Mulan 2020: A Lost Opportunity
How it not only fails to recreate the magic of the 1998 Mulan, but also actively contributes to faux feminism.
If you grew up in the nineties I’m sure you remember the Disney animated film Mulan. It was such a progressive movie, and it had some amazing cinematography, animation, and songs. An upcoming 2020 movie was to be the remake of this beloved classic. Mulan 2020 had the chance of being a modern retelling of an old and beloved classic with a new, more culturally accurate representation of the media presented. However, Disney missed their mark, having just as many if not more cultural inaccuracies and having a skewed message far inferior to the animated Mulan.
Throughout the past couple of years, Disney has been remaking all their old classics. Most of the time being cardboard cutouts or additional things to correct what was wrong with it in the past. The latter can be said for Mulan 2020, it tries to correct the cultural inaccuracies of the animated Mulan. And while they succeed to a certain extent, they removed what fun and life the original had, and replaced it with a hollow shell of itself.
Aside from the movie itself, the movie failed on many fronts. It tanked at the box offices in China, often having low reviews on a popular Chinese movie rating website called Douyin. Internationally it did not do well either, as it was being held behind a Disney plus subscription and a thirty-dollar paywall. Overall, it lost around $80 million to $150 million.
Not only that but it was involved in more than one human rights crisis. The first of two being related to the Uighur Muslims being held captive in “reeducation” camps. Of all the places the movie could have been filmed it was filmed on top of these camps. According to Tursunay Ziawudun, a survivor of the reeducation camps, one of the many things that happened was sexual abuse. (BBC) A human rights crisis right underneath the place they filmed the movie and Disney could not look into it enough to realize the area’s history. The other being in early 2016, there were protests in Hong Kong for its freedom from Chinese law as it had been before, and throughout the protests, many lost their lives at the hands of police. 2020 Mulan’s actor, Liu Yifei has openly shown her support for the Hong Kong police.
It is important to think about the politics and geographical elements as the movies are tied so heavily to gender equality, a large social justice movement. As well as Mulan originally being a tale from ancient China written in the mid 6th century.
The Ballad of Mulan has been a poem passed down for many generations, often being taught within Chinese schools. Mulan 2020 tries to include a small reference to the poem; however, in doing so they completely shatter the true meaning of the poem.
“Traveling together for twelve years They didn’t know Mulan was a girl. “The he‑hare’s feet go hop and skip, The she‑hare’s eye s are muddled and fuddled. Two hares running side by side close to the ground, How can they tell if I am he or she?””
- The Ballad of Mulan
In the original ballad, the comparison of the two hares is a metaphor for society; it’s illustrating that when caught up altogether, men and women aren’t all that different. But in the 2020 remake, they make a sloppy reference only counter to that statement. In the remake, she rides along on her horse as she sees two hares run by, and later she states she thinks one is a male and the other female. If we continue the metaphor of the hares it means that men and women are different and she can differentiate them. If they wanted to correct it but still keep the reference it would’ve been great if she stopped by the hares and said something like, “oh you look like a boy and you look like a girl” but in the end, they both runoff and she can no longer tell the difference between the two. Such a simple difference in filming could have had a great difference on the impact of the film.
This inaccuracy to the ballad isn’t where it ends, in Mulan 2020 they introduce Qi. The way they portray Qi’s very inaccurate. Within the animated Mulan, there were many flaws and cultural inaccuracies, one of which was the enemy’s name. The name being “Huns”, and as much of the Chinese population is Hun Chinese that name is racist and insensitive. That is one of the few things the remake corrects, the other being the scene of Mulan chopping her hair, as during that time both men and women would wear their hair long. That was because long hair was considered sacred. It was seen as a part of someone’s body and a legacy of their parents. (Polygon) And not to forgive the animated film for its cultural inaccuracies, but it was a different time. Nowadays, one would expect the remake to fix cultural inaccuracies to be more sensitive.
However, while fixing a few things such as the chopping of Mulan’s hair or the name of the enemy (in the animated movie was Huns whereas here Rourans) they created more cultural inaccuracies as well. As the times have changed, its cultural inaccuracies cannot be overlooked as a sign of its time. On the Chinese movie reviewing site “Douyin” someone commented on Mulan 2020 movie saying it was “a western film in sheepskin”, which is easily seen because within the movie they often had strange dialogue, sometimes almost seeming like a mockery of what they thought Chinese people would speak. For example, when Mulan first meets human replacement for the animated movie’s cricket. Which he says, “My name is Cricket because I was born on an auspicious moon.” A Chinese content creator, Xiran Jay Zhao, has stated that their phrasing is very off. Of course, she is only one of many Chinese people, however, they grew up within that environment, and are quite educated on these topics. This addition of Qi greatly changes the trajectory and theme of the whole film.
