Can anyone even remember the last time Disney gave us an original live action film? Ok, fine, you could count Christopher Robin or The Nutcracker and the Four Realms if you really want to, but other than those, there hasn’t been a whole lot.
That can be blamed on the studio’s strong desire to take all our childhood favorites and give them the live action treatment in hopes of indulging in some ol’ nostalgia-based cash grabbing. To be fair, none of them have been particularly bad, but most of them do feel a bit unnecessary and uninspired.
The upcoming Mulan is hoping to break that trend though by doing things a bit different, straying quite a ways away from the original and one way it’ll do that is by not including Mushu. The tiny wise-cracking dragon brought to life by Eddie Murphy’s voice in the animated flick was one of its best elements and despite reports that Disney might add an updated take on the character into the remake, director Niki Caro has now set the record straight, saying there’ll be no Mushu.
“I think we can all appreciate that Mushu is irreplaceable,” Caro said. “You know, the animated classic stands on its own in that regard. In this movie, there is a creature representative – a spiritual representation of the ancestors, and most particularly of Mulan’s relationship with her father. But an update of Mushu? No.”
Fair enough, but the removal of Mushu is sure to upset many who hold the original movie near and dear. Still, purging itself of the various things that made the animated film so iconic may also help Disney present something that feels fresh and necessary, unlike some of their other remakes.
In any case, we’ll find out if keeping Mushu out of the mix was the right call when Mulan hits theaters later this year, on March 27th. In the meantime, tell us, are you looking forward to seeing the Mouse House’s latest live-action remake? Or have you had enough of them? Sound off below with your thoughts.