Loyalty, Bravery, and Devotion to Family. A beloved Disney animated film from their Renaissance era has now been transformed into a stunning new live-action movie. In this adaptation of the original Mulan, Director Niki Caro takes on the classic story of a young Chinese woman disguising herself as a man in place of her father to fight in the war. The journey to becoming a full-fledged warrior is thrilling, from start to finish. The film yields inspiration from both the Ballad of Mulan written in 400 AD and the 1998 animated film of the same title, which has roots from the original Chinese poem.
With a $200 million budget, female director Niki Caro implemented traditional cultural regions and details, yet incorporated very innovative action sequences and special effects. You want gravity-defying, aerial work, and elaborately and choreographed martial arts battles? You get them all. Did I mention the fantastic costuming? Bina Daigeler, a German costume designer, aimed to represent Chinese culture. Daigeler spent three weeks in Mainland China studying art and history in museums in Shanghai, Beijing, and Xi'an, the Tang Dynasty's ancient capital.
In addition to the details, this film includes an impressive array of actors that made the story come to life, including Donnie Yen, Tzi Ma, Jet Li, and Gong Li. At the center is Yifei Liu, who demonstrates a strong range of character as Mulan develops from an impulsive young woman to a mature commander. However, I felt that there could have been more emotion elicited and expressed from Yifei Liu when acting.
While the steep price of $30 in addition to Disney Plus’ subscription fee has been a deterrent for many, there has been controversy surrounding the main actress Yifei Liu. During the Hong Kong protests, actress Yifei Liu posted a statement regarding what was happening, stating, "I support the Hong Kong police. You can all attack me now. What a shame for Hong Kong." Her support towards the government and its policies allowing citizens to be extradited to Mainland China has now spurred the movement #BoycottMulan on Twitter and other social media platforms.
In addition to this, Disney has been under fire for its “thank you” in the credits to eight government entities in Xinjiang Province for filming scenes there. For years, China has been under major scrutiny for human rights abuses in Xinjiang against Uighur Muslims minorities. It has been estimated that over 1 million Uighur residents have been detained in what has been deemed “reeducation centers” since 2016. Considering both of these issues, how will this affect the success of Mulan and Disney’s perception?
The new elements that were incorporated into the film were incredible. Although I missed Mushu and the Cricket, I loved how a new female antagonist and Guardian (Phoenix) were added. In this film, we see more of Mulan's childhood and what she was like growing up. We do not get the iconic hair slicing or make up removing scenes as there is a smoother transition from the matchmaker scene to the army arriving at her village. What made the original Mulan a fun movie to watch were the musical numbers. Throughout the film, the delightful comedic songs were missed. Regardless, the beautiful orchestrated tunes used in the background made up for it as it added to the ambience. Overall, the movie was something I enjoyed watching. I liked how action-packed this film was and how we got to see more of the culture. Adding on, the movie’s theme of female empowerment was terrific and executed greatly. The scene where Mulan found who she truly was in the middle of the battle was empowering. My favorite part is when she takes her armor and lets her hair down while on her horse with the instrumental version of Reflection playing in the background. To conclude, this film itself is a solid 9/10 as a separate and more realistic/gritty interpretation from the original animated film. However, coupled with its bout of controversies and price, the film really is a 4.5/10.
Pictures from: 1) Disney Poster 2) New York Times images 3) Spectrum News “Mulan Preview Coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios”
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