The Hollywood Reporter has news that Disney is giving yet another popular animated film the live-action treatment, this time it will be the China-set action flick Mulan.
Disney has bought a script from writers Elizabeth Martin and Lauren Hynek which is a live-action retelling of the classic Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, the female warrior which inspired the 1998 animated film.
A young woman who disguises herself as a man so she can take her father’s place in the army and go to war. With the help of her trusty dragon sidekick Mushu, she becomes a skilled warrior and, eventually, one of the country’s greatest heroines
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00BZSEWFhTo
Oddly enough, the 1998 film was just around the time when I stopped my love-affair with animated Disney features. I wasn’t as thrilled about this movie along with Hercules or Pocahontas growing-up. I understand why a generation holds these films in such high regard, I’m sure I feel the same way about Beauty and The Beast, The Little Mermaid, and Aladdin.
With that said, I think I’m actually interested in what they do here and it could end-up a bit more grounded than the rollout of very similar fairytale movies. She’s sort of China’s Robin Hood since some believe she existed while it’s possible she was creation of folklore and poems.
This gives Disney a bit more of an action-edge to the previous adaptations of the animated features and might be the type of film to drawn-in both girls and boys.
I’ll be curious if they’ll be asking actress Jamie Chung to take on the role again, as she played Mulan on the ABC series Once Upon A Time. Chung has been raising her profile in the last couple of years starring in films such as The Hangover 2, Sin City: A Dame To Kill For, Sucker Punch, and her animated film for Disney Big Hero 6 took home the Oscar. It’s hard to ignore her connections to the character and having an existing working relationship with Disney.
Disney is on a roll with the female-led feature films with Alice In Wonderland, Maleficent, and Cinderella all hitting rather large box office numbers. Proving if it isn’t broke don’t fix it.
They’re currently putting into production a live-action Beauty and The Beast film with the original composers returning to create new songs. Tim Burton is also developing a live-action take of Dumbo for the studio as well.
SOURCE: THR