LIVE ACTION MULAN REVIEW

SPOILER WARNING. This will be my full review of the NEW Live Action Mulan Film. Therefore, if you haven't seen it - stop reading!

Gotta watch out for spoilers!

If you prefer watching a video rather than having a read, head to my YouTube channel for my video review discussion! :)

Ok, without further ado - here are my thoughts!

Firstly, let's talk about the fact that this film didn't get the cinema release it deserved! Of course, we must all adapt in these troubling times. However, I feel that this film deserved a cinematic release. The epic costumes, acting, filming techniques and editing felt a bit lost on my smaller screen. Whilst they still had great impact, nothing beats watching a film at the cinema first. Watching a film on the big screen makes it more memorable and feels like a real moment.

I know some people were upset by the cost of the Premier Access for this film on Disney+. I actually think the price was reasonable because it allowed my whole family to watch altogether and we now have access to watch it again whenever we like. It was £20 here in the UK. The usual cost of a DVD is £10-£15 when it's first released, so I had no problem with paying the price to see a brand new film!

Now, let's talk about the film itself. In general, I was disappointed by this film. This is coming from someone who is an absolute Mulan maniac. The original animation is one of my all-time favourites, I adore it. I have Mulan bedding, all of the Mulan merchandise possible and quote it often! Therefore, I was always going to be a tough critic.

Don't get me wrong, this film was good. Really enjoyable. Great cast, costume and set. The main reason I feel a dislike for this film is the choices they made and their reasoning for this. Before the film came out we were told they were removing Mushu and the songs with the aim of making this story more realistic and true to the culture.

After seeing this film, I do not feel it achieved those goals. The changes they made took certain meaning from the plot or it felt like they changed them.. for the sake of it. For example, they removed Cri-kee. It is usually Cri-kee who ruins the matchmaker meeting. In this remake, they inserted a spider instead. They made us aware Mulan's sister was afraid of spiders in a really obvious way which set us up for the outcome of this scene. It didn't feel like a necessary change.

They also removed Mushu.. yet, replaced him with a non-speaking Phoenix. I felt that this took all realism out of the film. The CGI was distracting. They removed the songs and though I appreciate the subtle score nods to the original soundtrack, it was not enough. They could have had the songs in and it still be just as realistic as their end product. Speaking of realism, there were epic battle sequences but.. not a drop of blood?

The film itself relied heavily on our knowledge and previous connections in the original animation. I say this because - the EPIC scene where Mulan makes the decision to head to war instead of her dad and we see her cut her hair, prepare her armour and ride away.. this is so severely cut and edited in this new Live Action that it feels.. disjointed. The character arcs are nowhere near as well-rounded.

For example, they said they didn't want to give Mulan a love interest and this is why they took out Li Shang. This, I understand - she is a brave warrior on her own. However, she did have a connection with a male soldier.. but we weren't given the pleasure of seeing anything come of it. She sees him on a bridge and then walks off into the distance to return home. He doesn't re-appear in her hometown.

Loyal, Brave and True is the new slogan of this Live Action version of the film. I think this point is repeated too often during the film, it feels like it's being pressed upon us so much that it loses the meaning.

Let's talk about being.. special. This film opens and we are told Mulan has Chi that she has been hiding. Much like how Elsa has special powers she hides from the world. Eventually in the film, Mulan lets down her hair and unleashes her Chi. Remind you of anyone..?

In the original animation - Mulan was an average girl, quite clumsy and disorganised. She was struggling with who she was but eventually found her purpose. She became a great warrior through hardwork and dedication to learning. This is the message I believe we should be showing to the younger generations. Therefore, I was disappointed at this change. Plus, running into battle with your hair down and removing your armour isn't the smartest thing?!

To conclude, I'm sad to say I wasn't a huge fan of this film. I love everything Disney create so I still loved this film. However, it was definitely no where near as good as the original animation.

Let me know your thoughts on this film! :)

Thanks for reading,

Elz xoxo

Find the magic, collect the happiness, preserve the pixie dust.