In our continuing coverage of Oscar-nominated films, guest reviewer Michele D of raccoonandpossum has a look at Mulan, nominated for Best Visual Effects and Best Costume Design.
I already promised myself NOT to write a review about the big budget Mulan remake that absolutely none of my friends care about. Well, guess what: I’m on coffee and I’m like the cancelled Disney original series BONKERS that ran from 1993 to 1994. I have got to spill the details.
Imagine taking everything wholesome, good, and unconventional about Mulan, every nuanced moment of filial piety, every speck of triumph and celebration, then utterly sucking it out, like a spaceship with a gaping hole in the side.
I still cry watching the original Mulan trailer, but I don’t think I even felt a feeling for over two hours watching this confused circus of uncalled for, lackadaisical magic realism. At one point, I had to turn to my husband and say, “It’s not Mulan”, just to make what was happening palatable.
I was once quoted as saying I’ve never seen anything as divorced from its source material as the Mario Bros movie- I retract that statement! It is this! Not even Gong Li could make this story fun.
Honestly, what adds so much insult to injury was the lack of care the writers took to develop Mulan’s relationship with her father; a bond that served as the linchpin in the original film. Instead of fleshing that out, they chose to give her a sister with no personality traits other than a fear of spiders, no grandma, and no plump, nerdy dog to help with chores.
I can admire how maybe at one point there was a seed of a good idea- it seems like there MIGHT have been an inclination to make this an expensive, lavish historical drama- but then they gave up and started generating CGI phoenixes all over the place. 1/5 – MD
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