A film adaptation of the classic Disney animated film "Mulan" is released on the big screens.
The film was directed by Niki Caro, known for the films "The Zoo Keeper's Wife" and "Confident Climb".
Chinese actress Liu Yifei starred in the film.
It may be familiar to Western audiences from the Forbidden Kingdom movie.
Also involved in the project are Gong Li (Memoirs of a Geisha) and Donnie Yen (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story).
The main plot as a whole repeats the story, familiar to everyone from the cartoon.
A girl named Mulan who lives in a Chinese province disguises herself as a boy, steals her father's sword and armor, and instead goes to war.
The girl is trained in a training camp, and then goes into battle.
She has to save the emperor and the entire Chinese empire, hiding her gender from her colleagues.
Despite the plot similarities, the Mulan movie is strikingly different from the animated film.
And one of the main differences is Mulan herself.
Here, as in the cartoon, an energetic and determined rebel appears before the audience, who is not close to the lifestyle that is familiar to the women around her.
It is more fun for Mulan to ride horses through fields and climb roofs than to cook food or raise children.
However, if in the cartoon Mulan is clumsy (in the camp and in the war she survived with the help of the dragon Mushu sent by her ancestors), then in the new picture the girl demonstrates incredible agility and physical fitness.
According to the plot, Chi energy is strong in Mulan.
It seems that such a Mulan does not need any helpers on the battlefield.
But this energy is not so simple.
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Another difference of the film adaptation from the original animation tape is the very message of the picture.
First and foremost, Mulan is a story about self-acceptance and the courage it takes to stay true to yourself.
At some point, the environment can break even such a strong and decisive person as Mulan, and she will begin to lie for the sake of tradition, thereby limiting her Chi energy.
It is easy to conclude from the film that only by accepting yourself can you fully reveal your talents.
The same idea is transmitted through the story of a new character - Xianyang (played by Gong Li), which turned out to be so bright that it overshadows the rest of the characters.
She is interesting to everyone: from the appearance to the precise, graceful and very effective combat choreography.
Sanyang's role is ambiguous.
She appears as an antagonist, but in fact becomes a kind of teacher who had a significant impact on the formation of Mulan.
At the same time, Xianyang is a kind of reflection of Mulan, with the only difference that the heroine Gong Li at one time did not manage to cope with the prejudices of society.
By the way, the creators have found a solution for those who especially lack the charming dragon Mushu: a character that symbolizes Mulan's connection with ancestors is still there, although it looks completely different.
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The film "Mulan" turned out to be unusually realistic not only in comparison with the cartoon of the same name, but also with most of the game versions of the studio's classic animation films.
Niki Caro's painting is not a fairy tale, but an epic adventure drama.
There are no obviously drawn decorations and cartoon animals, and there is practically no fantasy makeup.
The villains, however, turned out to be somewhat stereotyped.
But they are by no means stupid, as in the same "Aladdin", but very cunning and dexterous.
The stunts in the film are staged with the participation of live horses, and the very impressive and beautiful scenes, which show the heroes' virtuoso mastery of oriental martial arts, suggest not about "computer" magic, but about the long preparation and boundless abilities of stuntmen and stunt directors.
The realism of the film can also be traced in everyday things - such as dirt on faces and under nails, matted hair, etc.
Mulan is faced with a huge number of very real problems, trying to hide her gender: in field conditions, no one will provide her with a separate bath, and if you do not wash, then after a few days everyone you meet begins to report how she smells.
Yes, and sleeping in clothes is uncomfortable, and without it, in the same tent with dozens of soldiers, it is dangerous.
The filmmakers paid special attention to the traditions and life of ancient China and tried to recreate the houses, outfits, customs and life of the people of that time.
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The atmosphere of the new Mulan is rather gloomy, at least compared to the animated version (it's not just that the film is not desirable for children under 13).
Some key scenes are familiar from the cartoon, but they have undergone significant changes.
For example, if in the animation tape in the episode where the heroes discover a broken detachment on the pass, the audience sees a field littered with snow and debris sticking out of snowdrifts, then here in the frame there is fire and mountains of corpses.
It is not surprising that in this version there was no place not only for musical numbers, but also for humor.
However, Disney still managed to please fans of the original animation.
The title song for the film was again performed by Christina Aguilera, who first recorded it in 1998 at the age of 17.
The new version of Reflection has turned out to be stronger and more intense both vocally and artistically.
The video premiered on August 28, the video on YouTube has already gained over 6 million views.
If the animated film "Mulan" is a harmonious synthesis of comedy and drama, then the new film adaptation is a real action adventure, much darker and more realistic, but at the same time preserving the studio's traditions. At the same time, the differences between the two versions of the same story are so obvious that the new "Mulan" can be considered not a game version of the cartoon, but the original film adaptation of the legend about the warrior Hua Mulan from the Chinese poem of the 6th century.