The Mulan remake is going to bomb

[BabybetterDisney]

During the past few years, Disney has been remaking their classic cartoons into live action to great financial success. Mulan is the next remake that is coming out next month on Disney plus, and I believe that it will be the only unpopular remake Disney will ever create.

The biggest problem with the Mulan live action is that it is not a remake. The other remakes were popular because they are based on popular Disney cartoons. Mulan cartoon is one of them, but Disney has decided to discard this huge intellectual property in favor of a completely differently different story. This is similar to Galaxy’s Edge being based on nothing in the Star Wars universe. Disney feels like if they just make up some town, slap the Star Wars name on it, people will flock to it like it is Tatooine. As we have seen, people didn’t. Galaxy’s Edge actually reduced attendance at Disneyland when it opened, it is so ugly, boring, and offensive.

The Mulan remake is created like it is not a Disney remake at all. There will be no exciting original characters such as the little dragon, no interesting songs to make a man out of you, no nothing -- as if Disney has lost the right to the Mulan cartoon. There is already a Mulan live action movie like that, made by the Chinese in 2009, starring big named Chinese actors, and has won awards. Most Americans have never seen it or heard of it because if it’s not Disney, it’s not interesting.

The Americans don’t like foreign, non-English speaking films because of the difference in culture, the unfamiliarity of the actors, and the language barrier. Now Disney has gone out to make their own foreign film: Chinese, with big named Chinese actresses that the Americans know nothing about, completely ignoring the draw of movie stars, for the sole purpose of making the movie more appealing to the Chinese audience. However, the movie is still made by American directors and producers. So, we have this strange union of a movie that looks Chinese but isn’t -- to the Chinese, this is still a foreign film. Yet it is about Chinese history, so it is going to be all out weird. Weird or not, however, the Chinese have seen their own Mulan movie, another Mulan movie is not that exciting, not to mention a foreign made one.

The least Disney should have done is hire Asian American actors beyond Rosaline Chao (Star Trek TNG), but Disney wants to impress the Chinese audience like a man trying to please two girlfriends at once - he will end up pleasing neither. A good movie will naturally impress everyone; it is not necessary to put in any particular effort beyond trying to make the movie good. When Star Wars came out in 1977, it blew the minds of the Americans and the Japanese and everywhere else because of the story’s universal appeal.

Disney has not been making good movies in the recent years. That’s why they are doing all the remakes, they have run out of the ability of coming up with a good plot. The Disney Star Wars movies have all but destroyed the Star Wars franchise, they are so bad, they are one big reason why Galaxy’s Edge isn’t popular. Onward is weird and repulsive looking; I don’t plan to ever watch it. And Frozen 2 is completely incomprehensible. Even then, Frozen 2 did well in the box office because at the least, the characters are mostly the same, and the artwork is out of this world. I believe that Frozen 2 would have made twice the money if it had a decent story. I recently watched it on DVD and after I’ve seen it, I couldn’t tell my family what it’s about, so they all refused to watch it (I have 4 boys).

If the plot of Mulan live action is as bad as Frozen 2, it’s not going to make it because there’s no familiar characters to save Disney’s skin. The new Mulan is completely different from the Disney Mulan, so there’s no reason to watch it. There is no beautiful artwork to save the movie this time. And you know that the new Mulan is going to be another Mary Sue like Rey. But Rey is living off of Star Wars. Mulan has nothing; it isn’t even the cartoon Mulan, it isn‘t acted by a popular actor, it is all out foreign, unknown, and unexciting. It is too bad that Brenda Song, the Queen of Disney, is now too old to be Mulan. She would have been perfect for the job. She is beautiful, superb at acting, well known to Disney Channel fans, and she even knows martial arts!

The original Mulan cartoon is a kid’s cartoon. The Mulan movie looks more like an adult movie at PG13. There are no kids or cute little creatures or funny-looking sidekicks or catchy songs in it. The kids are not going to like it or even understand it. Why would you take a kid to an adult movie, unless it is an reenactment of a cartoon that the kid already knows, which this isn’t?

As a Chinese American, I am offended by the Mulan remake’s preview. It shows a blatant disregard of Chinese culture and customs, telling me that the movie will be an Americanized version of the famous Chinese legend of Mulan, just like the cartoon. The cartoon didn’t bother me at all because it is only a cartoon. You don’t take a cartoon seriously, you just enjoy the fun. However, I haven’t been to China for 40 years. Are the people more westernized now such that they will no longer care that the Americans are butchering their history and culture that the Chinese used to be so proud of? I can’t wait to find out.

