42 replies to this topic

[Spartan Girl]

I know it's not Sunday yet, but I thought I'd start a thread for some of the big new characters that are coming up, and I'm REALLY interested in how they're going to do Mulan, especially with her teaming up with Prince Philip and Aurora/Sleeping Beauty.

[corvus13]

Bad actress. Really bad.

[Eegah]

So, does her existence mean Fantasy World has a China? Because if not, what exactly is her backstory?

[AntBee]

Bad actress. Really bad.

Yes, I was really looking forward to seeing this character, but I was very disappointed in the actress. Sarah Bolger and Julian Morris were merely adequate to me, but Jamie Chung was just terribly wooden not stoic just wooden. Now I'm disappointed and dreading seeing more of Mulan.

[Mars477]

Bad casting. Really bad.

Come on guys. This is a world with the likes of Zhang Ziyi. If you can't hire her, then at least hire a close approximate.

She also looks a bit too... baby faced.

[MsCaitlin]

Horrible actress. Finally figured out where I recognized her from though....she was on Real World back in the day.

[Tricksterson]

She was? In any case she's been in other things as well, the mini-series Samurai Girl and movie Sucker Punch come to mind.

[corvus13]

She's also in the Hangover movies.

[MarySNJ]

Bad casting. Really bad.

Really bad. I was intrigued at the prospect of Mulan and how she would fit into this story, but I'm not buying it based on the story so far (unless Mulan - not Aurora, is the TLK that will somehow save Philip's soul) and the actress isn't selling it. She took me right out of the moment.

[Camera One]

This casting was as bad as Cinderella. Hopefully, she grows on me, since this show has really scored on a lot of the casting. There are so many awesome Asian actresses around, that it was a shame they couldn't find a better fit for the role.

[Spartan Girl]

Come on guys. This is a world with the likes of Zhang Ziyi. If you can't hire her, then at least hire a close approximate.

Zhang Ziyi was supposed to play Mulan in a movie, but it didn't work out I guess. Pity. She would have been great.

Yeah, I think JC's Mulan fell flat. But it could have been worse. They could have gotten Kristen Kruek. *shudders*

[awff7]

Spartan Girl, that's exactly what I was thinking regarding Kristin Kreuk. JC had horrible acting, but I keep thinking that we dodged a bullet since Kristin Kreuk wasn't cast. I'm hoping JC gets better in her role. She doesn't do stoic that well (comes off more as stone-faced), but maybe Mulan hanging around Aurora would soften Mulan up a bit and JC can move away from stoic. I think JC was adequate when Mulan was trying to convince Phillip to let her sacrifice herself, so I'm hoping that as Mulan is written as less stoic, the more JC can act properly.

I'm still disappointed with the casting though, since the majority of the casting has been pretty spot-on so far, IMO. If they needed a relatively Chinese-looking actress in her 20s who can speak in an American accent and has a filmography of moderate length, they could have went with Kristy Wu, Brenda Song or Malese Jow.

I wish they could have went with an older actress in her 30s like Grace Park, Yunjin Kim or Maggie Q, showing a more experienced, rougher Mulan in the aftermath of having her family and kingdom destroyed, but helping Phillip because she still has hope and believes in love and all that jazz. I would have even been ok with a love triangle, if only because I love seeing an older woman and younger man together (which OUAT has been pretty good with so far in Charming-Snow, Graham-Emma and Graham-Regina, at least where the actors' ages are concerned).

[Corydora]

So it isn't just me. Wooden. I don't know who does the casting for the show but sometimes I don't agree with it. But then Lana and Robert are so amazing, they do get it right when it counts.

[MorninStar]

It seems like the over-the-top performances do well, but the reserved, stoic ones do not. Is this casting or direction?

[stealinghome]

Just rewatched the episodes and found JC didn't grate as much the second time around. Maybe I was just expecting it, but while her line deliveries remain pretty stilted, her facial expressions are better than I remembered.

It seems like the over-the-top performances do well, but the reserved, stoic ones do not. Is this casting or direction?

I don't think the problem is necessarily stoic, though. I think JM does well as Emma, and I love all the understated acting on The Good Wife. But I just didn't get stoic from Mulan...I got more "little girl trying to be stoic."

[thuganomics85]

Honestly, I wasn't surprised. I've seen Jaime Chung in a few things and she seems like a very nice person and very, very pretty, but she always comes off stiff to me. I respect her managing to have a successful career post-Real World and not just being a famewhore who appears on numerous challenges, but I really think she's someone who is lucky to be where she is.

It's too bad because, on paper, I would think I would love this Mulan. But JC was very bland and stiff. Maybe there's a chance she'll improve, but I'm kind of already wishing they had casted another actress. Especially now that Snow/Emma are in fairy land, which means she'll be opposite of Ginnfer Goodwin in some scenes, and it will probably highlight her flaws even more.

