Disney drops first trailer for live-action 'Mulan'

The first trailer for the live action Mulan was released Sunday and it looks absolutely gorgeous. 

Any doubts that star Liu Yifiei (Forbidden Kingdom) can convincingly handle a sword should be put to rest.

What the trailer doesn't show is any of the characters singing. The production team led by director Niki Caro vacillated between making the movie a straight action drama or to include the popular music that made the 1998 animated version so enjoyable.

When Liu was cast, it was assumed that her singing would be featured in the movie but later comments by Caro seemed to indicate that the production abandoned the idea of using the music associated with the animated Mulan.

The film was originally expected to start production earlier this year with a projected release in December, so it is not known if production was delayed due to working the music in. It is now due for release in March 2020.

Now, according to our friends at The DisInsider, Walt Disney Studios is gearing up to add some of the familiar music from the 1998 hit animated film, as well as Mulan’s faithful sidekick and comic-relief “Mushu,” the fire-breathing dragon voiced by Eddie Murphy in the original. Disney's CGI department did an outstanding job in The Lion King, so Mushu should be a piece of cake.

Unlike some of the other Disney live-action films, however; Mulan may not be adhering as close to the animated source material.

Gong Li, a superstar in China, is playing a brand new villain, and she isn’t the only new character included. Donnie Yen (Rogue One) plays a role of a mentor, and they’re also changing the love-interest. The star-studded, all-Asian and Asian American cast also includes Jason Scott Lee, Yoson An, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Rosalind Chao, Cheng Pei-Pei and martial arts superstar Jet Li.

Mulan is the epic adventure of a fearless young woman who masquerades as a man in order to fight Northern Invaders attacking China. The eldest daughter of an honored warrior, Hua Mulan is spirited, determined and quick on her feet. When the Emperor issues a decree that one man per family must serve in the Imperial Army, she steps in to take the place of her ailing father as Hua Jun, becoming one of China’s greatest warriors ever.

The decision to reprise Mulan's musical roots, and even to add new songs, to the live-action version, may have been influenced by the acceptance and success of another live-action remake of an animated hit, Aladdin, which weaved the popular songs (including "A Whole New World") into the remake.

Any doubts Hollywood may have had about Asian actors and Asian-themed storylines able to attract audiences should be put to rest by the success of Crazy Rich Asians. Disney has been at the forefront of diversifying its casting options. The latest big blockbuster that Disney has benefited from the Aladdin, which went to great lengths to cast culturally appropriate actors for a story that takes place along the Silk Road, linking China, the Mideast and Euruope.

Last week Variety reports that Aladdin, starring Mena Massoud in the title role and Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine with Will Smith as the Genie and  has grossed over $900 million worldwide with no signs of slowing down for the rest of the summer.

Aladdin has been the surprise of the summer becoming one of the studio’s biggest live-action titles ever. It joins Beauty And The Beast, The Jungle Book, Alice In Wonderland and three of the Pirates Of The Caribbean films in reaching the milestone.

Aladdin, directed by Guy Ritchie, is currently the 3rd biggest film of the year domestically and worldwide, and the No. 1 film of 2019 so far outside of the Marvel superhero franchise.

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Remember when 22 AAPI Hollywood celebrities joined in a GOTV PSA for the first time?

WITH THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS just days away, you might be interested in this oldie-but-goodie effort to motivate Asian American and Pacific Islander voters.

This Get-Out-The-Vote public service announcement (PSA), “Voice Your Vote,” first aired on television nationwide during the fall of 1996. The PSA was a historic merger between the APA community and the 22 APA Hollywood celebrities

Dean Cain, Rosalind Chao, Keiu Chinh, Margaret Cho, Stan Egi, Amy Hill, Shishir Kurup, Jason Scott Lee, Mako, Dustin Nguyen, Steve Park, Nia Peeples, Jenny Shimizu, Elizabeth Sung, Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa, Lauren Tom, Tamlyn Tomita, Denise Uyehara, Garrett Wang, Ming-Na Wen, B.D. Wong and Russell Wong. Oh, they looked so young!
The NAPAVRC was the first ever national effort to organize APAs all across the United States to register to vote and to go out to vote. Until the inception of the National Asian Pacific American Voter Registration Campaign, APA voter registration campaigns have been conducted at the local and state levels. Nineteen national APA organizations were members of this historic coalition. The PSA was created for the NAPAVRC by actor Tamlyn Tomita and Vida Benavides of Ace High Consulting, and produced by Jusak Yang Bernhard and Paul G. Bens, Jr. of I Can Make It Myself Productions. Funding for the PSA was provided by the AFL-CIO and the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance.

The PSA was aimed at 18-35 year olds, the group least likely to vote. This November, most of the PSAs are targeting the Millennial generation, those born between 1981-1996 who are reached adulthood in the first two decades of the 21st century. They have the most at stake in this election but thus far, their voting record has been abysmal.

Twenty-four years later, AAPI voters still have a hard time getting to the polls even though immigration  and health care are a couple of the biggest issues of this election. Only 49% of the AAPI voters actually voted in the 2016 elections. 

Here's an example of a new PSA laced with stereotype-busting humor:

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TGIF Feature: 'Mulan' production starts - the next movie with an all-Asian cast

Chinese actress Liu Yifei will portray Mulan.

ASAM NEWS

PRODUCTION is underway for Disney’s live action version of Mulan.

Coming on the heels of Warner Bros.' Crazy Rich Asians, which was released in North American theaters on Wednesday (Aug. 15), Mulan could be the next wide-distribution movie from a Hollywood production company featuring an all-Asian cast.

Mulan stars Chinese star Liu Yifei as the title character.

The movie isn’t due out until March 2020, but Disney is whetting our appetites by releasing the first photo of Liu as Mulan.

“It’s a big, girly martial arts epic. It will be extremely muscular and thrilling and entertaining and moving,” the film’s director, Niki Caro, (The Zookeeper’s Wife), told MovieFone about her vision for the Disney remake. According to IGN, shooting will take place in both New Zealand and China.

Joining Liu will be Jet Li (Expendables 3), Donnie Yen (Rogue One), Gong Li (Raise the Red Lantern) and Jason Scott Lee (Dragon: the Bruce Lee Story). Recent additions to the cast include Rosalind Chao (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Cheng Pei-Pei (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and Nelson Lee.

Based on a traditional Chinese legend, Mulan was a teenaged rebel who dressed as a man to serve in the emperor's army in place of her father. She becomes a war hero in the battle against the Hun.

Breaking away from the Disney mold of princesses who are usually rescued by male heroes, Mulan raises issues of female empowerment, women in the military and cross-dressing, particularly relevant in this era of #MeToo and #AboutTime.

Disney had previously said the live action version would not be a musical, unlike the original animated version which featured the singing voice of Broadway star Lea Salonga. However, as of late, Disney has said that could change. The selection of Liu Yifei to portray the legendary character, opens the door to that possibility. She  is also a popular recording artist in China. Director Niki Caro, has said the film would incorporate music in some way.

Views From the Edge contributed to this report.
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