In 1998, Mulan was the surprise hit at the tail-end of the Disney Renaissance in the 1990s. Critics at the time regarded it as one of Disney’s more riskier endeavors, as the company was covering historically-based folklore instead of fairy tales. But it succeeded both critically and financially, becoming the second-highest-grossing film in 1998. Mulan quickly became included as part of the Disney’s Princesses franchise, earning her position through sheer merit and character rather than birth or marriage.
With the release date for the live-action remake looming on the horizon for spring 2020, here are 5 reasons to be excited to relive Mulan (and 5 reasons to be absolutely terrified).
Good: Strong Female Protagonist
The initial release for Mulan could not have been more timely. At the time, girl power was all the rage and acts like Britney Spears and The Spice Girls showed little girls how much it rocked being a female. Then came Mulan, a tomboy, an only child of a wealthy Chinese family during Dynasty times who took it upon herself to do the right thing, even if being revealed meant sudden death.
What made Mulan’s character appealing was that her heroic nature always felt genuine and true to her personality. Her traits did not feel soulless and tacked on, like studio notes on a female protagonist to make them seem more interesting.
Bad: International Response and Boycott of the Film
Early critics have complained of numerous historical inaccuracies with the source material of Mulan. This will likely be very costly for Mulan’s box office, as China is heavily relied upon to bring in money via international ticket sales. To complicate matters further, Mulan star Liu Yifei spoke out in favor of police brutality at the height of the Hong Kong protests which broke out in the latter half of 2019.
Avoiding a political stance is a tricky and sometimes avoidable situation; some have claimed Liu spoke out of duress by the Chinese government, as they had the potential to disown and ban the film outright. Yet Liu chose her side, and as a consequence, Disney will have to deal with the backlash of a boycott when the film is finally released.
Good: Cultural Diversity
Aside from the 1998 Mulan, there hasn’t been a Disney movie with such a large cast of Asian background. Similar to Marvel’s Black Panther, people may come out in droves to support the film simply because it will be perceived as a cultural event.
Perhaps Disney is banking on the same runaway success that was achieved with Crazy Rich Asians, which also starred a predominantly Asian cast. Whatever the reason, and regardless of the quality of the film, it’s a move in the right direction by Disney to do movies that provide a better representation of people of color.
Bad: Szechuan Sauce Fervor
Thanks to the popularity of Rick and Morty, what was once a forgotten limited-edition promotional sauce to accompany McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets has transformed into a cultural punchline; fans who may not have been born before Mulan’s actual release are clamoring for the return of the infamous Szechuan sauce.
More likely than not, McDonald’s will forego the promotional tie-in this time around, as their goodwill gesture to appease fans blew up spectacularly when supplies were limited and the riots ensued, making both sides look silly in the aftermath.
Good: Costume Game Will be Strong
One of the consistently positive things about the live-action remakes is that fans get to see real-world interpretations of some of Disney’s most iconic styles, especially when it comes to their movies involving princesses. It’s no accident that Cinderella was nominated and won the Oscar for Best Costume; a lot of time and effort goes into recreating the 2-dimensional magic in a 3-dimensional film. Some would argue more effort goes into visually impressing than actually writing a compelling or original story.
If the trailers are any indication, it appears Mulan will lean in heavily on the Ancient China aesthetic, and any shots featuring the emperor and his royal court or the match-making scene at the start of the movie is bound to be a veritable feast for the eyes.
Bad: Looks like a Generic Martial Arts Film
From watching the trailer, it seemed like we would get some visually stunning moments, there are very few things to distinguish the latest Disney’s live-action remake from any other martial arts film of the past. Disney may get lucky and draw in a new market in the form of martial arts enthusiasts to the theatres, but that market does not tend to jive with their usual demographics of a younger audience.
Again, at this stage, whether or not the film will be any good is irrelevant; Disney’s main goal is to get butts in seats and deliver hype; however, nothing so far seems to stand out about the film to attract curious moviegoers.
Good: The Witch
The live-action version of Mulan includes a new addition in the form of a female antagonist: an unnamed Witch, who is to be played by Gong Li. Gong Li is a powerhouse and acting veteran, having elevated the source material of Memoirs of a Geisha with her role as the wicked head geisha Hatsumono.
Disney made a very wise decision to include footage of the witch in the trailer, as it quells any concerns that the movie will be nothing more than a shot-for-shot remake as with some of the previous installments.
Bad: No Mushu
This is a potentially egregious omission from the live-action remake. It remains to be seen, but if the trailer is to be believed, the role originally played to perfection by Eddie Murphy will be truncated or written out completely, replaced with a CGI phoenix bird guardian sent to watch over Mulan.
A good chunk of what made the original so good was the asides by Mushu in some of the more intense scenes; here’s hoping there is an acceptable replacement to hit the same humor beats, otherwise this new film may come off as a bit stilted and dull.
Good: Redemption for More Worthy Remakes
While the original Mulan was a box -office success and had no need to be remade in live-action, the likelihood of other movies receiving some form of redemption hinges on how the 2020 film performs. Animated movies like The Black Cauldron, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and Treasure Planet all underperformed at the time of their release.
If Mulan is a hit, it will pave the way for the aforementioned financial duds to have a second life with viewers. Conversely, if Mulan crashes and burns, all bets are off that these live-action remakes will ever be made.
Bad: No Songs
It’s very frustrating to explain to a person who hasn’t seen the original Mulan how integral the songs were to the film’s popularity. “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” is arguably one of the most recognizable Disney songs in the past 25 years, next to the ubiquitous “Let It Go” from Frozen. Again, not having seen the film, it’s unclear if the songs have been completely removed from the live-action remake, but the trailers do not paint an encouraging picture.
One thing’s for certain: the true merit of Mulan’s storytelling will be put to the test if the 2020 version will not attempt to recreate the songs.
