Mulan 2020: Disney's Live Action Remake Hits the Small Screen

Disney's long-running, successful history of bringing legendary folklore to life through animation and music is manifested with their new iteration of the legendary Chinese folktale The Ballad of Mulan. First explored by the studio in 1998, this new live action film is replete with martial arts and stunning visuals.

The film is a coming-of-age story about a young woman struggling with an identity crisis. To save her ailing dad from serving in the Imperial Army, Mulan disguises herself as a man to battle invaders in China.

The movie's central themes are female empowerment, bravery and devotion to family.

The live-action adaptation is on live streaming platforms in the US but has been released on the big screen in Europe. It's expected to premiere in Chinese theatres on September 11. This is following more than five months of delay because of the pandemic.

Unfortunately, these streaming sites aren't available in Kenya. It's yet to be seen if our theaters will be screening Mulan in the coming weeks.

From the trailer and online reviews, this adaptation is more mature and historically accurate than it's animated counterpart. In the film, adult Mulan is less uproarious and many of the characters we loved in the animated version are missing; Mushu, Grandma, Cricket and the deadpan ancestors.

The remake has new characters. Mulan has a younger sister with a calm demeanor. She's supposed to juxtapose Mulan's character as the "logical, good mannered" daughter. We're also introduced to Xianniang, a sorceress who takes on the form of antagonist Khan's bird.

Seasoned film critic Wendy Ide had this to say about the film "The combat set pieces are terrific, the scale of the storytelling is epic. It's a film that cries out to be seen in the cinema".

Watch out for Mulan. It might just hit our theaters.