Live-action Mulan has a whole new personality
I’m a big fan of superheroes — Spider-Man, the Hulk, Captain America, and, you know, Mulan. Remember Mulan? A fearless fighter with perfect acrobatic flips? A powerful warrior whose only flaw was being held back by others? Yeah, me neither.
I have mixed feelings about the new live-action Mulan, which came out on Disney+ on Sept. 4 (with, um, a $34.99 CAD premier access fee on top of the regular Disney+ subscription). As someone who has reverently watched and re-watched the animated classic since childhood, I was hesitant to jump into a boiling pot of production controversy, supposed film failures, and no Mushu. I had good reason to be wary. But, to my surprise, it was not the worst movie of all time.
The live-action Mulan was better than I expected but not as good as I had hoped.
Let’s start with the music. Unlike the original film, 2020’s Mulan is not a musical. Outrageous, I know. Fortunately, for fans of iconic songs like “Reflection” and even “Honor To Us All,” they do incorporate instrumental versions into some scenes as a nice tribute. Moreover, the lack of songs provides the film with a more serious tone. This movie is not silly; there’s no “Dishonour on your cow!” line, to my dismay. This should have given the filmmakers room to focus on Mulan’s characterization and the overall themes of loyalty and honesty.
Yet somehow, they focused on the wrong characterization and the wrong themes.
The titular character, as I may have hinted at in the beginning, is different from her 1998 counterpart. Okay, I’ll just come right out and say it: it’s not good. Mulan is a superhero in this film. In the opening scene, a young Mulan chases a chicken around her village, and while she still manages to wreak havoc in typical Mulan style, she also races across a rooftop and swings onto the ground like Spider-Man.
By making Mulan physically superior, she loses the very thing that made her Mulan — her relatability and her flaws. Sure, some may relate to the “learn your place” narrative in this movie, but I can’t relate to a woman who doesn’t belong because she’s Hercules. I can relate to a woman who doesn’t belong because she doesn’t understand who she is yet, who asks herself: “Why is my reflection someone I don’t know?”
Instead, Mulan is a superhero who has already discovered her strength at the beginning of the film. She wants to find people who will accept her already-established identity. Her motivation for taking her father’s place as a soldier becomes her chance to prove herself more than the chance to save her father. And, because her motivations don’t line up with 1998’s Mulan, she can no longer grow in the same way.
She doesn’t prove herself an equal to her fellow soldiers like in the animated version. No, she is superior to her fellow soldiers. Instead of learning to see one’s own inner strength and courage as per the 1998 film, the lesson becomes, “Be true to yourself (especially when you’re freaking awesome).”
Maybe I’m just tired of female characters who are exceptional at everything they do and whose “growth” is teaching others (and themselves) to accept them for their exceptionality. I think of Black Widow from the Avengers movies, Nyah Nordoff-Hall from Mission: Impossible 2, and especially Carol Danvers from Captain Marvel. I’d prefer a female character who isn’t an expert or necessarily gifted, but just a person in need of growth. That’s relatable. That’s female empowerment.
2020’s Mulan took some chances, and some worked while others did not. The sidekick soldiers, for example, are less annoying and more endearing in this film. The fight scenes are different from the originals — they have very unrealistic choreography, but it’s fun to watch. They didn’t include Grandmother Fa (who saw the handsome captain Li Shang and exclaimed, “Sign me up for the next war!”). And yes, the lack of songs gives it a different feel. All of these changes could have made it a great film, but they just didn’t make it.
Overall, however, I would prefer a remake that takes chances over a shot-for-shot remake any day. The new Mulan has earned my respect. Okay, maybe not my respect, but my attention. I’m glad I watched 2020’s Mulan. There, I said it; Mushu can declare dishonour on me and my whole family for saying that. Even so, you won’t catch me watching it a second time.
For those with the good sense to save $34.99 CAD, you can watch 2020’s Mulan when it becomes available for all Disney+ subscribers on Dec. 4. But if you’re a sucker for nostalgia or have high standards for your movie-watching experiences, I’d suggest sticking to the original. The new Mulan is just not a movie worth fighting for.
Danaye studies English and procrastination at UFV and is very passionate about the Oxford comma. She spends her days walking to campus from the free parking zones, writing novels she'll never finish, and pretending to know how to pronounce abominable. Once she graduates, she plans to adopt a cat.
