Walt Disney Pictures’ latest endeavor of producing live-action remakes of their classic animated fairy tales has produced such acclaimed hits as “Maleficent”, “Cinderella” and most recently, 2017’s “Beauty and the Beast”. Their next animated classic set to get a live-action makeover is 1998’s “Mulan”, (here’s our review for the 2009 live-action version) based on the legend of the ancient Chinese female warrior Hua Mulan with the reboot recently casting its title character in the form of Liu Yifei!
An alumni of the Beijing Film Academy, Liu first gained prominence in the 2003 television series “Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils” in the role of Wang Yuyan, which earned her the nickname of “Fairy Sister” in the Chinese media. Liu later gained recognition for her appearances in such films as “The Assassins”, “White Vengeance”, and “The Four” series, while also establishing a successful musical career along the way. Liu is most well known to Western audiences for her appearance as Golden Sparrow in 2008’s “The Forbidden Kingdom“, in which she appears alongside Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and Collin Chou.
As is the case with most Disney animated fairy tales, the 1998 film took considerable poetic license with the history of its title character, which proved a sticking point with Chinese audiences, but the film was nevertheless a major hit and well-received by most audiences. The film’s musical number “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” became an instant classic and for the film’s Chinese release was sung by Jackie Chan himself, who also provided the voice of Mulan’s military commander and subsequent love interest Li Shang. You can hear both versions below (and good luck getting these rather infectious songs out of your head after you do)!
“Mulan” is set to get rolling next year for a 2019 release. Stay tuned for more info on the film, such as any news of an appearance by the talking dragon, Mushu, as it arrives! Got something to say about women warriors, heroines or femmes fatales? Let us know below, join in the conversation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!
