Reviews for Disney’s live-action adaptation of their 1988 animated hit “Mulan” are proving varied, albeit mostly positive. The one element though that is at the forefront of the discussion is Mushu, or rather the lack of the famous dragon character voiced by Eddie Murphy in the cartoon.
In the animated film, Mushu is not just Mulan’s friend but also provides the film’s comic relief. However this new film has opted for a much more grounded approach to the material and so there’s no wise-cracking dragon in the feature. That’s not to say the film is completely devoid of a mystical element though with a non-talking phoenix encountered at one point.
Still, the film’s director Niki Caro tells USA Today that there was good reason for the narrative changes and excluding Mushu from the new film in order to flesh out the human supporting characters:
“We were very inspired by what Mushu brought to the animation, which was the humor and the levity, and the challenge was to bring that to Mulan’s real relationships with her fellow soldiers. Mushu, beloved as that character is in the animation, was Mulan’s confidante, and part of bringing it into live action was to commit to the realism of her journey, and she had to make those relationships with her fellow soldiers. So there was certainly a lot to work with in that department.”
“Mulan” is now available via Premier Access on the Disney+ streaming service.