Photo By: Disney
Mulan made its Hollywood premier on March 9, 2020 and was scheduled to open worldwide a short time after that but as for many other blockbuster movies that were to come out in 2020, COVID-19 caused it to be postponed and ultimately the film never made it to theaters.
As a 12 year old when the original Mulan came out in 1998, I watched the Disney movie multiple times in school and liked it so much, I even got my parents to buy me a copy on VHS so I could watch it whenever I wanted.
After watching Aladdin last year, the greatest Disney live action remake ever in my opinion, it was easy to think that Disney was on to something. Remaking classic animated movies into live action movies can work now. The technology is finally here to not only make them, but make them look amazing. As soon as the first Mulan trailer popped up in the theater, I knew this was going to be something I would definitely be seeing.
Then COVID-19 came. It came and stayed, and stayed some more. It’s still here, 6 months after the original release date. It looks like Disney is finally tired of waiting, so they decided to try something. They knew that Mulan would be a huge draw in the box office. They spent 200 million on filming it so obviously they weren’t just going to give the movie away for free. Not this time!
Thus, a new movie model has been born and I think once again, Disney is on to something.
I give to you: Disney + Premier Access
Photo: Disney+
This movie watching model is great. How much money do you spend going to the movies? Maybe if you go alone you will spend about $30 when it is all said and done. That is, unless you just buy a ticket and completely skip the concession stand; but come on! Who does that?
First of all, you have to be a Disney+ subscriber, which is $6.99 + tax/month. So right there you are spending about the same for a early bird Sunday morning theater ticket. To get “Premier Access” you have to spend another 29.99 + tax. So, for around $40 you and your family and friends and friends friends can sit down in the comfort of your own home and watch Mulan. At least for now it is just Mulan, but I see this being the next big thing. There is no turning back from this now. Like it or not, Disney has just ended the theater era of movies.
Once you subscribe to Premier Access, you have full access to Mulan, just as if it were any of the other movies that are already currently on the platform. It is in up to full 4K resolution. You can watch it as many times as you want. As far as I know, it will stay in your Disney + library forever. You can’t beat that!
Everything sound great so far, right?
Well…then the movie started. If you haven’t seen Mulan yet, this is the part where you go away.
SPOILER ALERT!
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Aladdin…The Lion King…Those movies were amazing remakes! Mulan…was not. I had to say all of the above, about how good of a deal $40 was to watch a new movie; because of how glad I am that I didn’t see this in an actual theater and dished out over $100. As a video editor, you tend to notice little things that should be edited better in a movie. There are a ton of problems that make the movie look far less than a Disney movie. I mean…6 months! You had 6 EXTRA months to fix these mistakes. I wasn’t the only one who saw it. My wife looked at me at one point during an obvious editing error and I just nodded. “But you are an editor, of course you will see things that we won’t. It won’t mess up our viewing experience!” Yes, it will. But let’s pretend that you are right.
Let’s go back to Aladdin for a moment shall we? In the animated movies, what character was one you were really wanting to see come to life in a live action remake? Go ahead, I’ll wait…I’m just guessing, but you probably said the genie right? Disney made the genie become one of the greatest parts of the remake. Now, what about Mulan? Which animated character would you most want to see come to life in the remake? Of course it has to be this guy:
Photo By: Disney
MUSHU!!!!! The comedic relief that we oh so desperately needed in this movie. The momentary random occurrences of him flying through the air were nothing but a tease that was never paid off. Every time he showed up, I thought that maybe, just maybe he would show up and say something funny or…do anything for that matter. Nope. He just flew around a bunch. Such a waste of a character.
If all of that wasn’t enough. The music! The iconic Mulan songs! What was Disney thinking? Aladdin did everything right! The characters, the story, the SINGING!! Mulan had none of it! There were only very subtle instrumental renditions of the songs at random parts of the movie. If you had never seen the original, you wouldn’t have even been able to tell the difference from the rest of the background music. Despite having ZERO singing or dancing, which would have taken up extra minutes on the screen, the movie felt long and strung out forever. Without the comedic relief or musical performances, Mulan felt like a 2-hour long dark action-drama. I fell asleep…TWICE!
Was Mulan worth it? All in all, yes. My family was happy to see a Disney movie and I was happy I only spent $40.
In conclusion, the Mulan live-action remake could have been 1000 times better, but it wasn’t. If you have kids that want to watch it, I highly suggest you try out the Disney + Premier Access. If you are single, wait for it to come out to everyone with a Disney + subscription. If you are one of those people that actually like watching good movies, steer clear of this one. ALG Media Group gives the 2020 Mulan live-action remake 2.5 stars.