Edited by thuganomics85, Oct 8, 2012 @ 11:12 PM.

[OptimisticCynic]

I would have preferred Julia Ling, who was so underused and unceremoniously dropped from "Chuck." Or Jessica Lu, or Jessika Van (both from Awkward). Even Keiko Agena.

[satire]

I would have loved to see Kristin Kreuk or Lucy Liu as Mulan. They're both very competent Asian actress who can do action sequences and rock emotional scenes as well.

[metaphysicist]

Lucy Liu as Mulan

Lucy Liu is a bit busy right now.

[ManyWorlds]

Here's how I see it. Mulan is a warrior who's been galloping around a post-apocalyptic forest keeping Phillip alive on his damn-fool search for a girl who told him not to come after her. She's seen some stuff...she identifies the Wraith as one of the more vicious creatures "in all the known lands". She may even be a portal-jumper, with knowledge like that. Now the guy she's been keeping alive for months basically throws himself down the throat of the wraith without even bothering to strategize a better plan, and in his death she's honor-bound to protect someone who, in her eyes, is precisely what she herself has fought hard her whole life not to be: a dippy ballgowned damsel in distress. (don't get me wrong, I love Aurora so far, but I also love Mulan so far and I think there's a great distance the two need to cover before they see eye to eye.)

[Mars477]

Lucy Liu is a bit busy right now.

But damn it if she wouldn't be badass!

Seriously though, Hua Mulan was supposed to spend over a decade serving in the Imperial Army in the original legends. She doesn't have to be in her mid twenties. And goddamnit but Lucy Liu can act! And she's Chinese. Jamie Chung cannot, and is not (although, granted, the second part doesn't actually matter).

This Hua Mulan is blank and wooden. She doesn't need to be emotive, but if she's supposed to be stoic, determined, and focused then she needs to be those things. And her voice, IMO, utterly lacks conviction.

And the suggestion of a love triangle between her, Phillip (who I doubt is actually completely dead) and Aurora? Bleargh.

I do have to say this, however. I really liked the helmet she started out with. It's a shame that went away.

[wingster55]

Kristin Kreuk? After enduring 7 years of her acting on Smallville...no thanks.
I've been saying Yunjin Kim from the start. Although I don't find Chung as bad as everyone else

[stealinghome]

To give credit where credit's due, I thought JC was much improved last night over the first two episodes. She's still not up to par with the regulars (or even Aurora), but for the first time last night she actually exuded "stoic" and "gruffly competent" to me as opposed to "stiff and wooden." Her line delivery has also improved.

[Unraveled]

Yes, she's not the great actress, but I also believe the writing for Mulan is sub-par too.

I wish they could have went with an older actress in her 30s like Grace Park, Yunjin Kim or Maggie Q, showing a more experienced, rougher Mulan in the aftermath of having her family and kingdom destroyed, but helping Phillip because she still has hope and believes in love and all that jazz.

It would have been interesting to have a "princess" who didn't get the happily ever after. If they were following the Disney story, this Mulan could have been after Captain Shang (whether they broke up or he died or whatever). Granted, this could be the case, but I'm not seeing it.

[Camera One]

I'm getting more used to her, and she's fine in the limited role that she had in the third episode. Hopefully, she will grow on me.

[kennyab]

To give credit where credit's due, I thought JC was much improved last night over the first two episodes. She's still not up to par with the regulars (or even Aurora), but for the first time last night she actually exuded "stoic" and "gruffly competent" to me as opposed to "stiff and wooden." Her line delivery has also improved.

I'm with you. And at the end, there gave this quick little smile that was nicely done. I'm guessing that the writers are planning on her to open up as we go along, and that we'll find out why she's become so stoic. That, plus the fact that the actor seems to be loosening up a bit, gives me hope.

[Tricksterson]

I'm thinking that at some point Cora is going to offer Mulan the same deal for Philip's soul that she did Aurora and that unlike the Princess, she will take it. Any thoughts?

[Toughie]

Ooh, I can see that happening.

[mileyavril]

Ugh... I had been starting to like her a little better, thinking that was just how Mulan was... but I thought she didn't do very good last night. I wouldn't say it's the worst she's done, but it just didn't work for me. The unfortunate thing is that I can't pinpoint what exactly annoys me so much.

As far as the Cora/Phillip thing goes, yeah, I think that will happen. And I'm gonna laugh so hard if it's her who ends up almost getting them all in danger since in the beginning she was like, "listen to me or you die".

[Toughie]

You know what annoys me? She's like a cardboard cutout. There's no substance to her. I get her motivation for why she does what she does. I get where she's coming from. But everything about her is so wooden and stale and stagnant. She has no facial expressions at all. It's just really poor acting on top of poor writing (for this character). Sad really because I LOVE Mulan from the Disney movie.