At the presentation of new shots from the upcoming film "Mulan" director Niki Caro confirmed to journalists that Mushu will not be in the picture. According to Caro, an animated dragon is irreplaceable, and an updated version of it would look wrong. And here is the theory that the role of Mulan's keeper will be taken by the phoenix, which we seen in the trailer turned out to be close to the truth.
"The dragon is the emperor's symbol for the masculine principle, while the phoenix indicates the feminine principle," the director notes. Given the plot, this symbol change looks like a perfectly appropriate move. In addition, judging by the trailers, a serious picture awaits us, and a snide dragon would look strange with such a tone of narration.
Mushu's absence isn't the only noticeable difference between the 1998 version and the remake. The new film reduced the number of songs and added a new villainess, Xian Lang, who was not in the cartoon or in the original Chinese legend. Mulan also has a sister, unlike all other adaptations.
Karo noted that they tried to preserve the recognizable elements of the cartoon in the film version. For example, the famous scene of the visit to the matchmaker was left - and this is the only time Mulan looks truly feminine. As the director explains, the rest of her costumes are more neutral, because "we have a girl who likes to ride a horse and play ball."
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