How Does the Live-Action Mulan Compare?
Compare & Contrast
This new Mulan moved away from the original Mulan in order to be more appealing and appropriate to Chinese culture. Instead of Mulan becoming injured in the fight and her true identity revealed, in the new Mulan, she disregards her secret identity and unwrapped her hair during combat against the Huns. Mulan didn’t cut her hair in the live-action remake, she instead put her hair into a bun. Also, Mulan was already a very skilled fighter and was able to control her chi in battle unlike in the animated version of the movie of Mulan struggling to learn basic warrior skills. One last significant difference was this version did not feature any singing and had a much more serious tone.
Where did Mushu go?
Instead of the memorable dragon Mushu, a new character was introduced. A phoenix, her family’s symbol, follows Mulan throughout the movie and plays the role of her ancestors while playing into a more feminine side of Mulan. With gender playing such an important role in this story, this was a significant change from the more masculine Mushu.
Where can you watch Disney’s live-action Mulan?
Disney+ members can pay $29.99 to own the movie through their account for as long as they have a Disney+ subscription.
Why is this movie considered controversial?
Main actress Liu Yifei’s stated her support for the Hong Kong police. This is controversial because in China a movement happened because of a bill that would allow people accused of crimes to be sent to places that Hong Kong had no extradition treaty with. At a protest, things got out of hand with a few protests throwing projectiles at the police. The police fought back with pepper spray, batons, and over 150 tear gas canisters. This brought political controversy. In addition, the movie was filmed in the Xinjiang region. This area alleged human rights violations against Uighurs Muslims. The Xinjiang internment camps, camps that imprison people without charges and no intention of filing a charge, that have been compared to the Holocaust’s concentration camps are here. An estimated total of eight million that have been through the camps. Because of both these reasons, many people have boycotted the film.
Our Consensus
The Live-action 2020 Mulan movie could have been better. From the lack of creativity in how she revealed herself to be women fighting under the Chinese Imperial Army to the emotional relationship with the character, Mulan had not faced any real challenges beside hiding her true identity. She went through training with relative ease and at the end of the movie was an even better warrior than Commander Tung.
Justin Ryan Worden is a senior, and the newspaper's managing editor. Apart from writing phenomenal stories, Justin is a major history buff. He even...
Yamilka Ramon-Maymi | Dec 1, 2020 at 9:57 am
I really like this because it gave some really cool and interesting extra information about china and the laws.
Bianca | Dec 1, 2020 at 8:13 am
The charm in the original Mulan film lies in the perfect use of Chinese culture portrayed in a fun way for families to enjoy. The Mulan that struggled with strength but thrived in intellect was removed in the live action remake, creating a femme-fatale character without any originality and removes relatability from the character. Along with the controversy surrounding the actress and the filming area, the movie gives itself a bad reputation.
Evelyn O. | Dec 1, 2020 at 8:05 am
I agree with the concensus that you wrote at the end. I haven’t watched the movie yet, and I think the cuality looks good, but from what I have heard and read in your article I think the plot could have been better. I also feel like they could have chosen a different actress that represented more in modern society what Mulan stands for.