Unlike Disney's live-action re-imaginings of The Lion King and Aladdin, whose trailers boasted shot-for-shot recreations of famous scenes from the animated originals, the studio's upcoming remake of Mulan looks to be the most radical departure from its source material yet: from the absence of key characters like Mulan's love interest Shang Li, the wise-cracking dragon Mushu, and everyone's favorite cricket-giving, sassy grandma to the absence of its signature showtunes.
Instead, as confirmed by the first full-length trailer, the 2020 movie will take far greater inspiration from the Chinese legend upon which the cartoon was based. Mulan's freshly released second trailer, however, contains far more nods to the original than you might realize, suggesting this new version will actually strike more of a balance between its two sources.
Here are all of the callbacks to 1998's Mulan in the live-action film's second trailer.
THE ORCHESTRAL 'REFLECTION'
The most prominent reference to the animated film is something that can be heard rather than seen. Kicking in during the second half of the trailer is a new instrumental version of "Reflection," a solo ballad that Mulan sings in the first film after her debacle with the matchmaker. It's one of the most memorable songs on the soundtrack; bringing her inner conflict between what her family want for her and what she wants for herself to the surface.
THE JADE COMB
A small but very significant Easter egg in the trailer is the comb that is placed in Mulan's hair after her make-up is done. In the original Mulan, the comb -- which is jade with a white flower, rather than the other way around in the live-action film -- is a gift from her mother before Mulan goes to visit the matchmaker. When Mulan runs away from home to take her father's place in the army, she leaves the accessory behind by her parent's bedside as a "good-bye," a scene we see repeated in the trailer for the new film.
FA ZHOU'S COMBAT PRACTICE
In one scene in the trailer, we see Mulan watching her father, Fa Zhou, practicing with his sword after answering the call to go back to war. We can see that, though he still has a great command of the weapon, signs of his age and weariness from past battles have left him very shaky on his feet.
The same sequence happens in the animated film in almost the exact same way. It's a critical moment in the story as Mulan sees her stoic father's resolve breaking, strengthening her own to spare him from returning to the battlefield.
It's worth mentioning, too, that prior to this we see the pivotal scene where Zhou -- along with the other men of the village -- are reenlisted. However, from what we can see in the trailer, it plays out very differently to the original film, with no embarrassing (in her father's eyes) interruption from Mulan when her father steps up to accept the command.
MULAN'S REFLECTION IN THE SWORD
Despite all of the changes, there are a couple of almost shot-for-shot parallels between the animated and live-action Mulan in the trailer. One of these happens when Mulan unsheathes her father's sword and we see her face reflected back in the blade -- a moment that takes place while she's suiting up for war and should be emblazoned into the memories of fans of the original.
PRAYING TO THE ANCESTORS
In another direct parallel, we see Mulan's father praying to the Fa family ancestors in a shrine, begging them to protect his wayward daughter as she rides into the jaws of danger. In the cartoon version, Mushu the diminutive talking dragon is summoned. In the live-action film, a more grandiose phoenix answers the call.
THE "BE A MAN" TRAINING SCENE
While there aren't going to be any big musical numbers in the new version of Mulan, there is a line of dialogue that clearly plays lip service to the animated film's best-loved song. At the military training camp, we see Mulan and her fellow inexperienced recruits trying -- and largely failing -- to do some target practice with bows and arrows. "We're going to make men out of every single one of you," they're told, which instantly calls "Be A Man" to mind, the musical number that accompanies a training montage of the garrison being put through their faces by Captain Shang.
SHAN YU'S HAWK
Shan Yu, the villainous leader of the Huns in the 1998 film, is one of the characters who hasn't made the cut for the new version. Instead, this one-dimensional (and racially problematic) character has been replaced by "Northern invader" Böri Khan and a shapeshifting witch called Xian Lang.
The form we see her take in the trailer is that of a bird of prey, which can only be a callback to Shan Yu's pet hawk. It's a clever way to reference the first film's villain -- turning his animal sidekick into a fully-fledged character -- while still cutting him out of the picture.
RUNNING ACROSS THE ROOFTOPS
One brief sequence in the trailer shows Mulan scampering across some rooftops much like she does towards the climax of the first film. This scene takes place during the victory parade at the Emperor's palace to celebrate beating the Huns -- which turns out to be a premature celebration when Shan Yu launches a surprise attack on the Emperor. In retaliation, Mulan demonstrates her trademark creativity (and bravery) by luring Shan Yu to the top of a building and into the firing range of some fireworks.
THE AVALANCHE BATTLE
The avalanche battle between the Huns and Mulan's garrison is the animated film's most dramatic action sequence, as well as the moment that Mulan first proves herself as the "hero" of China by causing an avalanche to consume Shun Yu's forces.
In the trailer for the live-action film, we see what looks like the start of this battle, with invading forces squaring off against the Chinese army surrounded by snow-capped mountains. It would certainly be great to see this showstopping part of the original brought to life.
Directed by Niki Caro, Disney's Mulan stars Yifei Liu as Mulan, Donnie Yen as Commander Tung, Jason Scott Lee as Böri Khan, and Yoson An as Cheng Honghui, with Gong Li as Xian Lang and Jet Li as the Emperor. The film opens March 27, 2020.