WARRIOR PRINCESS ARISES

Trevor Hogg is privy to the cinematic and logistical battlefield tactics deployed by Niki Caro, Mandy Walker and the visual effects team of Mulan…

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An ancient Chinese poem about a daughter pretending to be a son in order to take the place of her conscripted father in the Imperial Army was made into a Disney animated classic. Rather than have singing and a sidekick dragon in the live-action remake, New Zealand filmmaker Niki Caro (The Zookeeper’s Wife) focused more on the source material. “Our intention with Mulan was to honour the original ‘Ballad of Mulan’ which was written over 1,500 years ago. This drove all of us involved with the film into real China. We drew great inspiration from being down on the ground there. While this movie is a real visceral, raw, high-octane epic action adventure, it still honours some of the iconic elements from the animation that I love.” Chinese cinema influenced the visual language. “Zhang Yimou [House Of Flying Daggers] was such a huge inspiration for me because of the otherworldliness of his films, the incredible action sequences and the design, in particular, the costume design.”

A 14-minute previs cut by editor David Coulson (