While Disney’s upcoming Mulan remake is hitting the same basic story beats as its animated predecessor, unlike many of the Mouse House’s other live-action remakes from within the last decade, this movie is taking a lot of creative liberties. This includes the new Mulan, which will be accessible on Disney+ in the United States, not being a musical; instead, instrumental versions of songs from 1998’s Mulan will be featured.
However, that doesn’t mean that songs from the original Mulan, lyrics and all, can’t be belted out separately from the main feature. Case in point, Christina Aguilera, who recorded “Reflection” as her debut single when the animated Mulan came out, has re-recorded that same song for the live-action remake, which you can listen to below:
Christina Aguilera was just 17 years old when her first version of “Reflection” came out, and with it eventually charting #19 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, the song played a huge role in propelling her to worldwide stardom. 22 years later, and now 39 years old, Aguilera now gets to tackle “Reflection” again for a new generation.
This music video seems to have a higher production value than the one from the late ‘90s, although how it musically measures up to the original will depend on the listener. Feel free to listen to Aguilera’s original recording of “Reflection” in you’re in the comparing mood:
It’s unclear if Christina Aguilera’s new take on “Reflection” will play during the Mulan remake’s credits, as her earlier version did in the animated Mulan, but according to Matthew Wilder, who co-wrote the original movie’s songs, the instrumental version of “Reflection” “thematically plays a large part” in the remake. Aguilera also recorded another song for the new Mulan called “Loyal Brave True.”
Disney first explored the prospect of a live-action Mulan remake in 2010, but it wasn’t until 2015 that the current iteration of the project started coming together. Along with not boasting any musical numbers, much of the remakes supporting cast consists of brand-new characters, and Mushu, Mulan’s miniature dragon sidekick from the original movie who was voiced by Eddie Murphy, will not be present.
Mulan’s main cast includes Liu Yifei, Donnie Yen, Jason Scott Lee, Yoson An, Gong Li, Jet Li, Tzi Ma, Rosalind Chao and Nelson Lee, among others. Whale Rider’s Niki Caro directed the picture, and Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Lauren Hynek and Elizabeth Martin all worked on the script. At the start of 2020, the plan was for Mulan to be released on March 27, but due to global health concerns, it bounced around the calendar for a bit before landing on its current date.
Mulan will be available to Disney+ subscribers for $29.99 in the U.S. starting September 4 (if you’re not already subscribed, you can do so here), and will also be theatrically released in various other countries. Look through our 2020 release schedule to learn when the rest of this year’s movies are supposed to arrive.
