Mulan Trailer Reactions: 5 Ups & 2 Downs

2. Action & Originality

It is already clearly evident in this short teaser trailer that Mulan seems set to be the most adventurous live action retelling thus far. Tonally, it has shifted quite dramatically away from the original animated film - swapping musical numbers for a grittier take on this Disney classic.

Although labelled a warrior in the film, Mulan is officially considered to be a part of the Disney Princess line up and the animated film had all the components to match: a prince, animal sidekick and 'who am I' song to name a few. That is now gone in a film which seeks to label itself as a wartime period drama.

Many of the previous live action remakes have sought to pad out their runtimes with subplots leaving the narrative otherwise untouched but Mulan doesn't appear to take this approach. We spend most of the trailer following Mulan in her journey to becoming a warrior and whilst the character we know and love is still there, Yifei's Mulan has enough resolution that she feels completely different.

Such a dramatic tonal shift could come as an initial shock to fans although it seems to be for the better. The live action trend should seek to do more than be a remake and Mulan evidently leads the way in this upcoming second decade of the live action trend.