Disney’s highly anticipated live-action remake of Mulan hits theaters on March 27, and if early reviews are any indication, it may just be one of the best movies of the year.
The film’s Los Angeles premiere went down on Monday, March 9, and from the looks of Twitter, critics dug it. Like, really dug it. As in, some are saying it’s Disney’s best-ever live-action remake. That’s quite the compliment, seeing as how Disney is rebooting just about every single one of its classic animated films.
Movie journalists are shouting out the film’s star, Yifei Liu, and director, Niki Caro, specifically. “I’ve seen MULAN twice now and I must say it is grrrreat,” Yahoo! Entertainment’s Kevin Polowy tweeted. “Easily Disney’s best live action reboot. I think it’s also Disney’s first battle epic? It is beautiful & absorbing & rich & empowering. The cast is excellent and Niki Caro’s direction is just breathtaking.”
Mashable’s deputy entertainment editor Angie J. Han added, “#Mulan is the best of the Disney live-action remakes since Cinderella—I didn’t even miss the songs. Finds new notes in a story we already know while delivering gorgeous action, heart, and humor. Liu Yifei is ??.”
See some more reactions from industry people who have checked out the movie, below.
Pop singer Hayley Kiyoko also saw the movie in advance—and loved it. “I LOVEEDDDD MULAN!!!!! It’s very different but it’s just as good I promise!!! So empowering and so important for the newer generations to see it,” she tweeted.
Fans of the 1998 animated movie were sad to hear that this live-action remake wouldn’t be a musical (though Caro did tell BuzzFeed the original music will be honored in a “significant” way). On this decision, Mulan producer Jason Reed told Collider, “It will not be traditional ‘break into musical’ [songs]. They’re not going to stop their workouts to do a big musical number to camera. However, there are a number of songs that are iconic for the movie and tell a great version of the story, and they are very helpful to us in how we’re putting the movie together.”
He continued, “It gets a little easier in animation to keep the tension and the reality in place and still have people break into song and sing to camera. We made the decision that we wanted to keep the world—even though it’s a fantasy—more grounded, more realistic so those emotions really played and the threat is very real. So we are using music in a slightly different way.”
It seems this movie is superb, music or no music. I can’t wait to check it out.
