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A flood of Northern invaders. Soldiers charging on horseback. A witch in flowing robes throwing several men to the ground. And, of course, the first and only Chinese Disney princess dueling to save her home and her father.
These are some of the scenes shown in the new trailer of Disney’s 2020 live action version of Mulan, which debuted on Super Bowl Sunday.
Disney released a brief preview that day, then dropped the full trailer online. As of February 4, the trailer has accumulated 792,801 views on YouTube.
Mulan’s heroine, played by Yifei Liu, confronts the enemy, a witch played by Gong Li, who warns Mulan that she “will die pretending to be someone you’re not.”
“Yet here I stand — proving there’s a place for people like us,” Mulan declares.
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In this new trailer, the villain’s motives are further revealed with the Northern leader declaring revenge on China for the death of his father.
Disney’s summary of the film says:
“When the Emperor of China issues a decree that one man per family must serve in the Imperial Army to defend the country from Northern invaders, Hua Mulan, the eldest daughter of an honored warrior, steps in to take the place of her ailing father. Masquerading as a man, Hua Jun, she is tested every step of the way and must harness her inner-strength and embrace her true potential. It is an epic journey that will transform her into an honored warrior and earn her the respect of a grateful nation…and a proud father.”
Disney’s live action version differs from the original 1998 animated film in several ways: no singing, no wisecracking Mushu (who has been replaced by a phoenix), and–to some fans’ dismay–no Li Shang. The character will be replaced by Chen Honghui, played by Yoson An, in a fellow rival-soldiers-to-lovers trope, according to ScreenRant.
The film will also adhere more to the original ballad, with less American individualism and with “a big girly martial arts epic” vibe, director Niki Caro told ScreenRant.
The 1998 version, starring Ming-Na Wen as the voice of Mulan, earned $304.3 million worldwide and received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Music Score and two Golden Globe nominations for Best Original Score and Music, according to Billboard.
The 2020 version of Mulan stars Donnie Yen as Commander Tung, Jason Scott Lee as Böri Khan, Yoson An as Cheng Honghui, and Jet Li as the Emperor. It also features Utkarsh Ambudkar, Ron Yuan, Tzi Ma, Rosalind Chao, Cheng Pei-Pei, Nelson Lee, and Chum Ehelepola.
Mulan hits theaters on March 27.
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