The New ‘Mulan’ Trailer Just Dropped – And Fan Reactions Are Mixed
Just on the heels of Disney’s latest live-action hit Aladdin, the House of Mouse released its first trailer of Mulan. The movie tells the story of a young woman who masquerades as a boy to save her father — who is conscripted for military service — and ends up saving not only her father, but also all of China.
The trailer is currently trending at number one on Youtube, and is on pace to receive around ten million views within the first 24 hours.
The trailer opens with Mulan riding a black horse through a field of wheat. It then cuts to Mulan’s mother expressing delight that the town matchmaker has found a husband for Mulan. The family, which has been expanded to include a sister character, all agree that Mulan’s match will bring the family “honor.”
The next part of the trailer cuts between the matchmaker’s beautiful home, where Mulan is decorated in stunning clothing and makeup, and Mulan as a fighter in the army.
“Quiet, composed, graceful, disciplined… these are the qualities we see in a good wife. These are the qualities we see in Mulan,” the matchmaker says, as the trailer shifts between the matchmaker’s domain and Mulan fighting with her comrades.
While some fans went wild over the beauty and glamor of the new iteration, others voiced their criticism at the exclusion of several characters from the original animated classic. For example, the dragon guardian Mushu, who was voiced by Eddie Murphy in the original film, is reportedly not going to be in the film.
Mushu is missed in the new #Mulan teaser. https://t.co/55jEYIXUpB
— Twitter Moments (@TwitterMoments) July 7, 2019
In addition, Li Shang, the commander of Mulan’s unit and love interest for the Disney princess had been replaced by a new character named Chen Honghui. Honghui is described as “a confident and ambitious recruit who joins Commander Tung’s unit,” per The Hollywood Reporter.
In addition, the villain of the story has been changed. In the original animated movie, the villain is Shan Yu, a Hun invader from the North bent on conquering China. In the live-action version, Shan Yu has been scrapped for an evil witch, to be played by Gong Li of Memoirs of a Geisha fame. This marks a major change in plot, as it introduces a new supernatural element to the film, via Collider.
However, arguably the biggest change that has frustrated fans was the decision not to use songs in the live-action remake, including the wildly popular “Reflection” and “I’ll Make A Man Out Of You.”
Nonetheless, many scenes in the trailer do bare a striking resemblance to the animated version, such as the training scenes and the iconic avalanche during battle. The movie poster also takes inspiration from the original.
The film is slated for a March 2020 release.
