News 004 Mulan Live-Action Re-Imagining

Artwork by THOMAS KURNIAWAN

Mulan Live-Action Remake 
[110218] (Disney) Chance of Success =  99%

"The studio is launching a worldwide casting
search for a Chinese actress to play Mulan."

With the increasing spotlight on the Hollywood tendency to 'whitewash,' this is another step in the right direction for the major studio to lead the way in casting race-appropriate actor for the main roles in their animated features. The recent casting of a young unknown female Hawaiian in Moana is definitely in line with their current trajectory, always having female protagonists to lead their movies while portraying the diverse races all around the world that are less represented or none at all in a major motion picture.

Another major factor for this adaptation is the transition from fully animated to live action and the perfect balance to be found between giving the original legendary Chinese ballad its faithful adaptation and infuse some of the Disney's cartoonish flair and upbeat take on the premise that entertained many of us in the first place. The 1998 animated film is mainly recognized for Eddie Murphy's voice for the talking dragon Mushu and the much needed levity his over the top humor provided to balance the heavy human drama that surrounded Mulan. With the token cricket sidekick and compulsory but nevertheless entertaining musical numbers to be taken into consideration as well, the recent Jungle Book highly successful adaptation bodes well for this iteration, although a live-action version of Mulan would be the opposite of it and be full of (hopefully) Asian actors and just a couple of fully CG-ed animals.

“The Disney team saw the spec, by Lauren Hynek and Elizabeth Martin,

as a jumping-off point for a more nuanced and elaborate adaptation,

combining the legendary Chinese ballad and the 1998 animated film.”

Mulan, the Legend of a Woman Warrior [2011]

To overset the casting of unknown and unproven lead of their major motion feature, they should and would cast a number of well-known and established actors (such as George Takei, Jackie Chan and Ming Na Wen) to be the supporting anchors for the newbie to stand on and most importantly for the studio in business sense to give it a more mass appeal and instant credibility, not that a Disney live-action adaptation of a beloved classic would need any help to gain any traction with the masses.

- Synopsis -

A young Chinese maiden disguises herself as a warrior in order to save her father. A live-action feature film based on Disney's 'Mulan'.

- 7.5 - wiki (original ballad) - IMDb - wiki (1998 animated film) -

Cast
?
...

(Writer Rick Raffa, Amanda Silver [Jurassic World & Avatar sequel], Genre Action, Adventure, Supernatural, War)

+ Positive : the ongoing effort to keep representing female in lead movie roles and leading the effort to represent other races and cultures authentically by giving opportunity to unknown talent, wanting to combine the original Chinese story with the animated adaptation, the recent Jungle Book's success gives this project a much better chance to succeed, possibility to add established Chinese actors to an essentially Chinese movie 

- Negative : the fear of the movie would lose some of its original luster that can be instantly recognized from the animated classic, the tone the Jungle Book took that wasn't to a few's liking since it strayed too much from its animated origin

Source: Oh My Disney