In the posters, Mulan wears a red, conspicuous outfit as she wields a sword. Kind of like the British Red Coats that the Americans picked off easily from a safe distance.

You might say, didn’t Disney consult Chinese experts when they make the movie to make sure that it is culturally accurate? Yeah, well, notice how well Disney consulted the Star Wars experts to make Galaxy’s Edge. Unlike Chinese experts, Star Wars experts are so ubiquitous that even Disney is full of them. The problem is, the Chinese culture was very suppressive, especially to women. Disney wouldn’t be able to make anything if they had to obey all those rules. This problem doesn’t exist with Galaxy’s Edge, though. I have no idea why Disney made a Star Wars land with no Star Wars in it. So now they are making a Mulan movie with no Disney Mulan! Well, at least Disney is being consistent. Consistently stupid, wasting their own intellectual property instead of taking advantage of it. And they can’t do another Mulan remake that is actually based on the Mulan cartoon either. People will be burned out and sick of it.

The Mulan remake is coming out in Disney+ next month for an extra $30. I expect it to sell less than Frozen 2’s digital release after it’s initial release on the big screen. If that happens, Disney cannot blame covid19 for the lack of interest. Disney is arguing that it is cheaper than taking a family to the movies. But that has always been true if you don’t mind watching a movie on your home TV, which most movie watchers don’t prefer, that’s why there are movie theaters. And what happens when family members don’t all want to watch the Mulan without Disney Mulan in it? Going to the movies is a special family experience. The home TV isn’t; everybody will just be watching it on their own time with their own gadget, not spending time together as a family.

P.S. Disney just announced that they lost 5 billion dollars thanks to covid. It's more than I expected, but I'm not worried about it. They will bounce back.

 

[BrianL]

I think your assessment is pretty off-base. Disney has already had failures in tehir remakes, like Dumbo. You may be right that it is because it strayed too far from the original, but you are incorrect in that Mulan does have several original characters - just not the ones from the cartoon. In fact, most characters aside from Mulan are different. It's one thing to be skeptical of the movie, especially witht eh esperimental distribution model, but I think your reasons are very off the mark.

 

[supernova]

There's just no pleasing Disney fans sometimes. First everyone complained that the Lion King was a shot-for-shot remake of the original. Now we're complaining that this is a new telling of the film.

Another thing we have to remember is that Disney has, for some reason, adopted a "girls count too" philosophy to their films. So it shouldn't be any surprise that they are removing the dragon who helped her get ahead. I'm almost sure that they will downplay most other characters and empower Mulan to be a solo hero. Won't sell plush, but it'll at least appease the feminists at the top.

 

[UberClaire]

Don't feed the troll.

 

[Dead2009]

Did anyone play the drinking game where you counted each time the OP said MULAN?!

The Americans don’t like foreign, non-English speaking films because of the difference in culture, the unfamiliarity of the actors, and the language barrier. Now Disney has gone out to make their own foreign film: Chinese, with big named Chinese actresses that the Americans know nothing about, completely ignoring the draw of movie stars, for the sole purpose of making the movie more appealing to the Chinese audience.

Use subtitles. There are plenty of non-English speaking films, especially in the horror genre, that are pretty good. Just because it's not in English doesn't mean it isn't watchable.

 

[Katiebird]

Only took me half the post this time to realize who the poster was!

 

[Karin1984]

Well, duh, thank you for stating the obvious
Of course it's going to bomb, because every big movie is going to bomb or do less well than expected a year ago.

 

[Wakey]

There may be a lot of truth in what you are saying but if you are genuinely ‘offended’ by the remake, I’d say it’s time to get out more.

 

[BadPinkTink]

ok.. sigh... the usual troll nonsense from the OP but seeing as everyone comments and the OP usually disappears and is not seen again until the next doom and gloom post, here is my opinion


Mulan wont bomb and the reason is classic marketing 101.

For marketing geeks TWDC is a great fun way to see marketing in action in real time.

Some of the basics in marketing are

1. Know who your customers / audience are
2. Know where your customers / audience spend their time
3. Give them content they need and want and are willing to pay for
4. Attract new customers / audience

Know who your customers / audience are
The customers / audience for Mulan are the families, who would go to a big ticket cinema release as a treat. They will have probably have seen Mulan countless times, have the merchandise and in Disney Parks go to Mulan meet and greets.

The customers / audience for Mulan are also the hardcore Disney fans, who have pent up desire right now for something anything new for Disney. They would have the disposable income to go to cinema releases multiple times, no matter the ticket cost, as well as buying the physical DVD release and other collectibles.


