“There are many tales of the great warrior Mulan but ancestors, this one is mine.”
NARRATOR at beginning of film
FROM THE BEGINNING of the film, the narrator makes it known to the audience that this is going to be a different story than the Disney’s classic Mulan that you’ve come to love. There’s a lot that I want to say about this movie but for those of you who just want me to cut straight to the point: I would rate this movie a 7.5/10 on it’s own buuuut compared to the original, I would give it a 4/10.
Let’s get into it. *spoilers ahead*
POSITIVE & NEGATIVES
The new adaptation shows Mulan’s small and secluded village, where women were only supposed to focus on being matched to a partner in order to bring honor to their family. However, since childhood, Mulan demonstrated an exponential amount of chi (a mystical power/energy within.) So, the village folk looked at her with annoyance, thinking she wouldn’t amount to anything.
This background story was an immediate negative for me because the whole idea of Mulan possessing chi destroys the original significance of a woman single-handedly overcoming stereotypes and bringing honor to her family through her own willpower, strength, wits and bravery without the use of any special “chi.”
Despite this major con, I did appreciate how they focused on the father/daughter relationship and highlighted the father’s role more in this adaptation. I also adored the homage to Chinese culture through the costuming, makeup, scenery and colors in the film.
CHARACTER COMPARISONS
- Phoenix v.s. Mushu
– To everyone’s dismay, there was no humorous and loving sidekick dragon/lizard in the remake. In the live-action film, after Mulan runs away, her father prays to a phoenix statue* to watch over her. The phoenix simply serves as a spirit guide that only Mulan can see throughout the movie. The story-writers placed heavy emphasis on the phoenix always following the family into battles or hardship.
*Sits at the entrance of their ancestors’ shrine and at the right hand of the emperor- foreshadowing Mulan’s future.
I understand why they took this symbolic approach for a more traditional remake because a sarcastic sidekick probably wouldn’t have made sense in this new setting… - BUT THE FALCON, FROM THE DISNEY MOVIE, THAT SITS ON THE MAIN HUN’S (Shan Yu) SHOULDER GETS A WHOLE PERSONIFIED CHARACTER!!!
– So, if they were going to do that then they should’ve just created a personified character for Mushu: The Sarcastic and Loyal Spirit Guide.
The ONLY thing that I genuinely appreciated about the usage of the falcon, was that she was depicted as an anti-villain and I love a good anti-villain story. Long-story short, she also wanted to become a warrior since she possessed great chi. She wanted to be accepted by her people but instead, she was exiled to the desert because everyone believed that she was a witch. And of course, Bori Kahn (Shan Yu in the remake) just has to go and insert his toxic masculinity and make even her, a great sorceress, believe that she is incapable of being accepted by society without a man by her side.
In the end, the writers were able to tie in one last theme of “2020 Women Empowerment” into this remake by having the sorceress and Mulan work together in the end to bring down Bori Kahn. As frequent as that theme has been used in recent movies, it was actually really heartwarming to watch the anti-villain’s story unfold into her final moments with Mulan.
3. There’s no Cricket or Grandmom
They nicknamed one of the warriors “Cricket” but to be honest, the warrior has proven to be equally as adorable and I ended up having a soft spot for this wholesome character. The remake gave Mulan a younger sister, rather than a grandmom, which was still cute and allowed the scriptwriters to play off the whole “Asian parents constantly needing to compare their children” vibe. However, without the grandmom, you do miss out on some ICONIC lines.
4. Romance and Warrior Friends?
Yao, Ling, and Chien-po are nowhere to be found in the remake. This makes me guess that if they were to ever film a live-action remake of Mulan 2 then it would be considerably hard given that 3 main characters won’t be present.
Although the iconic trio were never written in the script, the bond between the warriors was still able to hold throughout the little scenes in the movie- it just wasn’t as strong.
As for the romance, it’s true… Li Shang is not the head general nor is he in the remake. Instead, there’s a character named Honghui who’s another one of the warriors training alongside Mulan. You know that he’s meant to be the original Li Shang because of the snowy mountain scene that almost mirrors the Disney’s movie scene. Also, there are still moments in the movie that bring these two characters closer together and the bridge scene at the end hints at their budding romance.
5. NO MUSIC
Disney’s Mulan has an IMPECCABLE soundtrack, no one can deny that. Sadly, the remake didn’t have any musical aspect to it- no one broke out into song while training. Personally, the remake didn’t need any sing-song attributes and the familiar background instrumental was enough to enhance some scenes without taking away its seriousness.
4 MAJOR SCENES NOT INCLUDED THAT I JUST NEED TO VENT ABOUT
- MULAN’S DECISION TO CUT HER HAIR & JOIN THE ARMY
– It’s just such a pivotal scene that I don’t understand how they didn’t include it in the remake. In Chinese culture, cutting your hair symbolizes cutting ties with your past and starting off with a fresh, new beginning. But, there’s no cutting her hair. There’s no viewing her reflection in the sword. There’s no steadying the horse in the stable. There’s no dramatic synth background music. Instead, Mulan quite actually just walks away. It was a perfectly missed opportunity to not include this scene.
2. PROOF OF MULAN’S WIT & PERSEVERANCE (RETRIEVING THE ARROW)
– In the remake, the biggest and toughest trial the warriors had to face during training was carrying buckets of water up the top of a hill without cheating. LAME. In the Disney film, Mulan being the only one to retrieve the arrow from the top of the pole proved that she used her wits, strength and discipline to outdo the other warriors; therefore, gaining all of their respect after long/brutal training. Instead, in the live-action, the warriors didn’t respect Mulan until she had a flashy fight scene against Honghui that showed off her chi. (really lame)
3. Arrival at the 4th Battalion
– The scene where the warriors travel through the burned down village was also rushed through in the remake. It showed the warriors walking by piles of helmets lying around and it just didn’t do the Disney’s film justice as a remake. If they were going to include that scene in the remake then they should’ve let the scene play out. Show the small and important details like Mulan finding a little girl’s doll or Li Shang finding his father’s helmet.
3.5 Mulan Exposing Herself/Family Reunion Scene
– I had to tie both of these scenes in place 3.5 because they weren’t that big of a deal but I just like how the scenes played out in the original better. In the remake, Mulan exposes herself as a woman to the army after the snowy mountain battle. There was no dramatic, council member dragging her from the medic tent and throwing her to the snow, scene. However, Mulan exposing herself, on her own accord, allowed for the army to join her in saving the emperor. She was willing to risk being executed by admitting that she was a woman, thus proving her bravery and loyalty to the army.
As for Mulan’s family reunion scene in the remake, her father cared more for his daughter’s life rather than his old battle sword. While that’s still touching, there’s just something more impactful about the father, in the Disney version, throwing away the emperor’s gifts that Mulan presents to him because he cared for her more.
CONCLUSION
Finally, amirite? Sorry for the lengthy blog post this week, I just had A LOT to say! All in all, the live action Mulan was a nod to the old-fashioned chinese martial arts movies with the dramatized fighting sequences and slow-motion effects. It’s a story of a woman becoming a warrior and a legend while staying true to who she is.
If you’ve watched the movie already, definitely comment or start a discussion because I would love to hear what you guys think! If you haven’t watched it already then honestly, just save your money and wait for it to premiere to the public!
Thanks for reading,
Jessica
