Mulan ( Hit or Miss for Disney?) Makenzie Bowman
Mulan is the live action Disney film released on September 4, 2020. The initial movie is to be released in December but, Disney + users were allowed to experience it firsthand for 30 dollars. Most wide-spread reviews from the internet were disappointed but, nonetheless kids loved it. The most criticized point of the film was the lack of music as well as the beloved character mushu played by Eddie Murphy. The movie focuses on a young girl (Mulan) who takes the place of her father for a war. Despite the frowns upon millennial faces, critiques had nothing but mixed reviews.
Johnny Oleksinski from the NY times says, “Mulan transitions to live-action with guts and reinvention. I missed the 1998 animated film’s catchy music and talking animals but was swept away by the breathtaking Chinese backdrops and battles.” The feedback is mostly the same. People wishing it was a little more fun, less sophisticated and of course, more music. It’s an efficient retelling of a tale about a young Chinese woman discovering her power—affecting at times, occasionally quite lovely, but earnest, often clumsy and notably short on joy.” This came from Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal. Watching the movie myself, I got bored and missed the whimsical Disney. It has been a pattern with Disney live remakes, that they mess up and leave audiences unimpressed. So, why do they keep doing it?
For example, with the release of The Lion King back in 2019, many viewers were upset by the lack of emotion and magic in the Lions expressions. Regardless of the protest to push back the movie, they kept it forward. Back to Disney’s 2020 remake of Mulan, even China hates Mulan according to Variety. Chinese viewers have dubbed it “the worst ‘Mulan’ in history,” saying that it feels “wooden” and offensively inauthentic. “It still has that Disney magic but tells a Chinese tale,” wrote one reviewer who gave it a 10 out of 10. This Mulan “stays true to herself, develops her abilities, doesn’t bow to outside pressure, doesn’t question herself — she’s a hero and a princess,” cheered another who gave the film full marks. On the more discerning Douban user review platform, however, the title ranks a dismal 4.9 out of 10. “The Americans invited all the famous Chinese actors they could think of and piled together all the Chinese elements that they could find to create this car crash,” reads one of the most popular reviews. “It’s full of Western stereotypes and conjectures about China, and particularly ancient China.”
Johnny Oleksinski from the NY times says, “Mulan transitions to live-action with guts and reinvention. I missed the 1998 animated film’s catchy music and talking animals but was swept away by the breathtaking Chinese backdrops and battles.” The feedback is mostly the same. People wishing it was a little more fun, less sophisticated and of course, more music. It’s an efficient retelling of a tale about a young Chinese woman discovering her power—affecting at times, occasionally quite lovely, but earnest, often clumsy and notably short on joy.” This came from Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal. Watching the movie myself, I got bored and missed the whimsical Disney. It has been a pattern with Disney live remakes, that they mess up and leave audiences unimpressed. So, why do they keep doing it?
For example, with the release of The Lion King back in 2019, many viewers were upset by the lack of emotion and magic in the Lions expressions. Regardless of the protest to push back the movie, they kept it forward. Back to Disney’s 2020 remake of Mulan, even China hates Mulan according to Variety. Chinese viewers have dubbed it “the worst ‘Mulan’ in history,” saying that it feels “wooden” and offensively inauthentic. “It still has that Disney magic but tells a Chinese tale,” wrote one reviewer who gave it a 10 out of 10. This Mulan “stays true to herself, develops her abilities, doesn’t bow to outside pressure, doesn’t question herself — she’s a hero and a princess,” cheered another who gave the film full marks. On the more discerning Douban user review platform, however, the title ranks a dismal 4.9 out of 10. “The Americans invited all the famous Chinese actors they could think of and piled together all the Chinese elements that they could find to create this car crash,” reads one of the most popular reviews. “It’s full of Western stereotypes and conjectures about China, and particularly ancient China.”
