Reading the News
Disney’s Mulan Movie First Reactions:Exciting,Vibrant,Emotional
Disney’s live-action remake of Mulan tells the story a young Chinese woman,Hua Mulan(Yifei Liu),who disguises herself as a man and takes her father’s place in the army.The new movie is a more realistic take than the previous 1998 animated film.Starring Liu Yifei in the titular role,the film features Chinese superstars Donnie Yen and Jet Li in supporting roles.
The movie won’t be released in theaters until March 27,2020,but critics got a first look at the film Monday night at the Hollywood premiere and took to social media to post their initial reactions.The responses from journalists so far have been overwhelmingly positive,Slash Film’s Peter Sciretta tweeted on Monday,“It’s so majestic,the action is thrilling,it aims for a level of sophistication and beauty you don’t expect.” Many critics feel that this is by far one of Disney’s best live-action adaptations of one of their animation classics.
New Words
vibrant / ˈvaɪbrənt / adj.充满生机的；强劲的
disguise / dɪsˈɡaɪz / vt.隐瞒；掩饰
titular / ˈtɪtjulə（r）/ adj.领衔的；（有）头衔的
feature / ˈfiːtʃə（r）/ vi.作重要角色；起主要作用
majestic / məˈdʒestɪk / adj.宏伟的；壮丽的
sophistication / səˌfɪstɪˈkeɪʃn / n.精良；精明
adaptation / ˌædæpˈteɪʃn / n.改编；适应
Exercise 1
Read the news and decide whether the following statements are True(T)or False(F).
( )1.Disney made an animated film MuLan in 1998.
( )2.The movie will be released in theaters on March 30,2020.
( )3.Chinese actor Jet Li plays the leading role in MuLan.
( )4.Disney’s live-action remake of Mulan is still a musical.
Exercise 2
Choose the best answer to each question according to the news.
1.Who is the leading role of the new movie MuLan?
A.Chinese actress Liu Yifei is in the titular role.
B.Chinese superstar Donnie Yen plays the leading role.
C.Chinese actor Jet Li is the leading role.
D.None of the above.
2.What’s the main plot of this new Mulan movie?
A.Mulan tells the story of a young Chinese woman falls in love with a soldier who’s about to go to the war.
B.Mulan tells the story of a young Chinese woman,Hua Mulan who disguises herself as a man and takes her father’s place in the army.
C.Mulan tells a story of a brave girl who struggles with life.
D.Mulan tells a story of a young woman who leaves home for a new adventure.
3.What are the initial reactions of critics?
A.The responses from journalists have been overwhelmingly positive.
B.The critics fell into two camps,they either like it or not.
C.Many critics feel that this film is not so good.
D.Critics think that Disney’s adaptations of their animation classics are not always satisfactory.
Exercise 3
Read the sentences taken from the news carefully and try to explain the italicized words and expressions with your own words.
1.Disney’s live-action remake of Mulan tells the story a young Chinese woman,Hua Mulan(Yifei Liu),who disguises herself as a man and takes her father’s place in the army.
Remake here means:_______________________________________.
2.The new movie is a more realistic take than the previous 1998 animated film.
Animated film here means:_________________________________.
3.Starring Liu Yifei in the titular role,the film features Chinese superstars Donnie Yen and Jet Li in supporting roles.
Titular role here means:____________________________________.
4.The movie won’t be released in theaters until March 27,2020.
Release here means:_______________________________________.
5.Critics got a first look at the film Monday night at the Hollywood premiere and took to social media to post their initial reactions.
Initial here means:_________________________________________.