Review: Sumptuously reimagined Mulan turns Disney princess into a true warrior

Liu Yifei stars as Hua Mulan in Disney's live action remake of Mulan.

I'm on record as not being a huge fan of Disney's live-action remakes, but Mulan, the studio's live-action remake of the 1998 animated film, is a welcome exception to that personal sentiment. This isn't just a lazy frame-by-frame copycat of the original (looking at you, live action The Lion King). Part historical drama and part superhero origin story, it's an inventive re-imagining that owes as much to the Chinese source material as to its animated predecessor, transforming the character from a feisty tomboyish Disney princess into a fierce, true warrior.

(Some spoilers below the gallery.)

As I've noted previously, both films are based on the Chinese legend "The Ballad of Hua Mulan," which tells the story of a young woman in the Northern Wei era (spanning 386-536 CE) who takes her father's place when each family is required to provide one male to serve in the emperor's army. In this version, Hua Mulan is already a well-trained fighter, and she serves for 12 years, although the ballad skips over the details of her military exploits. When she finally returns home, she removes her uniform and meets her war comrades as a woman, who express astonishment that they had never suspected. Mulan explains that if you just see a rabbit in a field, you can't tell whether it's male or female.

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