BabybetterDisney
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2018
During the past few years, Disney has been remaking their classic cartoons into live action to great financial success. Mulan is the next remake that is coming out next month on Disney plus, and I believe that it will be the only unpopular remake Disney will ever create.
The biggest problem with the Mulan live action is that it is not a remake. The other remakes were popular because they are based on popular Disney cartoons. Mulan cartoon is one of them, but Disney has decided to discard this huge intellectual property in favor of a completely differently different story. This is similar to Galaxy’s Edge being based on nothing in the Star Wars universe. Disney feels like if they just make up some town, slap the Star Wars name on it, people will flock to it like it is Tatooine. As we have seen, people didn’t. Galaxy’s Edge actually reduced attendance at Disneyland when it opened, it is so ugly, boring, and offensive.
The Mulan remake is created like it is not a Disney remake at all. There will be no exciting original characters such as the little dragon, no interesting songs to make a man out of you, no nothing -- as if Disney has lost the right to the Mulan cartoon. There is already a Mulan live action movie like that, made by the Chinese in 2009, starring big named Chinese actors, and has won awards. Most Americans have never seen it or heard of it because if it’s not Disney, it’s not interesting.
The Americans don’t like foreign, non-English speaking films because of the difference in culture, the unfamiliarity of the actors, and the language barrier. Now Disney has gone out to make their own foreign film: Chinese, with big named Chinese actresses that the Americans know nothing about, completely ignoring the draw of movie stars, for the sole purpose of making the movie more appealing to the Chinese audience. However, the movie is still made by American directors and producers. So, we have this strange union of a movie that looks Chinese but isn’t -- to the Chinese, this is still a foreign film. Yet it is about Chinese history, so it is going to be all out weird. Weird or not, however, the Chinese have seen their own Mulan movie, another Mulan movie is not that exciting, not to mention a foreign made one.
The least Disney should have done is hire Asian American actors beyond Rosaline Chao (Star Trek TNG), but Disney wants to impress the Chinese audience like a man trying to please two girlfriends at once - he will end up pleasing neither. A good movie will naturally impress everyone; it is not necessary to put in any particular effort beyond trying to make the movie good. When Star Wars came out in 1977, it blew the minds of the Americans and the Japanese and everywhere else because of the story’s universal appeal.
Disney has not been making good movies in the recent years. That’s why they are doing all the remakes, they have run out of the ability of coming up with a good plot. The Disney Star Wars movies have all but destroyed the Star Wars franchise, they are so bad, they are one big reason why Galaxy’s Edge isn’t popular. Onward is weird and repulsive looking; I don’t plan to ever watch it. And Frozen 2 is completely incomprehensible. Even then, Frozen 2 did well in the box office because at the least, the characters are mostly the same, and the artwork is out of this world. I believe that Frozen 2 would have made twice the money if it had a decent story. I recently watched it on DVD and after I’ve seen it, I couldn’t tell my family what it’s about, so they all refused to watch it (I have 4 boys).
If the plot of Mulan live action is as bad as Frozen 2, it’s not going to make it because there’s no familiar characters to save Disney’s skin. The new Mulan is completely different from the Disney Mulan, so there’s no reason to watch it. There is no beautiful artwork to save the movie this time. And you know that the new Mulan is going to be another Mary Sue like Rey. But Rey is living off of Star Wars. Mulan has nothing; it isn’t even the cartoon Mulan, it isn‘t acted by a popular actor, it is all out foreign, unknown, and unexciting. It is too bad that Brenda Song, the Queen of Disney, is now too old to be Mulan. She would have been perfect for the job. She is beautiful, superb at acting, well known to Disney Channel fans, and she even knows martial arts!
The original Mulan cartoon is a kid’s cartoon. The Mulan movie looks more like an adult movie at PG13. There are no kids or cute little creatures or funny-looking sidekicks or catchy songs in it. The kids are not going to like it or even understand it. Why would you take a kid to an adult movie, unless it is an reenactment of a cartoon that the kid already knows, which this isn’t?
