a musical and will exclude a couple of
key characters.
The beloved 1998 animated original centered on Fa Mulan, a peasant girl who disguises
herself as a man so that she can enlist in the Chinese army, in place of her ailing father,
to help defend her country against the marauding Huns.
At her side on her journey is Mushu, a tiny, wisecracking dragon who hopes to restore his
tarnished honor by helping Mulan succeed — a task made more difficult by General Li Shang,
who serves as an antagonist for much of the film before being won over by Mulan's bravery
and cleverness.
Shang and Mushu are the characters at the center of the Twitter uproar, as it's been
revealed that neither will appear in the live-action film — a revelation that didn't sit well
with legions of passionate fans of the original.
"They'll be begging me to come back to work!"
This isn't to say that many of these fans are going to refrain from buying a ticket.
Disgruntled fans still rage-attending movies is a common theme among the outpouring of
angry tweets, as illustrated by a tweet from user @_dearwallflower, who acknowledged that
the version of Mulan featured in the trailer looks remarkably badass, saying,
"This is the Mulan we obviously wanted, but Mushu?
Li-Shang?
Music?
I mean, imma go see it regardless, but imma also be sad."
The sentiment was echoed by user @GoodyButts, who ran down her complete list of reactions
to the trailer in her tweet:
"Cries watching the #Mulan trailer… listens to "I'll Make A Man Out of You"… remembers
there won't be musical numbers or Mushu… cries some more…
REMAINS EXCITED FOR THIS MOVIE."
One user even flat-out stated that they were predisposed to rage at the idea of a non-musical
version of Mulan, but that the trailer pretty much won them over, saying,
"I wanna HATE the Mulan remake but the way she twiddles her sword with her hair flowing
in the wind?
It looks god tier."
Meanwhile, user @MikeMcdonaldii pointed out that it's unrealistic to expect the same movie.
"So y'all mad that Disney live-action remakes are just shot 4 shot w/ the animated movies
but y'all mad that this #Mulan has it own vision from its animated counterpart."
He has a heck of a point.
This May's live-action version of Aladdin, although it raked in nearly a billion dollars
in worldwide box office receipts, has been called out by fans and critics alike for being
a by-the-numbers recreation of the original that doesn't bother to carve out its own unique
vision.
The same complaints have been leveled preemptively at The Lion King, which uses CGI to render
its characters in live action.
Of course, The Lion King has been blowing away preview audiences, so it may prove to
be the film that pokes king-sized holes in those way-too-early criticisms.
Conversely, Tim Burton's recent remake of Dumbo drew fire for deviating too much from
the original's story.
Ultimately, that film was among the least successful of the Mouse House's live-action
reimaginings of their classic library.
It's almost as if the Disney faithful simply have no idea what exactly they want from these
remakes, before or after they've been released, although that doesn't seem to stop them from
purchasing tickets.
With only the one teaser trailer to go on, Mulan's creative team appears to be on the
right track.
Actress Yifei Liu looks awesome in the title role, and the original movie based on an ancient
Chinese legend tells a complex story with themes relevant to our times, one that will
lend itself well to a more serious treatment without singing, dancing, and talking dragons.
“You just say the word and I'm there.
Mushu…
And let me say something.
Anyone who's foolish enough to threaten our family, vengeance will be mine."
The flick hits theaters on March 27th, 2020.
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