The animated Mulan presents ideas very progressive to the time, one would only think the ideas of the remake would align and expand on them. While that is probably what they were aiming for they miserably fail with their addition of chi. It destroys the idea of needing to work hard because it is something Mulan was born with. With this addition, instead of the 2020 remake being about hard work and gender equality, it is now about how one must be their true self to unlock their power. While that is a good message by itself in the animated Mulan, Mulan was always true to herself. Even when she was posing as a man, she still used her wits and intelligence. And when we see her try to parody what she thinks being a man is she fails miserably. But it didn’t matter, because the animated film’s message was that man or woman, she was still a war hero who saved countless lives. The reason the animated Mulan was so endearing to us is that we see her growth as a soldier and how she affects and impacts everyone around her.
For example, a scene you would remember well if you have seen the animated Mulan is the scene where she scales the pole. It is a very powerful, dare I say the most empowering moment of the movie. In the animated Mulan, all of the soldiers must reach the arrow lodged atop the pole. To climb the pole they must use two weights, one representing discipline and the other one strength. As they all struggle to figure out how to climb the pole, we see Mulan eventually figure out how to climb it. Not using brute force; but instead, wit and creativity.
“Be a man, you must be as swift as a coursing river. Be a man.”
As we watch Mulan pull herself up the pole using the two weights as a grip we sit in awe as we hear those lyrics behind her. The power of the music and the fact that she, a woman, was able to “be a man” before any of the actual men was so empowering and eye-opening to many. It sent the message that with hard work and intelligence you can get anywhere.
However, the remake is far from that level of empowerment. The amazing moment they created in the animated Mulan was replaced with a far inferior version in the remake. Instead of her scaling the pole, they had her climb up a mountain with two heavy buckets. And as the others fall and break she does not, she uses her chi to continue moving. While this is not necessarily bad on a surface level, it does not have the emotional weight of the animated. However, upon further inspection, it is so much more than that. Instead of using her wits and intelligence in this one, she just simply does the more masculine thing better than men. This moment suggests that the only way to be on par with men as a woman is to be ‘special’ or be different. Not only does it destroy the meaning of what the original was supposed to be, but it also hurts this film’s message as well.
In the final battle against Shan yu, Mulan uses both a fan and a sword in tandem. Fans are often a symbol of femininity, whereas a sword is a more masculine object. As she uses both in tandem with each other it is signifying many powerful things. That both men and women can work in tandem, or that she need not throw away her femininity to be strong. Even, in a more literal sense, the objects are objects and it is not reliant on gender, whether she was a man or woman it does not matter, she used her cunning ideas to defeat the enemy. All of these meaningful themes are tied to one fantastically animated scene.
In the 2020 remake, they did none of this. That being said, it does not need to be a carbon copy of the original to still be good; however, the end in this movie has little to no meaning. She defeats the enemy using only her masculine powers and traits; using her powers of Qi, a sword, and an arrow for the finishing blow. In the sense of this movie, it almost seems to promote the idea that there is only one type of strength, masculinity. But, this isn’t to say that masculinity isn’t a type of strength either; however, within the animated Mulan, they acknowledged femininity’s strength as well. And nowadays, a lot of Hollywood media often demonizes being hyper-feminine. That is because within lots of media there is an implanted idea of being a “cool girl” who isn’t like those other girls who like pink and makeup etc. etc. (Buzzfeed) This completely counters the meaning of what the animated was trying to portray.
Finally, the most climactic moment of the film when Mulan comes back from fighting Shan Yu and the emperor starts what seems to be attacking her only to end with him singing her praises. When everyone, even the emperor, bows to Mulan it feels so surreal to the audience. We’ve watched her struggle as she tries to find her place and in doing so we watch her step up to such an astonishingly important role. Even as the emperor hands her the sword of Shan yu and his crest instead of bowing, which would signify she saw him only as a figurehead, she hugs him instead. Not only does that humanize the emperor, but it also shows that she will not use her strengths to “know her place” and uphold the patriarchy.
The 2020 remake not so much, she states multiple times that she “knows her place” and by “knowing her place” she’s upholding the patriarchy too. What made the animated Mulan so special was that she didn’t know her place. She did not fit within the typical feminine roles or masculine and she was constantly looking for her place. In the end, she never found it but she made herself a place within that society. It tells people that if they cannot fit into the social roles and norms they can find their place elsewhere or they can make their own.
You may think I’m reading too much into a children’s film. Because aside from being a very poorly written and directed film, the movie seems fine. However, I see it differently. I see it as a missed opportunity for true empowerment and representation. As someone of Chinese descent it felt so good to see someone of my race on the big screen, I felt seen. Not only that, but it also made me feel less helpless. It taught me I am strong, it taught me I am no different than men, it taught me that I could achieve great heights with effort and work. And if the animated could have such an impact on so many, one could only imagine the impact of a good remake. However, the 2020 remake squanders any opportunity to give the younger generations the chance to see such an eye-opening film. Instead, they use the guise of empowerment and representation for nostalgia bait and a failed cash grab.