Mulan Trailer: A Different Kind of Disney
There’s a lot to be said for the classics. People fall in love with movies all the time. From there, it’s an endless love affair of passion and admiration. That explains Disney movies as best as we can. People have loved everything from the time-honored classics like Cinderella and Snow White, all the way up to the Wreck-It Ralph and Cars. Whether they’re Disney or Pixar, time-honored classics hold a special place in viewers hearts.
Until of course, the live-action remake trend took hold. Now everyone’s love affair seems to be ending. The internet is outraged over things that are removed as they’re old and dated motives and even arguing over minor changes for the studios to tell the stories for a new audience. The most recent outrage is Disney’s Mulan and their casting choice for the live-action Little Mermaid but we’ll focus on the latter.
The first noticeable change in the story is the lack of cartoon dragon and singing, which is causing fans to throw temper tantrums like the children they’ll bring to see it. Listen, if you’re harping on an artists’ hard work to recreate something your kids will love as much as you did, you’re going to the movies for the wrong reasons. This is a more modern version for a newer audience. If the original matters that much to you and you want nothing changed about it, then go back and watch the original and shut up. The whole point of live-action remakes is to tell a story in a manner where a young mind will believe it to be true. In the original Mulan, made by Disney 21 years ago, they take a more family-friendly approach with singing and dancing and magical dragons. Perfectly fitting for its time, but clearly not the message they’re looking to influence young minds.
And therein lies the problem. Too many audiences are hoping to take their children to the movies they loved growing up in hopes that they’ll connect with them in the same manner. As viewers, we want to see our kids fall for the classics just as we did. Unfortunately, these movies aren’t made for us. Yes, Disney movies are age appropriate for all to love, but they’re made for kids. Instead of trying to change Mulan to fit the movie you loved as a kid, why can’t we fall in love with the newer one because it’s the film our kids have grown to love. Instead, we’ll hold on to our ways because we don’t want to be disappointed in the films not thinking of the joy they bring to the younger intended audience. Much like Aladdin, Mulan will probably go on to make millions at the box office, but people will complain it’s not the original. Good news is, I’m sure someone is still selling the 1998 classic on eBay, so I guess you can spend your money there. Mulan is scheduled for March 27, 2020.
Rick ODonnell aka Caveman Rick has many years covering the Miami Dolphins, Sports, and all sorts of movies and television.
