Ahead of its release on Disney Plus, the cast of Mulan along with its Kiwi filmmaker Niki Caro have spoken to The Project NZ.
The live-action film is a remake of the 1998 animated movie and is based on a Chinese legend about a warrior woman who lived during the Northern and Southern dynasties, between 420 and 589 CE.
For Caro, bringing the $200 million production to her home country was hugely important.
"I brought an international project to a New Zealand crew and that was amazing," she told The Project NZ.
"For me it felt like coming home in every way. It was a wonderful, wonderful experience."
Martial arts film star Donnie Yen thoroughly enjoyed his time working in Aotearoa.
"We filmed in the South Island and it was beautiful," said Yen.
"I'd wake up in the morning and through the windows see mountains with snow, it was like a painting. But I couldn't leave - that was the difficult part."
Fellow kung fu movie legend Jet Li also loved working in New Zealand - with perhaps one exception.
"So beautiful, so beautiful. The people is good, everything… the food is, ah, don't talk about food with Chinese people," laughed Li.
"But the air there is very fresh. Everything is great."
Mulan is released via Disney's streaming service on Friday.