Know where your customers / audience spend their time

Both of these target customers / audience already have Disney+

Disney are probably doing in depth studies of customer behavior analytics on Disney+ They will know how many times the animated Mulan has been watched, they will know which territories are watching the animated Mulan and so many other metrics.

Wait... what... Disney are tracking stats from Disney+ and know what I watch, when I watch it and on what device
oops sorry, just let out a marketing secret... huge amount of data analytics are tracked and analysed from most websites, put into graphs and reports......

Give them content they need and want and are willing to pay for
Both of these audiences / customers have the want to see Mulan and will pay for it.

For the families, it works out cheaper than then their one off cinema visit AND it can be watched multiple times at no extra cost.

For the hardcore Disney fans, the one off payment is far less than they would have spent on multiple cinema visits AND it can be watched multiple times at no extra cost.

Attract new customers / audience
As seen with Hamilton, the new subscriber to Disney+ rate soared with the release of Hamilton. There will be many people who up until now had not subscribed to Disney+ but who will now for the release of Mulan. These are people who might have thought Disney+ was just for kids, but are interested in the live action adaptation of Mulan.

Frankly TWDC , and the Bobs do not care about people who are outraged about the release of Mulan on Disney+ If you are outrage , then you are not the target audience and the Bobs do not care about your hurt feelings.

In the same way, TWDC , and the Bobs do not care about the outrage from cinema owners about bypassing them. TWDC has now created its own distribution channel and is getting their product to market without the middle man. Thats the name of the game, get the product to the customer, the end.

The world is changing and this change has just been accelerated by Covid 19.

 

[Bill007]

Holy cow. Some posts are just way too long. Short and sweet is best and holds the attention.

 

[chi_disfan]

Without directly addressing all of OP's points, I would like to counterpoint by saying I was/am pretty excited for the Mulan remake. In terms of fan reception of the live action remakes, I think Disney is in a no-win situation as both critical sides have equal voice (this movie is exactly like the animated one, what's the point! vs. this movie is nothing like the animated one, what's the point!) however they still make gobs of money so it is more of a win for Disney in what matter$.

Personally, I think the live action movies that deviate more from the source are more successful as they do a better job justifying their existence -- for instance, the live action Lion King was the least successful as a movie (in my opinion) because it was all digitally created and so close to the source material that I might as well watch the cartoon.

I think Mulan has a lot of really refreshing things going for it -- it seems to embrace all the bits of the animated Mulan that resonate with Asian cinema, sweeping, war-torn landscapes paired with over-the-top martial arts acrobatics. These elements really speak to Asian cinema more than a sassy Eddie Murphy-voiced dragon (no hate, I love Mushu!). Niki Caro, the director, has an interesting track record of female-led films with Whale Rider being close narratively and tonally to Mulan.

Anyway, I think I'm rambling but suffice it to say that releasing this movie at any point in 2020 is going to be such a unique case that one can't really hold it to traditional standards of success however it seems to have already bombed in the OP's heart even before it came out.

 

[superme80]

I'm interested, but not sure I am $30 interested. I am not apposed to paying for it, but it I am the only one watching it, not worth it.

 

[DuckTalesFan32]

Even though Mulan is probably going to be better than the other remakes, considering this is more like a different adaptation than a remake, I hope it does bomb. I hope future Disney live-action remakes will bomb. I'm tired of them. It's just sloppy. 'Maleficient,' 'Beauty and the Beast,' 'Jungle Book,' 'Aladdin,' etc, etc. None of those remakes should have been as popular as they were. I wish audiences were pushing for traditional hand-drawn animation instead of live-action remakes.

 

[BrianL]

Even though Mulan is probably going to be better than the other remakes, considering this is more like a different adaptation than a remake, I hope it does bomb. I hope future Disney live-action remakes will bomb. I'm tired of them. It's just sloppy. 'Maleficient,' 'Beauty and the Beast,' 'Jungle Book,' 'Aladdin,' etc, etc. None of those remakes should have been as popular as they were. I wish audiences were pushing for traditional hand-drawn animation instead of live-action remakes.

I hear you, but unfortunately they are not. Disney is just following the money, which I can't blame them for. At least they try to do them well - I wouldn't call them sloppy, just unnecessary. Tastes change though, so maybe we'll see some shifts in the future. Actual hand-drawn anumation is unlikely to come back due to costs, but 2D styled digital stuff might. I'd love to see it too.

 

[DuckTalesFan32]

I hear you, but unfortunately they are not. Disney is just following the money, which I can't blame them for. At least they try to do them well - I wouldn't call them sloppy, just unnecessary. Tastes change though, so maybe we'll see some shifts in the future. Actual hand-drawn anumation is unlikely to come back due to costs, but 2D styled digital stuff might. I'd love to see it too.