As a Chinese American, I am offended by the Mulan remake’s preview. It shows a blatant disregard of Chinese culture and customs, telling me that the movie will be an Americanized version of the famous Chinese legend of Mulan, just like the cartoon. The cartoon didn’t bother me at all because it is only a cartoon. You don’t take a cartoon seriously, you just enjoy the fun. However, I haven’t been to China for 40 years. Are the people more westernized now such that they will no longer care that the Americans are butchering their history and culture that the Chinese used to be so proud of? I can’t wait to find out.
In the posters, Mulan wears a red, conspicuous outfit as she wields a sword. Kind of like the British Red Coats that the Americans picked off easily from a safe distance.
You might say, didn’t Disney consult Chinese experts when they make the movie to make sure that it is culturally accurate? Yeah, well, notice how well Disney consulted the Star Wars experts to make Galaxy’s Edge. Unlike Chinese experts, Star Wars experts are so ubiquitous that even Disney is full of them. The problem is, the Chinese culture was very suppressive, especially to women. Disney wouldn’t be able to make anything if they had to obey all those rules. This problem doesn’t exist with Galaxy’s Edge, though. I have no idea why Disney made a Star Wars land with no Star Wars in it. So now they are making a Mulan movie with no Disney Mulan! Well, at least Disney is being consistent. Consistently stupid, wasting their own intellectual property instead of taking advantage of it. And they can’t do another Mulan remake that is actually based on the Mulan cartoon either. People will be burned out and sick of it.
The Mulan remake is coming out in Disney+ next month for an extra $30. I expect it to sell less than Frozen 2’s digital release after it’s initial release on the big screen. If that happens, Disney cannot blame covid19 for the lack of interest. Disney is arguing that it is cheaper than taking a family to the movies. But that has always been true if you don’t mind watching a movie on your home TV, which most movie watchers don’t prefer, that’s why there are movie theaters. And what happens when family members don’t all want to watch the Mulan without Disney Mulan in it? Going to the movies is a special family experience. The home TV isn’t; everybody will just be watching it on their own time with their own gadget, not spending time together as a family.
P.S. Disney just announced that they lost 5 billion dollars thanks to covid. It's more than I expected, but I'm not worried about it. They will bounce back.
The biggest problem with the Mulan live action is that it is not a remake. The other remakes were popular because they are based on popular Disney cartoons. Mulan cartoon is one of them, but Disney has decided to discard this huge intellectual property in favor of a completely differently different story. This is similar to Galaxy’s Edge being based on nothing in the Star Wars universe. Disney feels like if they just make up some town, slap the Star Wars name on it, people will flock to it like it is Tatooine. As we have seen, people didn’t. Galaxy’s Edge actually reduced attendance at Disneyland when it opened, it is so ugly, boring, and offensive.
The Mulan remake is created like it is not a Disney remake at all. There will be no exciting original characters such as the little dragon, no interesting songs to make a man out of you, no nothing -- as if Disney has lost the right to the Mulan cartoon. There is already a Mulan live action movie like that, made by the Chinese in 2009, starring big named Chinese actors, and has won awards. Most Americans have never seen it or heard of it because if it’s not Disney, it’s not interesting.
The Americans don’t like foreign, non-English speaking films because of the difference in culture, the unfamiliarity of the actors, and the language barrier. Now Disney has gone out to make their own foreign film: Chinese, with big named Chinese actresses that the Americans know nothing about, completely ignoring the draw of movie stars, for the sole purpose of making the movie more appealing to the Chinese audience. However, the movie is still made by American directors and producers. So, we have this strange union of a movie that looks Chinese but isn’t -- to the Chinese, this is still a foreign film. Yet it is about Chinese history, so it is going to be all out weird. Weird or not, however, the Chinese have seen their own Mulan movie, another Mulan movie is not that exciting, not to mention a foreign made one.
The least Disney should have done is hire Asian American actors beyond Rosaline Chao (Star Trek TNG), but Disney wants to impress the Chinese audience like a man trying to please two girlfriends at once - he will end up pleasing neither. A good movie will naturally impress everyone; it is not necessary to put in any particular effort beyond trying to make the movie good. When Star Wars came out in 1977, it blew the minds of the Americans and the Japanese and everywhere else because of the story’s universal appeal.
Disney has not been making good movies in the recent years. That’s why they are doing all the remakes, they have run out of the ability of coming up with a good plot. The Disney Star Wars movies have all but destroyed the Star Wars franchise, they are so bad, they are one big reason why Galaxy’s Edge isn’t popular. Onward is weird and repulsive looking; I don’t plan to ever watch it. And Frozen 2 is completely incomprehensible. Even then, Frozen 2 did well in the box office because at the least, the characters are mostly the same, and the artwork is out of this world. I believe that Frozen 2 would have made twice the money if it had a decent story. I recently watched it on DVD and after I’ve seen it, I couldn’t tell my family what it’s about, so they all refused to watch it (I have 4 boys).
If the plot of Mulan live action is as bad as Frozen 2, it’s not going to make it because there’s no familiar characters to save Disney’s skin. The new Mulan is completely different from the Disney Mulan, so there’s no reason to watch it. There is no beautiful artwork to save the movie this time. And you know that the new Mulan is going to be another Mary Sue like Rey. But Rey is living off of Star Wars. Mulan has nothing; it isn’t even the cartoon Mulan, it isn‘t acted by a popular actor, it is all out foreign, unknown, and unexciting. It is too bad that Brenda Song, the Queen of Disney, is now too old to be Mulan. She would have been perfect for the job. She is beautiful, superb at acting, well known to Disney Channel fans, and she even knows martial arts!
The original Mulan cartoon is a kid’s cartoon. The Mulan movie looks more like an adult movie at PG13. There are no kids or cute little creatures or funny-looking sidekicks or catchy songs in it. The kids are not going to like it or even understand it. Why would you take a kid to an adult movie, unless it is an reenactment of a cartoon that the kid already knows, which this isn’t?
As a Chinese American, I am offended by the Mulan remake’s preview. It shows a blatant disregard of Chinese culture and customs, telling me that the movie will be an Americanized version of the famous Chinese legend of Mulan, just like the cartoon. The cartoon didn’t bother me at all because it is only a cartoon. You don’t take a cartoon seriously, you just enjoy the fun. However, I haven’t been to China for 40 years. Are the people more westernized now such that they will no longer care that the Americans are butchering their history and culture that the Chinese used to be so proud of? I can’t wait to find out.
In the posters, Mulan wears a red, conspicuous outfit as she wields a sword. Kind of like the British Red Coats that the Americans picked off easily from a safe distance.
You might say, didn’t Disney consult Chinese experts when they make the movie to make sure that it is culturally accurate? Yeah, well, notice how well Disney consulted the Star Wars experts to make Galaxy’s Edge. Unlike Chinese experts, Star Wars experts are so ubiquitous that even Disney is full of them. The problem is, the Chinese culture was very suppressive, especially to women. Disney wouldn’t be able to make anything if they had to obey all those rules. This problem doesn’t exist with Galaxy’s Edge, though. I have no idea why Disney made a Star Wars land with no Star Wars in it. So now they are making a Mulan movie with no Disney Mulan! Well, at least Disney is being consistent. Consistently stupid, wasting their own intellectual property instead of taking advantage of it. And they can’t do another Mulan remake that is actually based on the Mulan cartoon either. People will be burned out and sick of it.
The Mulan remake is coming out in Disney+ next month for an extra $30. I expect it to sell less than Frozen 2’s digital release after it’s initial release on the big screen. If that happens, Disney cannot blame covid19 for the lack of interest. Disney is arguing that it is cheaper than taking a family to the movies. But that has always been true if you don’t mind watching a movie on your home TV, which most movie watchers don’t prefer, that’s why there are movie theaters. And what happens when family members don’t all want to watch the Mulan without Disney Mulan in it? Going to the movies is a special family experience. The home TV isn’t; everybody will just be watching it on their own time with their own gadget, not spending time together as a family.
P.S. Disney just announced that they lost 5 billion dollars thanks to covid. It's more than I expected, but I'm not worried about it. They will bounce back.