We were a little late to the game since the new live-action Mulan has been streaming on Disney+ for a couple of weeks now, but we finally set aside time last weekend to watch it! Which means, yes, we paid the $29.99 price tag for Premier Access. I know, it’s a lot! Especially when you’re already paying for Disney+.
I’ll be honest, my first thought upon seeing the price for it was, “Ummm I’ll just wait until December when it’s included on regular Disney+.” But we definitely would have seen this in the theater if it weren’t for COVID, and once I considered how much that would have cost, I decided the $29.99 was worth it. So we did it up big with lots of popcorn and ice cream (and wine for the adults!) and had a really fun at-home movie night.
Live-Action Remakes in General
I’m a pretty big fan of Disney remaking our animated favorites into live-action films, though when the trend first started, I was skeptical. But then Beauty and the Beast was pretty good. And Aladdin was even better. I live for nostalgia, and these are IT. I know they’re not all perfect, but I still love them. (Though I still have not watched Dumbo or The Lion King.)
The only one I don’t really care for is Cinderella, and I think that’s because I expected it to include the songs I know and love from the original. (Also, how can it even hope to compete with Rogers and Hammerstein’s live-action Cinderella from 1997??)
So when I heard that Mulan wasn’t going to have any singing, I was a little worried. I’d also heard mixed reviews prior to watching it, some of which were really not good. But I went into it with a really open mind, not expecting it to be anything like the original at all really, and I’m glad I did!
Live-Action Mulan Review
All three of us really enjoyed the movie. We had recently watched the 1998 animated Mulan as part of our 90s Disney+ Movie Marathon. Liam had never seen it before and he loved it (LOTS of giggles)! And I was glad we rewatched it so I could easily compare the two.
I thought the live-action was equal parts nostalgic and fresh. I loved that even though it wasn’t a musical, they used a lot of the tunes from the animated version as background music. And there were a lot of nods to the animated version, like the one soldier they called “Cricket” because his grandma said he was lucky. The voice-actress for the original Mulan even makes a quick appearance!
But the story was still fresh enough to keep it interesting. I really enjoyed the additions they made—more backstory, new themes, etc. It wasn’t exactly like the original, which I actually really appreciated. The action scenes were cool to watch, and some of the cinematography was really amazing.
Of course, we all missed Mushu! And we missed the humor of the animated version (the live-action is a much more serious movie). But overall, I still thought it was a great movie and a great remake—maybe one of my favorites!
Is the Live-Action Mulan appropriate for kids?
The rating for the live-action Mulan is PG-13, which really surprised me! I think I just expect all Disney movies to be PG. Liam has seen a lot of PG-13 movies (all the Star Wars and all the Marvel movies) and is usually fine with that level of violence. I didn’t notice any bad language in Mulan. And the closest thing to nudity is a scene where Mulan is bathing in a pond (pretty much straight out of the animated version!), but everything stays underwater. I’d say there’s even less romance in the live-action than there is in the animated version (missed you, Li Shang❤️). And while it’s not really scary, it is about war, so that’s something to consider if your kids don’t like watching that kind of movie. (It’s a little different watching it as a cartoon.)
The first thing Liam said when the movie was over was, “That was a good movie!” He’s eight, so I worried that he would be bored or that some of it would go over his head, but he was engaged the entire time. He said he didn’t like it as much as the animated version because it wasn’t as funny, but he really liked the action scenes. He’s also very interested in ancient China now (lots of questions about emperors, dynasties, and arranged marriage haha). So that’s a plus, I guess!
Do you think the live-action Mulan is worth the $29.99 upcharge? Or are you waiting until it’s released to Disney+ in December? If you’ve already watched it, I’d love to know what you thought! Let me know in the comments below!
