- You are coming back to the silver screen after,
I think it's 20 years of not having done
a live action feature film.
- Yeah, that's how it feels, yeah. For sure.
- What was it about Yellow Rose that brought you in?
- I mean, we can view it in a whole,
in all kinds of different ways as an opportunity
to do film work again, and to do it with,
with excellent people.
Or we just see this as an opportunity to tell Filipino
and Filipino American stories,
which I don't think has ever been seen on screen.
I mean, Crazy Rich Asians is a very specific story
to a specific community.
And Yellow Rose is also a very specific story
for a very specific community.
But a lot of the time,
the more specific and detailed you are with a story,
people who didn't think they'd be able to relate
to what's going on, actually find something
that resonates so strongly and,
and really hits home the point of universality,
as far as the human experience.
(singing)
- Was there any sort of hesitation for you
about coming into a project that's so importantly political?
- It wasn't trying to be political.
I mean yeah, there are, there are so much politics
regarding a lot of the policy that the film touches upon.
It hurts people.
And the consequences of these actions
- I don't even have a name anymore.
- Ultimately we are focused on Rose's responses
to all of these things.
- Your character plays such an important foil
to Rose's mother, - Right.
- Just the way they came into America
and how they approached being citizens here.
- I, I think a lot of people, when they see this film,
particularly Filipino American folks,
I think they'll be able to recognize these two,
and, and think, oh, good Lord.
I, I know exactly who that woman is.
I know exactly who this other woman is.
And these are two sisters.
And my character, she marries an American
and that's how she then becomes legal.
It doesn't try to pass judgment on either of these two women
for what's happened.
We're just showing folks this is what's happened.
And this is what it's turned these two women into
and how they're just responding.
- So music is such an integral part
of Rose's character, and it really serves
as a device for her to come into her own identity.
And as such a titan in the music industry,
I would love to hear if there was any way that you saw
some of yourself in Rose?
- I think in every artist's journey,
you're trying to figure out what your voice is.
You know, that you have a voice,
you know that you do possess something
that other people may find special,
So Rose has a bit of an advantage over me.
She had a much better sense of the kind of music she wanted
to create and how she wanted to present herself
to the world.
(singing)
I think I'm always in this constant work-in-progress mode.
And even though I'm an older adult,
you know, compared to a lot of the youngins out there now,
there is still so much room for, for growth
and figuring stuff out.
And I think that's really cool that,
that that process doesn't really stop.
But I know what I love. I know what I love to sing.
But life also offers quite a few surprises.
So, you know, we'll see what happens
in the next couple of years.
I may start to present something different.
- I would be remiss if I did not ask you how it feels
to have been part of the Disney Renaissance
and to have been a voice for that era.
And what is it about that time that has withstood time
and continues to be something that people find so much joy
in despite everything that's going on
in the world right now?
- It feels pretty fantastic to have been,
to be part of that legacy.
The first time it was like representation did not
even enter my mind.
For me, it was just all about,
oh my gosh, I get to play this princess in a Disney film.
♪ A whole new world a dazzling place I never knew ♪
That was the only thing I would think about.
I became a little more aware and cognizant of exactly
what representation would mean when it came to Mulan.
♪ When will my reflection show who I am inside ♪
It really hit me that
And I mean, she's an animated, hand drawn character.
But when there is someone that you know is
from your community, representing you
in such a wonderful, wonderful way.
It paves the way, number one, for other artists
from that community to also throw their hats
into the ring.
And two, it's, it's just incredibly inspiring
to see one of your people doing something like that.
Ming-Na Wen and myself did the very best that we could
to breathe as much life into her as we could.
And there were a lot of paths never traveled
by a Disney heroine before that Mulan was able to
and be the first to do.
You know, that her, her future was not hinging upon a man.
And it was so exciting to realize the impact that a movie
like that could have.
(singing)