Disney princess movie, “Mulan”, got a complete makeover with a whole new mature vibe and action oriented plot. Disney+ released the remake of “Mulan” on Friday, Sept. 4, after the original release date of March 9 was pushed back by a couple months. The streaming service charged $29.99, which it’s really not worth.

But for the Disney+ subscribers that do not want to pay to see the film, Disney+ announced that they will release the film for free on Dec. 4.

“Mulan” is about a Chinese woman, Mulan (played by Liu Yifei), that is claimed to not bring honor to her family after being marked as not suited for marriage by the matchmaker. She ends up going to war for her father in hopes of bringing honor to her family.

She disguises herself as a male to fit in with the soldiers and works hard to stand out and blend in at the same time during training. 

Mulan gains an ally in the group, Chen Honghui (played by Yoson An) that is based off of Li Shang in the 1998 version. 

This live-action remake does contain a few changes compared to the original 1998 animated “Mulan.” The Director, Niki Caro chose to not include Mushu, the lucky cricket — or probably the most surprising change — any songs.

While “Reflection” and “A Girl Worth Fighting For” have always been  fan favorites of mine, these songs are not completely out of the picture, they are just not sung.

There are some hidden easter eggs of the musical tunes in the background and characters slipping in phrases throughout the movie. An example being Commander Tung (played by Donnie Yen) saying “I’ll make a man out of you” multiple times to the soldiers during training sessions. 

It does contain more action compared to the old fashioned Disney children’s version, and it is appropriately rated PG-13. There are more fighting scenes and less comedic relief which seems to give the movie a more mature vibe. 

This remake of “Mulan” seems to be a whole new movie with a different vibe than some people’s childhood favorite. While other Disney movie remakes seem to be more of an exact, or close to exact, remake, this one seems to stray far away from the original lines while still keeping some key parts of the plot.

With that in mind, I felt as if I never saw the original animated version I wouldn’t truly know what’s going on. But, I don’t know anyone who hasn’t.

For example, Mulan took her father’s place in war because she cared so much about him and he was old and ill, but in the 2020 version, I didn’t feel that there was much emotional development or explanation behind many actions. 

While the film was pleasing to look at, it felt rushed and didn’t have enough time to build up any background story or emotional connection to anything. 

I don’t think this movie is a must-buy film, especially for the price. It would be more efficient to wait until it comes out for free if you really want to see it. While it was not terrible, it also was not great. 

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars