“Mulan: The Live-Action Remake” Op-Ed

Mulan (2020), directed by Niki Caro, is a live-action remake of the beloved Walt Disney Pictures animated film, Mulan (1998), directed by Tom Bancroft and Barry Cook. Both Disney films are based on the Chinese folklore, The Ballad of Mulan, which follows Mulan’s journey to becoming a confident and capable young woman while serving her country in place of her father. This film tried to align itself with the Chinese folklore and attempted to be more culturally accurate, unlike the 1998 film. The 2020 rendition of the lore was given a production budget of $200 million, making it the most expensive film directed by a woman. The developments for the movie began in 2015 and was set to premiere on March 9, 2020; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the debut was postponed until September 4, 2020, where it was released on Disney+ for a fee of $30.

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(Spoilers) While I was watching the film, I felt as though it lacked the Disney spark that the animated film had carefully nurtured. To me, the storyline was the biggest issue, as it was poorly written, with the characters and plot being developed inadequately. Another concern with the film was that it was culturally inaccurate. This could partly be due to the fact that none of the scriptwriters were Chinese, thus causing the material to be lost in translation.

In the live-action adaptation, many of the characters that are strongly associated with the movie, such as Mushu and Li Shang, were removed due to the response given by Chinese movie-goers towards the 1998 version. Instead, new characters were implemented, such as giving Mulan a sister; splitting Li Shang into Commander Tung and Chen Honghui, who is the main love interest; and converting Mushu into the spirit of a Phoenix. Now, there isn’t necessarily anything wrong with the concept of adding new characters to fit with the new narrative, seeing as how it’s a stand-alone movie based more on folklore than it’s animated predecessor. However, the problem arises when these new characters can be taken out, and it wouldn’t affect the movie whatsoever. These new characters were completely one-dimensional. The addition of Mulan’s sister to the story is just one example, seeing how she is only shown for a sliver of a part in the exposition. Her character doesn’t add much to Mulan’s story, and she just seems to be a background character rather than a supporting character.

Alongside the characters being completely flat, the build-up for Mulan’s character was done inadequately as well. Mulan, our main heroine protagonist, didn’t have much character development. Instead, it’s just established that she has Qi, which is an abundance of energy stored in every life force, that isn’t supposed to be used by women. She is simply established as an overpowered heroine who can do anything, even full-blown martial arts as a child. Her life is never at stake at any point during the battles. The flaws that the animated Mulan has, that makes her lovable, was completely taken away. This is because she isn’t shown any flaws. She's depicted as a perfect girl who can do martial arts, especially with the fact that the Matchmaker found a suitor for her shows that she isn’t the same clumsy and incapable girl. This lack of flaws makes it difficult for the audience to create a connection of empathy or sympathy with her. They aren’t able to relate to her as a character, her situation, or her struggles.

Although the film lacked a strong storyline and characters, I have to say that the cinematography was breathtaking. I was taken aback at the scenery of New Zealand and China. The vibrant colors, the wide lens shots exposing the whole scenery stretched out throughout the horizon, and diverse landscape. It was beautiful.

I went out and collected the opinions of others who watched the film. They expressed how they were disappointed in the film because of how the plot was interpreted from the original. It felt as though a lot was lost in translation. One even expressed how the movie should be boycotted because of their affiliation with Xinjiang and with the actress’s public support with the policing in Hong Kong.

As expressed by surveyors, who chose to remain anonymous, “It lacked that Disney Spark.”

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If you want a more in-depth review from a Chinese person, picking apart every flaw with the movie, I would suggest watching Xiran Jay Zhao’s video titled, Everything Culturally Wrong with Mulan, addressing everything wrong with the movie from a cultural standpoint.

Contact Aashna Singh at s.aashna20 ‘at’ gmail (dot) com