“Mulan” may not be for very young children, as it’s become the first Disney live-action remake to receive a PG-13 rating.
The new take on the Disney classic got the rating from the Motion Picture Association of America due to the “sequences of violence” apparently depicted in the film. All previous live-action remakes from the studio have received a G or PG rating, and 2017’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” was Disney’s most recent film to be labeled PG-13.
“Mulan” is straying away from the model of previous remakes like “Aladdin,” “The Lion King,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Cinderella.” Unlike the other live-action takes, “Mulan’s” trailers depicted the film without its famous musical numbers and removed some of the characters featured in the original 1998 animated version, including Mushu, Mulan’s dragon companion who was voiced by Eddie Murphy. Two trailers have been released, following the story of a young Chinese woman who takes her father’s place to fight for their country. The first looks reinforce the idea that the film is taking a more mature approach, showing Mulan in action on the battlefield.
Liu Yifei is starring as Mulan, with Donnie Yen, Jet Li, Gong Li, Jason Scott Lee, Yoson An, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Ron Yuan, Tzi Ma, Rosalind Chao, Cheng Pei-Pei, Nelson Lee and Chum Ehelepola rounding out the cast. Niki Caro directed, with Chris Bender, Jason Reed, and Jake Weiner producing. Barrie M. Osborne, Bill Kong and Tim Coddington serve as executive producers.
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“Mulan” is set to hit theaters on March 27.