Mulan after Nolan: My quick take on Disney’s live-action “Mulan”
Having watched Nolan’s “Tenet” a few days back, today had a chance to watch this Disney’s animated classic which is remade as a live-action movie. Let me confess that this live-action remake is far too better than the live-action version of Jungle book, it is an action-packed spectacular, rich, and vivid display of Chinese culture and their value system.
Way back in 1998 I still remember buying a DVD of Disney’s animation movie “Mulan” for my 3-year-old Vighnesh. He simply used to love watching this Chinese legend who goes to war disguised as a male warrior. The live-action remake is not a frame to frame recreation of the animated classic, which was blamed as “Americanization” of Chinese legend. This time Disney has spent more time in detailing eastern family values. However one will miss out on the friendly dragon and a cricket pet in this live-action recreation.
Dangal like plot highlighting that “mhari chori kya choro se Kum hai kya?” nicely recreates the medieval Chinese patriarchy who had treated a girl/woman as a second-class citizen. There is a scene where Mulan is riding a horse and is chasing two hares in the field, later on, while narrating the same to the family she asks “How can one make out if the hare was a male or female? This is the premise of the tale/movie that Male or females are indistinguishable when it comes to displaying valor on the battlefield. (Beti Bachao , bet padhao)
The movie is spectacularly shot in the rich landscapes of china and new Zealand, the action scene can give goosebumps to any Rajinikanth fan. There are few big names in the cast like Jason Scott Lee (plays a bad man ‘Bori Khan” & even Jet Li (though he has very little scope to display his martial arts skills, he is unrecognizable in the movie), the titular role is played by Yifie Liu a good looking athletically built actor. Mulan’s father is played by an actor who looks more like Chinese premier Shi Jinping (not sure it is a deliberate ploy?)
Watch it and become a child once again
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