Mulan's Tzi Ma says new film is 'superior' to original

'Mulan' star Tzi Ma says the live action version is "superior" to the original.

The 57-year-old actor will be playing the title character's father Hua Zhou in the upcoming new take on the Disney classic, and while it's set to be a very different film he thinks fans will enjoy it even more.

He told Digital Spy: "This is not a remake of the animation, so that would probably be disappointing for some people out there, because the animation was so well-received.

"I believe this live action film is superior to the animation, very importantly because of the leadership. Niki Caro is the director. She's bringing in this woman's point of view, which it needs to be because this movie is about a woman warrior."

He heaped praise on Liu Yifei for her performance as Mulan, and described her as an "engaging and compelling" actress.

He added: "Liu Yifei, the woman who's playing Mulan, is in my mind one of the best actors out there.

"She's so engaging and compelling that I believe the audience will fall in love with her at first sight, that they will follow her into this magical mystery tour that will transport this audience into another time."

And Ma also tackled fan disappointment that Mashu - a dragon companion from the original animated movie in 1998 voiced by Eddie Murphy - won't feature in the new movie, but he insisted the character wouldn't be a good fit.

He explained: "Mushu is a dragon and a dragon is probably predominantly male energy, and we're talking about a woman warrior. I would think another mystical animal would be more apropos to Mulan as opposed to a dragon. That's my take on it."