Mulan Visual Effects Breakdowns

VFX Online March 28, 2020, 1:23 pm 1.5k Views

Mulan Visual Effects Breakdowns

Mulan is a 2020 American action drama film based on the Chinese folklore “The Ballad of Mulan” and is a live-action adaptation of Disney’s 1998 animated film of the same name. Directed by Niki Caro, with the screenplay by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Lauren Hynek, and Elizabeth Martin, it is produced by Walt Disney Pictures, and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film stars Liu Yifei in the title role, alongside Donnie Yen, Jason Scott Lee, Yoson An, Gong Li, and Jet Li in supporting roles.

Plans for a live-action remake began in 2010, but the project never came to fruition. In March 2015, a new attempt was announced and Caro was hired to direct in February 2017. Liu was cast in the title role in November 2017, following a casting call of 1,000 actresses, and the rest of the cast joined over the following year. Filming began in August 2018 and lasted through November, taking place in New Zealand and China. With a production budget of $200 million, it is the most expensive film ever made by a female director.

Mulan’s Hollywood premiere was held on March 9, 2020. Originally scheduled to be a theatrical release, it was delayed multiple times due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Disney eventually announced that it would instead be released on September 4, 2020 on Disney+ for a premium fee in countries where the service had launched. It will have a traditional theatrical release in countries without Disney+ and where theatres have re-opened.

The VFX are made by Crafty Apes, Framestore, Image Engine, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Weta Digital, DNEG.

Mulan Visual Effects by Framestore

Framestore, We’re pleased to announce that our team is working on the highly anticipated Mulan, a live-action reimagining of the original 1998 film and inspired by “The Ballad of Mulan” poem.

Key to the team’s role across 320 shots includes creating the mythical Phoenix, a number of action-packed performances paying homage to Hong-Kong cinema as well as impressive, dreamy landscapes.

Directed by Niki Caro and starring Liu Yifei, Donnie Yen and Jet Li, the film follows Mulan, a maiden disguised as a male warrior whose mission is to save her father. This epic film is targeting a U.S. debut of $85 million.

Director: Niki Caro
Release Date: 4 September 2020

Production VFX Supervisor: Sean Andrew Faden

The VFX are made by:
Framestore (VFX Supervisor: Hubert Maston)
Image Engine (VFX Supervisor: Christian Irles)
Sony Pictures Imageworks (VFX Supervisor: Seth Maury)
Weta Digital (VFX Supervisor: Anders Langlands)
DNEG (Stereo Supervisor: Barry O’Brien)
Crafty Apes