I have to hold up some hope. I mean some things have made a comeback, like vinyl records. I never thought I'd see vinyl come back.

Also, the new Mickey Mouse and Ducktale cartoons, which I love, give me hope that they'll return to 2D style with some of their animated movies. Speaking of which, are the new Mickey Mouse and Ducktales cartoons drawn out and then digitally inked with computer or is it all done on computer, even the line drawings?

 

[BrianL]

I have to hold up some hope. I mean some things have made a comeback, like vinyl records. I never thought I'd see vinyl come back.

Also, the new Mickey Mouse and Ducktale cartoons, which I love, give me hope that they'll return to 2D style with some of their animated movies. Speaking of which, are the new Mickey Mouse and Ducktales cartoons drawn out and then digitally inked with computer or is it all done on computer, even the line drawings?

Television animation is different and 2D animation still seems to fly there. Moviegoing audiences have shunned it recently, but you never know. These things do come back around. I don't know for certian, but almost all television animation now is done 100% digitally, though key line art may be drawn onto a drawing tablet with a stylus. I don't know muh about the processes these days.

 

[Edeyore]

During the past few years, Disney has been remaking their classic cartoons into live action to great financial success. Mulan is the next remake that is coming out next month on Disney plus, and I believe that it will be the only unpopular remake Disney will ever create.

The biggest problem with the Mulan live action is that it is not a remake. The other remakes were popular because they are based on popular Disney cartoons. Mulan cartoon is one of them, but Disney has decided to discard this huge intellectual property in favor of a completely differently different story. This is similar to Galaxy’s Edge being based on nothing in the Star Wars universe. Disney feels like if they just make up some town, slap the Star Wars name on it, people will flock to it like it is Tatooine. As we have seen, people didn’t. Galaxy’s Edge actually reduced attendance at Disneyland when it opened, it is so ugly, boring, and offensive.

The Mulan remake is created like it is not a Disney remake at all. There will be no exciting original characters such as the little dragon, no interesting songs to make a man out of you, no nothing -- as if Disney has lost the right to the Mulan cartoon. There is already a Mulan live action movie like that, made by the Chinese in 2009, starring big named Chinese actors, and has won awards. Most Americans have never seen it or heard of it because if it’s not Disney, it’s not interesting.

The Americans don’t like foreign, non-English speaking films because of the difference in culture, the unfamiliarity of the actors, and the language barrier. Now Disney has gone out to make their own foreign film: Chinese, with big named Chinese actresses that the Americans know nothing about, completely ignoring the draw of movie stars, for the sole purpose of making the movie more appealing to the Chinese audience. However, the movie is still made by American directors and producers. So, we have this strange union of a movie that looks Chinese but isn’t -- to the Chinese, this is still a foreign film. Yet it is about Chinese history, so it is going to be all out weird. Weird or not, however, the Chinese have seen their own Mulan movie, another Mulan movie is not that exciting, not to mention a foreign made one.

The least Disney should have done is hire Asian American actors beyond Rosaline Chao (Star Trek TNG), but Disney wants to impress the Chinese audience like a man trying to please two girlfriends at once - he will end up pleasing neither. A good movie will naturally impress everyone; it is not necessary to put in any particular effort beyond trying to make the movie good. When Star Wars came out in 1977, it blew the minds of the Americans and the Japanese and everywhere else because of the story’s universal appeal.

Disney has not been making good movies in the recent years. That’s why they are doing all the remakes, they have run out of the ability of coming up with a good plot. The Disney Star Wars movies have all but destroyed the Star Wars franchise, they are so bad, they are one big reason why Galaxy’s Edge isn’t popular. Onward is weird and repulsive looking; I don’t plan to ever watch it. And Frozen 2 is completely incomprehensible. Even then, Frozen 2 did well in the box office because at the least, the characters are mostly the same, and the artwork is out of this world. I believe that Frozen 2 would have made twice the money if it had a decent story. I recently watched it on DVD and after I’ve seen it, I couldn’t tell my family what it’s about, so they all refused to watch it (I have 4 boys).

If the plot of Mulan live action is as bad as Frozen 2, it’s not going to make it because there’s no familiar characters to save Disney’s skin. The new Mulan is completely different from the Disney Mulan, so there’s no reason to watch it. There is no beautiful artwork to save the movie this time. And you know that the new Mulan is going to be another Mary Sue like Rey. But Rey is living off of Star Wars. Mulan has nothing; it isn’t even the cartoon Mulan, it isn‘t acted by a popular actor, it is all out foreign, unknown, and unexciting. It is too bad that Brenda Song, the Queen of Disney, is now too old to be Mulan. She would have been perfect for the job. She is beautiful, superb at acting, well known to Disney Channel fans, and she even knows martial arts!

