By Olivia Yin
With the live action version of Disney’s Mulan being released only a few weeks ago, it has already stirred up controversy. The new Mulan movie was released on Disney+ premium access with a subscription price of $30.
The story is based upon the famous Chinese legend of Hua Mulan: a young woman disguises herself as a man to join the imperial army in place of her father. The live action movie follows the traditional story line closer than the 1998 Disney cartoon.
However, the cartoon had humor from the unforgettable Mushu (the dragon), and catchy Disney songs like “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” and “A Girl Worth Fighting For”. If Disney wanted to have a more traditional take on Mulan, they should have hired a Chinese director. Since this is the only Disney Asian “princess” movie, and this is the most inspiring Chinese legend highlighting female empowerment, it is disappointing that they did not have more Chinese or other Asians in important artistic roles, like director and costume designer.
Another notable difference from the cartoon was the excessive use of “Chi”, the energy that binds and makes up the universe. By using “chi” in the movie, the director promotes the idea that Mulan was able to become so powerful by unlocking her chi, which in the movie was portrayed as some magical strength ability. This is a contrast from the cartoon where it shows Mulan persisting and working hard to master discipline and skill.
In both movies, Mulan is fighting to gain respect from society as a woman. However, in the cartoon she is actually more assertive in getting her point across. In the cartoon Mulan tells the commander that he should trust her as a woman, the same way he trusted her as a man. But in the film, it is her male partner who convinces the commander and delivers the iconic line.
Another controversy is that part of the film was shot in XinJiang China, where there are enormous re-education camps for millions of Muslim Uyghurs, according to news reports. These camps have been accused of human rights violations. Social media has been critical of Disney thanking the Chinese government for helping with the movie and the lead actress, Liu Yifei, for posting support for Hong Kong police who used excessive force against pro-democratic Hong Kong protestors. This caused some people to boycott the movie using #boycottmulan.
Putting aside the political controversies, I am not completely disappointed with the film because the action scenes were artistic, the scenery was beautiful, and it provides an accurate portrayal of Chinese culture. But if I were you, I would split the cost of the movie with a friend or two. Set your standards low and don’t compare it to the irreplaceable cartoon version.
