When I first saw the announcement for the live-action Mulan, excited was an understatement to describe what I was feeling. Mulan, since my childhood, has been one of my favorite Disney animated films of all time. While I knew Disney’s live action remakes were hit or miss (See: The Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Cinderella, Lion King), I had a tremendous amount of hope for this one. When Disney began releasing the production details, my hopes began to dwindle. No Mushu, no music, and no Li Shang.
While these details made me skeptical, it was not enough to completely turn me away from the movie. Disney claimed that these revisions were made to align the movie more closely to the poem “The Ballad of Mulan,” on which the animated film was based. For example, the antagonists of the animated movie, Shan Yu and the Huns, were changed to Bori Khan and the Rourans, to make it more accurate given the time period. Many also felt that the depiction of the Huns had been fueled by racism and colorism given their features and the color of their skin. Another example is the removal of the iconic hair cutting scene. In the dead of night, Mulan put on her father’s armor, took his sword, and chopped off her long hair in one swift motion. However, at that time period, Chinese men typically let their hair grow long, so the scene was removed. Given the need for accurate historical depictions, I completely understood Disney’s reasoning behind some of these changes.
One controversy that arose just prior to the release of the movie was leading actress Liu Yifei’s support of Hong Kong police amidst the rampant street protests against a new extradition bill. The actress posted on Weibo (a Chinese social media platform) that “I also support Hong Kong police. You can beat me up now.” Naturally, this was shocking to lots of people, many considering how Mulan was a character who fought against oppression, while the actress portraying her seemed to be voicing support for it. After this, many people called for a boycott of the movie, trending #BoycottMulan on Twitter. Even after the movie’s release on Disney+, people are calling for the live action Mulan to be removed from the platform.
In regards to the movie itself, one issue I found to be upsetting was the pacing. The film runs for two hours, and I felt bored during most of it. There are a lot of scenes I felt were unnecessary and just dragged the movie out. Furthermore, the lack of music makes the story’s progression feel lackluster compared to how the story played out in the animated version. Mulan may have had very few songs in the original animation, yet each song served a purpose.. They also help propel the plot forward. “I’ll Make A Man Out Of You” is not only an iconic song, but it also showed the progress the soldiers made in regards to their training. At first, they were all chaotic, messy, and uncoordinated, but by the end of the song, we can see the fruits of their labors when they practice completely in sync.
Many of the scenes in the remake felt out of place, and I think that is because of the missing music. One of the most prominent examples of this is the number “Girl Worth Fighting For” during which the soldiers are joking around and describing their ideal woman. The song comes to an abrupt end when the soldiers come across a small village that has been destroyed by the Huns. Not only was the timing incredible, but also the stark realization that they are at war makes the scene much more impactful. Scenes like this one are lost in the new version.
Another vivid scene that was lost in the live action remake, was when Mulan’s father found out that she had gone off to the military. In the animated film, you can’t help but feel sorrow because of the way the scene unfolds. It’s raining and, the music is very subtle and adds to the mood. Her father, after seeing Mulan’s comb in replacement of his conscription notice, runs in the direction of the entrance and falls into a puddle due to his bad leg. For me, this is one of the greatest, if not the greatest scene in the movie. The somberness of this moment falls flat in the live-action version. Because the scene was now live-action, I expected it to be even more impactful and heart-wrenching, but it just… wasn’t. The emotion wasn’t there for me. This goes for the remake in general. For most of it, I didn’t feel like the emotional content was well conveyed.
The removal of Li Shang was another thing I was confused about. Disney credits his removal to the #MeToo movement, stating that their relationship was inappropriate due to the power dynamic in the relationship (Li Shang was the commanding officer while Mulan was his subordinate). However, their relationship was not at the forefront of the movie. Many LGBTQ+ fans of the movie felt that the reasoning behind the removal of his character had more to do with Disney’s censorship of same-sex relationships, as many consider Li Shang a bisexual icon. In replacement of Li Shang, the commander and Mulan’s love interest were made into two separate characters.
When I first heard Li Shang was being removed from the plot, I thought they were deciding to scrap the romance in the movie altogether, which I had no problem with. After reading The Ballad Of Mulan, I noticed there was no mention of romance—so I thought they were keeping that aspect closer to the source material. Furthermore, their romance was never a key element in the animated original, unlike many Disney films. Mulan was strong and capable on her own, and that’s what so many people admired about her. She wasn’t a damsel in distress, she was a warrior. That’s not to say that other Disney princesses aren’t strong, only that Mulan doesn’t follow the typical Disney tropes.
Her new love interest, Chen Honghui, was a fellow soldier who stood up for her after she revealed her identity. This felt off to me. Having characters support her despite the seriousness of her being in the military as a woman, felt out of place to me. In the animated film, Mulan proved to the men she fought alongside that she was just as strong as them, and that being a woman didn’t really mean much. This situation also enhanced the beauty of the relationship between Li Shang and Mulan. Li Shang, after berating Mulan for her decision to join the military as a woman, came to view her as an equal by the end because of her dedication and strong will.
Overall, my biggest issue with the new movie was the concept of ‘chi’. Chi is something found in all people, but men with strong chi are seen as warriors, while women with chi are called witches. Mulan now having chi completely erases the struggles she endured while training, and her hard-won progress throughout the film. For example, originally we were shown that Mulan is a creative thinker when she climbs a pole by tying the two bands together and using the weight as an anchor to bring her up. It’s scenes like this where we rooted for Mulan because of her resilience and her quick thinking. Now, having her already be strong due to some supernatural power takes away certain qualities previously demonstrated by the animated Mulan that many admired. It takes away from the positive lesson that many young girls (including myself) saw in Mulan—that we can put in the effort and be considered equal to boys. Instead of showing us this, it conveys the message that some (relatively rare) people are simply born with natural abilities that level the playing field. Since some Chinese people have even said that chi isn’t really a thing in their culture, giving this power to Mulan seemed to be odd.
One scene I did think put an interesting twist on the original was when the soldiers were repeating their three pillars of virtue: loyal, brave, and true. Mulan pauses at the last one, knowing she cannot repeat it because she is not being true to herself. I consider this as a twist on “Reflection,” the song in which Mulan ponders her identity, knowing that the life her parents would like her to live is unattainable. She cannot live as someone’s bride, or be the perfect daughter. Instead, she is left feeling lost when wondering about who she really is. I think this somewhat parallels the live-action scene about the “Three Pillars,” because since she is not being true to herself, she does not recognize her own reflection.
After the movie was released on Disney+, Disney received a lot of backlash for one of their filming locations. Some scenes were filmed in a province named Xinjiang, where Uighur Muslims are being held in concentration camps. Disney even thanked a police department in the province, one in charge of facilitating the camps. Many people felt disturbed that a media company like Disney would essentially be complicit in their knowledge of these camps and not address the issue. Many also felt they were pandering to the Chinese government to ensure they can make money off the movie in China.
All in all, I believe Disney should have just left the original Mulan untouched. The animated version, though flawed, delivers an incredible and impactful story that the live- action film seems to fall flat with. This movie feels like a cash grab for those who love Mulan, and enjoy feeling nostalgic. Moreover, the controversies in regards to Liu Yifei and filming in Xinjiang have turned many people away from watching the movie. Despite my issues with it, I do not think the live-action was completely terrible. Chinese people have said they appreciate some aspects of the historical depictions being accurate, and a lot of the scenery was beautiful. I think separating the live-action project from all memories of its animated source material would make watching it somewhat more enjoyable.
The movie was initially made available for streaming on Disney+ for $30 in addition to the $7 subscription fee. It will become free for all Disney+ users starting from December 4th, 2020.