It is easy to convey the journey of a person training and developing her necessary fighting skills and spirit. It is clear that director Niki Caro is far more interested in the drama than the plot and action, an unavoidable and honorable focus when Mulan’s existing fighting skills are restored. With a change in context and thematic agenda, some moments that you have grown up watching may feel glossed over here. While the 1998 rendition carried on with a story of her befriending her fellow comrades and fighting to save the Emperor at the forefront, this version is far more interested in moments of character and… ahem… self-reflection. source: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Familiar Plot, But the Drama Has ChangedĪcross the countless adaptations, Mulan retains its core premise – Hua Mulan ( Liu Yifei) is a brave young woman who takes her father’s place and poses as a man to serve the Chinese army, in the hopes of defeating the Northern Rouran invaders (now led by Bori Khan instead of Shan Yu). Essentially, it removes everything the Western audience has known and loved about Mulan and dares them to find something new to appreciate, and it works. This 2020 Mulan is a brave attempt at retelling the original folktale. In fact, she became a general and led the Chinese army for 12 years, with nobody knowing she was a woman until she revealed the truth herself.

The original Ballad of Mulan, however, depicts her as a woman already skilled in fighting, who has already been taught martial arts, sword combat, and archery, but must hide it due to her social status and, of course, being a woman. In the 1998 animated film, Mulan goes through a “hero’s journey,” where she rides out into war and trains her way to become a great warrior alongside her comrades – a classic storyline told with a Chinese backdrop.

It’s difficult in the sense that a huge piece of our expectation has already been greatly shaped by something that’s been Westernized. Which makes this live-action remake difficult to review. Depending on how you grew up with the story, you could identify it as either the most enduring Chinese folktale of all time or as one of your favorite Disney movies. I find Mulan to be a fascinating case study in terms of reviewing a film based on existing source material.

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