The original Mulan cartoon is a kid’s cartoon. The Mulan movie looks more like an adult movie at PG13. There are no kids or cute little creatures or funny-looking sidekicks or catchy songs in it. The kids are not going to like it or even understand it. Why would you take a kid to an adult movie, unless it is an reenactment of a cartoon that the kid already knows, which this isn’t?

As a Chinese American, I am offended by the Mulan remake’s preview. It shows a blatant disregard of Chinese culture and customs, telling me that the movie will be an Americanized version of the famous Chinese legend of Mulan, just like the cartoon. The cartoon didn’t bother me at all because it is only a cartoon. You don’t take a cartoon seriously, you just enjoy the fun. However, I haven’t been to China for 40 years. Are the people more westernized now such that they will no longer care that the Americans are butchering their history and culture that the Chinese used to be so proud of? I can’t wait to find out.

In the posters, Mulan wears a red, conspicuous outfit as she wields a sword. Kind of like the British Red Coats that the Americans picked off easily from a safe distance.

You might say, didn’t Disney consult Chinese experts when they make the movie to make sure that it is culturally accurate? Yeah, well, notice how well Disney consulted the Star Wars experts to make Galaxy’s Edge. Unlike Chinese experts, Star Wars experts are so ubiquitous that even Disney is full of them. The problem is, the Chinese culture was very suppressive, especially to women. Disney wouldn’t be able to make anything if they had to obey all those rules. This problem doesn’t exist with Galaxy’s Edge, though. I have no idea why Disney made a Star Wars land with no Star Wars in it. So now they are making a Mulan movie with no Disney Mulan! Well, at least Disney is being consistent. Consistently stupid, wasting their own intellectual property instead of taking advantage of it. And they can’t do another Mulan remake that is actually based on the Mulan cartoon either. People will be burned out and sick of it.

The Mulan remake is coming out in Disney+ next month for an extra $30. I expect it to sell less than Frozen 2’s digital release after it’s initial release on the big screen. If that happens, Disney cannot blame covid19 for the lack of interest. Disney is arguing that it is cheaper than taking a family to the movies. But that has always been true if you don’t mind watching a movie on your home TV, which most movie watchers don’t prefer, that’s why there are movie theaters. And what happens when family members don’t all want to watch the Mulan without Disney Mulan in it? Going to the movies is a special family experience. The home TV isn’t; everybody will just be watching it on their own time with their own gadget, not spending time together as a family.

P.S. Disney just announced that they lost 5 billion dollars thanks to covid. It's more than I expected, but I'm not worried about it. They will bounce back.

I really think you "think" with very broad strokes and I would disagree with many of your assessments. The only part I do agree with you is your main point.
The Mulan, live action movie, will not be as popular as the original animated version. The supporting characters and music built up the original and lacking
that, this will just be another action movie. I don't know where you live or the people you deal with, but your views as a Chinese-American are skewed.

 

[JM23457]

I wish Disney would stop making remakes & sequels, and instead focus on original content.

 

[batuuboba]

Personally I hope Mulan flops only if the original content is sloppy. If it's as good as it's hyped to be (debatable), then I hope it gets promoted as a role model of original content for live-action remakes to come (because we all know that Disney's gonna keep making them regardless of what we think because it brings in money). Disney cutting Li Shang (hopefully highlighting the far better connection between Mulan and her father) and Mushu (we got lucky with Will Smith, I don't want a bad impression of Eddie Murphy or a scaly lizard with creepy faces we're supposed to imagine is Mushu) is sad but a wise decision in my opinion. In the preview shown at Hollywood Studios right now, you can hear orchestral arrangements of the original songs in their respective scenes, which I would rather have than a rendition of Lea Salonga. Sure, I'd rather see a new animated Disney movie any day, but that doesn't necessarily mean that I won't give Mulan a fighting chance. And for the record, I enjoy the Latin American Spanish version of 2019 Lion King a lot because they brought in a Broadway actor (Carlos Rivera) to play Simba. A well trained actor is a well trained actor, and I'll watch it no matter what the language.

 

[denecarter]

We watched it. We loved it. Lots of subtle nods to the original while still being unique.

This is similar to the cartoon, but more inspired by than a remake. Someone described it like a superhero movie... they are good if you aren’t expecting them to be identical to the comic books.