M ulan S
BY TED GIESE
lated for theatrical release in 2020, the live-action reimagining of Mulan by director Niki Caro was released instead on Disney+ in September, available to subscribers at an additional cost of $30. In December 2020, the film became free to all subscribers at no additional cost. Unlike other Disney’s live-action remakes this ne w film is afforded certain latitude as the 1998 animated Mulan is a relatively underrated film from the 1990s Disney Renaissance period. That said, the general public is increasingly picky when it comes to nostalgia, m e a n i n g i t ’s n e a r l y impossible to make a film that pleases everyone. Ubiquitous social media attention adds the hurdles of global-, gender-, and race-related politics that further complicate such productions. The new Mulan was not immune to these pressures. Personal comments by the lead actress Yifei Liu about the 2019 Hong Kong protests; the removal/alteration of characters like Mulan’s love interest, Shang, who had become a kind of bisexual icon among a subset of LGBTQ viewers; and controversies around shooting locations which required approval from local Chinese government officials involved in running detention camps
IN REVIEW: MULAN for Uighur Muslims all impacted the public perception of the film in advance of its release. How does 2020’s Mulan compare to the 1998 version? Most obviously the comedic moments and musical numbers have been removed from the new version of the film. The decision, for example, to reimagine Mulan’s ancestral guardian spirit—the diminutive dragon Mushu, previously voiced by Eddie Murphy in a comedic relief role—as a silent phoenix, seen largely at a distance, takes away much of the original film’s fun. The phoenix has no voice and tells no jokes.
Likewise, the decision to not include musical numbers reduces much of the charm from the final product. While the 1998 Mulan didn’t have the show-stopping musical numbers of some other Disney films, the songs did propel the story and flesh out characters
with great economy. A memorable example is the song “A Girl Worth Fighting For” which rounded out the characters of Mulan’s fellow soldiers, showing them as sensitive and caring despite their general crudeness. Songs like these helped build the credibility of the soldiers’ decision to join Mulan in battle at the end of the film, regardless of the dishonour she has committed by concealing that she is a young woman. They come to understand Mulan too is “a girl worth fighting for,” in a bit of dramatic irony. Despite being more serious in tone, the remake fails to be as clever and sophisticated as the original animated film. The reimagining of t h e a n i m a t e d Fa l c o n Hayabusa into the live action shape-shifting witch, Xianniang (Li Gong), is a creative addition to the story but muddies the water and complicates the film’s third act—resulting in a cheapening of Mulan’s character arc. On one hand, she serves as a dark mirror, warning Mulan of what she could become if she joins Xianniang and follows her in her sorcery. On the other hand, Xianniang is played as a sympathetic character enslaved by the ultimate villain of the film Böri Khan (Jason Scott Lee). She even sacrifices herself to save Mulan in the heat of battle. Some may applaud the introduction of ambiguity to the villains, but such choices sap the new film of danger and dramatic purpose. Both the old and new version of the story refrain from grim violence; the fighting is bloodless and that’s just fine since these films are made for a young audience. Mulan’s martial arts abilities are presented as a by-product of her qi (or chi—her vital spirit of life). Her family wants her to hide
THE CANADIAN LUTHERAN January/February 2021
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