I keep a box of knick-knacks from my classmates in kindergarten in a box up until now. When my mom once tried to put them up for display, I got mad. You can touch everything else, just not the childhood memorabilia I hold dear. It’s the same thing for movies, stories, and TV shows we grew up with. No one has attempted a remake of anything without being met with the fury of a thousand tweets. Take for example how everyone doesn’t like the fact that the live-action remake of Mulan will have no songs.
You heard that correctly. You will not hear and sing-along to “I Will Make a Man Out of You” and “Reflection.” There will also be no Li Shang either.
The pitchforks may have been replaced with phones but the anger is still true.
Lea Salonga is also not so happy about it. She wanted a hunky love interest for Mulan in this remake. (I mean, who wouldn’t want one?)
She didn’t mind that the songs were cut. Again: Mulan’s singing voice actress is okay with it. She shares in her tweet how there’s so much more to the story.
Lea’s point reminds us how stories become timeless. In their retelling, they transform to suit the audience. If not for the different versions of childhood fairy tales, the first time you read Cinderella would have related how the evil sisters cut off parts of their feet so they could fit the glass shoe. I was glad I was an angsty teenager when I read that version.
The Mulan audience of today is different. Just take a look at how we’re adults now. The kids of today have been exposed to an online sphere early on. Times have changed but not what Mulan teaches. Cheesy, but, hey, it’s what your literature teachers were yammering about when they talked about the importance of reading Greek mythology.
Let’s also commend how in this remake, they won’t be whitewashing anyone. A source from the movie crew confirmed that the lead characters will be Chinese. It’s one thing to make a new version, another thing to recreate it that puts the story out of context.
We’ll be watching out for the next updates regarding the live-action Mulan. Until then, we’re going to be watching the cartoon version. No matter what happens today, at least that will remain untouched.
Screengrab from Mulan
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