On Friday, December 4, 2020, we were finally able to discover on Disney the live action of "Mulan", a cartoon dear to our childhood. And unfortunately, the result is quite disappointing …
After an outing to the cinema that has been postponed several times due to the pandemic, since Friday, December 4, 2020, Mulan is finally available in France on Disney +. The live action promised a version closer to the original Chinese legend. We saw it and indeed, this version takes liberties with the cartoon of our childhood, released in 1998. The film did not just ignore the songs we loved so much. In addition to imposing on us a somewhat kitsch and ultra-digital production, the character of Mulan inspires mainly .. indifference.
A totally changed Mulan
But let's go back: the text that inspired the Disney cartoon, The ballad of Hua Mulan, is from an anonymous collection of Chinese poems dating from the 6th century. Disney's live action presents a version more faithful to this venerable story. Of course, at first glance, one can only praise the initiative. Except that the final product ignores very successful characters in the cartoon like Mushu, the funny grandmother or Shang. Even more strikingly, in live action, Mulan has excelled in martial arts since childhood. The beginning of the film reveals her, small, jumping from roof to roof with incredible agility.
Therefore, this new Mulan totally changes the purpose of the cartoon. In the latter, Mulan is far from an expert in martial arts. On the contrary, if she finds it difficult to find her place among men, it is because she was brought up in a gendered way, in order to become a good wife and certainly not a brave soldier. This is what the 1998 version is all about, which talks about getting out of your comfort zone and transforming yourself, especially when you're a woman. First a novice in martial arts, the heroine will hang on, train "like a man". Our childhood cartoon evokes perseverance and films the dramatic development of a young woman who, little by little, is breaking free from the oppressive condition in which she was brought up. This is where the cartoon version of Mulan thrills us more than that of the 2020 live action which, from the start, is already combative. In 1998, the moral was this: we are not necessarily born badass but we can become …
Mulan deserved better
On the positive side, however: we appreciate this 100% Asian cast, when Hollywood has accustomed us to make up white actors to make them play racialized characters. But we regret that the production does so little honor to Chinese culture. It's a shame, when we know that before hiring New Zealand director Niki Caro, Disney wanted to choose a filmmaker of Asian origin, Ang Lee having even been mentioned before he declined, lack of time. The research work of costume designer Bina Daigeler, of German origin and new to Chinese traditions, also raises questions. As raised Teen Vogue, it is not enough to browse the museums of Europe and China, as Bina Daigeler did, to become an expert on the subject. Perhaps it would have been necessary, in front of but also behind the camera, to favor a collaboration with the professionals concerned? You will understand, in every way, we expect better from Disney 2020 version.