In the film, the song is performed by Filipina singer Lea Salonga, who is responsible for Fa Mulan’s singing voice in the movie. “Reflection” was originally written and produced by Matthew Wilder and David Zippel for the soundtrack of Disney’s 1998 animated film Mulan. Let’s take a look at the main versions of Mulan‘s “Reflection,” both in 1998 and in 2020… Mulan 1998 Soundtrack: Christina Aguilera’s “Reflection” While Disney’s recording of multiple versions of “Reflection” in many different languages may seem like a modern business model, Disney’s distribution and marketing model for the 1998 animated Mulan also included Asian audiences, as evidenced by its strategy around the release of singles and videos for “Reflection.” In addition to the English-language version of the song, Disney also recorded and released a video for a Mandarin-language version of “Reflection,” sung by Coco Lee. (The other is a Mandarin-language version of the song sung by Mulan star Liu Yifei.) The return of “Reflection” seems to be the main exception to Disney‘s efforts to distance the new, live-action film from the animated version as a way to communicate to Chinese audiences in particular that they are not using the 1998 version, which flopped in China where it was criticized for being too westernized, as a template. Twenty-two years later, Aguilera is singing another rendition of “Reflection” for the film’s soundtrack-one of two versions of the song that appears on the 2020 soundtrack. However, the film soundtrack also features two versions of “Reflection,” a tune made famous in America by Christina Aguilera for the soundtrack of the original 1998 animated feature. The Niki Caro-directed film, which dropped on Disney+ for “premium access” this weekend, has a score composed and conducted by Harry Gregson-Williams that makes up most of the official Mulan soundtrack.
Unfortunately, they provide the bulk of the album and the overall result is a pleasant, forgettable listen - and that's a disappointment, but it's not surprising considering that Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame suffered from the same flaw.Disney’s new live-action adaptation of Mulanmight not be a movie musical, but that doesn’t mean it is without music.
Jerry Goldsmith's score is fine and occasionally moving, but Matthew Wilder and David Zippel's full-fledged songs are flat and unmemorable. While the music for Mulan is far from terrible, it isn't particularly inspired. Too bad that didn't extend to the music, as well. The films were all high-quality, but a little homogenous, and by the time they got to Mulan - the story of a Chinese princess - they knew it was time for a change, investing the film with an original look and story. Shortly after Beauty & the Beast's massive success, the studio set up a succession of "classy" animated films, spending tons of money to get admittedly gorgeous pictures, star voices and big-name music composers. From Snow White & the Seven Dwarves to Beauty & the Beast, the songs were as enchanting as the animation itself, adding to the magic of the film itself. Music is an integral part to any animated Disney film.