Mulan Movie Review

With the current pandemic that we are in, the production of movies had come to a sudden halt, and they have postponed movies that were supposed to be released because of the shutdown of all movie theaters across the country. The movie Mulan had an original release date on July 21st, 2020, however, it was moved all the way to September 4, 2020. Disney Plus, a streaming service owned and run by Disney, had released the movie on its platforms due to the unforeseen future and circumstances of when theaters will reopen. With the monthly charge of $6.99 a month for the Disney streaming service subscription, those who want to watch the movie have to pay an additional $29.99 to gain Premier Access to watch the film before it releases to all Disney Plus subscribers on December 4, 2020.

This newly released Mulan is a remake of the Disney Original Mulan movie that was an animated film released back in June 19th, 1998. Mulan (1998) was about how a 16-year-old girl named Mulan had never brought honor to her family. She had the chance to marry a man, however during the process, she had ruined her chances when a bug ruined her ceremony to be accepted. There is then a decree by the Emperor of China that each family must send in one man to help fight off the Hun Army that is trying to invade. In Mulan’s family, her father was blessed with only two daughters, so he would have to go even though he was an injured older man. The night before Mulan’s father was going to leave, Mulan had taken his horse and sword and had gone in his place, acting as a man. A dragon named Mushu would follow her around and act as a guardian angel to Mulan and watch over and protect her. The film is full of joyous musical numbers and characters that put a comedic spin on the film. Mulan also meets a love interest named Li Shang, who is head of the Imperial Chinese Army. The story goes that Mulan eventually gets caught and is banished from the army after they find out she is in fact a girl and not a man. However, while she is feeling the dishonor that she brought to her family and is alone in the mountains, she overhears the Hun Army’s plan to invade the palace and try to kill the emperor. She then convinces some men in the Chinese Imperial Army to help her save the emperor. In the end, she brings honor to her village, herself, and her family name.

The newest movie version of Mulan has adapted a different aspect and approach to its movie. The director of Mulan (2020), Niki Caro, had approached the movie and wanted to make it a more serious version that was more action packed. None of the musical numbers and songs were to be included in the film, along with Mulan’s love interest, Li Shang, her guardian spirit, Mushu, and instead a witch named Xian Lang was put into the movie. The movie is focused more on being standalone than being based solely on the original version of the film. This movie has the same focus as the original about female empowerment, however this movie also focuses on the aspect of chi, and the life force and energy that people contain. Producer Jason Reed says the choice to leave Mushu on the sidelines was due in part to the traditional Chinese audience. Besides the few missing characters and songs, the plot of the movie remains intact with the original animated film. Mulan, played by Chinese-American actress Liu Yifei still takes her father’s place in the army and shows that she can be just as powerful and strong as a man. Instead of getting caught for being a girl in the new adaptation, Mulan confesses because she believes that she must be honest and truthful. However, she still finds how the Huns plot against the emperor and try to invade, and she must stop them and save the emperor. In the end, Mulan shows that she is loyal, honest, and true to herself, and she brings honor to one of the most important virtues, family.

The cast of Mulan (2020) is an all Asian cast and is filled with many known and iconic actors and actresses known to the Asian community. There’s the Wushu master, fight choreographer, and action icon Donnie Yen, who became very popular for his Ip Man franchise, along with already being in another Disney film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. There is also Jet Li, near-unrecognizable in his role as the Emperor of China, and Gong Li, one of China’s greatest and most celebrated living actresses. There’s Wuxia legend Cheng Pei-pei that is known to the American audience as Jade Fox from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and the very popular Come Drink With Me (1966). Tzi Ma, who plays Mulan’s father, Hua Zhou, and Rosalind Chao, who plays her mother, Hua Li, have been in many films of the American mainstream, with films like Rush Hour and The Joy Luck Club.

Many had problems with the film because of the way the director went. Many hardcore Disney fans did not like how the movie did not go completely based on the original version, and die hard Disney fans love the iconic songs and music from Mulan (1998) along with the lovable characters such as Li Shang and the comedic Mushu. There was also backlash within the Asian community because there was a lack of Asian talent behind the camera, even though the movie represents a lot of Asian aspects. Many had the problem that Asians were only used mainly for the cast, and people of other races were trying to represent them. Although all the behind the scenes crew said that they had studied Asian culture a lot to make everything seem as authentic as possible, the Asian American community is still upset about the fact that no Chinese national or Chinese American cultural specialists were consulted about the film and the way that it was adapted.

Overall, you’re just going to have to watch the movie and judge it for yourself. If you can put aside all the flaws that this movie has because there are differences from the original, then maybe you can enjoy it as its standalone movie, which is what it tried to be. The overall arc and storyline of Mulan really ties a connection with female empowerment and can show young girls that anything a man can do is also possible for a woman to do.