While Mulan is all grown up and saving China, Mushu will be sitting this remake out.
As Disney fans well know, the long-anticipated live-action remake of Disney’s 1998 animated classic is finally coming out on Friday, Sept. 4 after a series of postponements and rescheduling amid the coronavirus pandemic. In these socially distant times, Disney has decided to make the film available to rent on its Disney+ streaming service in addition to markets where movie theaters are open.
No matter where fans see the film on Friday, Mulan’s 1998 sidekick won’t be making an appearance. Anyone familiar with the animated original will remember the pint-sized dragon, voiced by Eddie Murphy, who served as her hilarious, mishap-ridden guardian throughout the movie. However, as director Niki Caro explained to USA Today, Mushu was more of an inspiration than a real-life necessity for her new rendition.
“We were very inspired by what Mushu brought to the animation,” she told the outlet, “which was the humor and the levity, and the challenge was to bring that to Mulan’s real relationships with her fellow soldiers.”