Mulan
Off the bat, I must say I did not like the 2020 live action remake of Mulan. I watched it nearly a year after its release on Disney+, and I very well may be skewed in my decision having grown up aspiring to be like the cartoon woman for her bravery, courage, intelligence, and heroism. But I’m also skewed in the fact that I have been trained to understand good writing in a story structure and dialogue, and the 2020 remake has neither.
Before I dig in, let’s talk about some good things about the 2020 Mulan, because it does have just a few things. It is a visually gorgeous movie with jaw dropping locations, sets, costumes, and stunts, but it focuses too much on all of that, leaving literally everything else to fall far, far behind. Things don’t come full circle, nothing really leads into the next, and there are no emotional ties whatsoever to any character or situation. It also is obvious that it’s attempting to cater more to the western societal audience, but in all the wrong ways. There is little to no original music, everything is taking straight from the original animated version, and put into places in the story that do not make any sense, structurally or emotionally.
In the end, one of the major failures of the 2020 Mulan, is the fact that it didn’t know what it wanted to be. Which comes down to direction and decisions of studio executives. Did it want to be a Wes Anderson style comedy, a Cat in The Hat type with that balancing act, a harsh war story, or a kung fu movie taking inspiration from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon? It wanted to be so much and I am all for blending genres and breaking the ideas of what we perceive movies to be, but this one bit off more than it could chew. There were far too many elements and in turn, none of them got to be played out in any kind of fruition.
At first, I thought it wanted to be a television series, taking more time to flesh out the characters and situations, but as we see with the Mandalorian, it probably would have dragged on far too long with far too cheesy dialogue any only a few saving moments. 2020 Mulan had one single scene where we got to really care about the fellow soldiers, because we finally got to see them as real people. But overall, it spent way too much time on things that did nothing for the story, moments where we really could have gotten to know these characters and started to care about them. But it didn’t. Not even a little bit, and in turn, it made it so there was no emotional reason for Mulan to do anything. None of the moments that should move her to act, and which should have touched us to cry, cheer, feel scared, or prideful came close to landing. All things that the original animated 1998 version did superbly.
“But what about the girl power aspect of it? Finally, a cool Disney movie that shows a woman taking power and not having to have a romantic interest.” Firstly, Moana. Secondly, yes, and the 2020 gets closer to the story of the actual woman, Hua Mulan from the Northern and Southern dynasties (between the 4th and 6th centuries AD), who became a general in the Chinese army, but again, the original did it better. Meaning, it was so much clearer, directed, with characters we genuinely cared about. “But in the 1998 version Shang was still a thing and they ended up together.” True, something I didn’t quite care for, but at least it is more along the lines of “You… you fight good,” and ‘you’ve saved the world and get the guy too’ rather than a lot of Disney’s other titles which teach children they need to become a literal god for someone else, and that having romantic love is the only way to be worth a damn. But the 1998 Disney version does a lot well. It does too much too well. They simplified the story, to allow for everything to really come back into play, they spend less time giving us more reason to care about the characters, and that, along with the music placement, timing, and pace of the film’s sequences actually support the decisions of Mulan as an active hero.
In the 1998 version she does return home without taking up any mantle in the Chinese army or government. Firstly, this is an ancient fable, discussion is in on if she at this point was real or only just a legend, so the ending can change, and in the ‘98 version her not going back is more full circle with this version of the story, being her reason to go is for love of family.
Mostly, I’d like to say that this ending is not more so in line with the Western idea of the woman needs to return home and cannot have a life of power or importance, but rather the Eastern, more Taoist mindset of, war is not a good thing, and there is importance in living a simple, comfortable life no matter who you are. Something that the Western world desperately needs to learn no matter who you are. It actually challenges the idea that to be worth anything (in this case as a woman, because that is the point of the movie) you have to combat the system and be a woman in a place of governmental power, an idea that reigns true in Taoism no matter who you are, which is supported by the scene in the mountains where she and Mushu admit their reasons for doing things, his a selfish one, hers being she wanted to see someone worth while when she looked at her reflection, someone who felt like her. And that scene recognizes that the man she has pretended to be, and manly way she has had to adopt, is not her either.
In the 1998 version, Mulan runs off because she loves her father and would do anything for him, him as a person, and she doesn’t want to get stuck as a woman “should.” If you look at the 1998 version of Mulan as a credit or ode to Western ideals of returning back to her ‘rightful place in the family as a woman,’ you’ve missed the point. Much like how many people miss the point that Gone with the Wind is a critique of the South and a need to move on, so too is the 1998 Mulan a critique of these archaic ideals of what a woman “should” and can or can’t be. The reason she returns is not because she should as a woman, but rather for her love of her father and that Taoist ideal of peace and balance above all things. She is given the choice by the emperor, to join his councel or not. The choice being the most feminist of all endings, and her chosing the simple life being the most Taoist.
In the 1998 version when she gets found out by the army, which is a detrimental moment, the reason she goes to save the emperor is also because she loves the band of characters we too have come to love. They have actually bonded and there is real reason to go to their aid. Additionally, the men are unafraid to dress like women and use feminine techniques just as much as the masculine techniques in order to get close and save the day. Shang not dressing like a woman is representative of the masculine’s worth, something that is still important in feminism, and Mulan fully becoming herself is both the preservation of her femininity as well as her finding the balance of both things she has been forced into, using what is best and most her from both the feminine world she was caged in, and the masculine world she recaged herself into.
She returns to her father because it was a loose end she had to tie up, again because she (and we) actually gives a damn about that relationship, and in the ‘98 version that is the whole reason for the movie in the first place. That moment is powerful, because she presents her father with the sword of Shan-Yu, yet another full character we actually love to hate, and he takes the amazing action to throw it away and hug his daughter proclaiming, “the greatest gift and honor is having you for a daughter.” A damn lot more rounded than the 2020 version if you ask me. Though, it does really, truly suck that they just had to inclued the romantic bit between Shang and Mulan at the end, which I appreciated about the 2020 remake not including. But both are still far different from the actual story.
The story of Hua Mulan, again, is an ancient story about a woman who disguises herself and bests her father in single combat to take his place in the army (because she loves him and he was too old to survive) to go on to become one of the greatests generals of their time, only later to retire into a normal life (supposedly… there are many different endings in the legends). It should be retold again and again in as many ways imaginable, but the woes I have with the Disney 2020 remake is that, along with poor writing and no sense of pace, it didn’t go its own way enough. Both versions have their moments that don’t quite line up with what we may want, and both have their fantasy elements, one with a two-dimensional witch, the other with Eddy Murphy as a little dragon. But in the 1998 version, Mulan overcomes the obstacles she is faced purely with her determination, will, intellect, and strength, not some Star-Wars Force like explanation of Chi. They had a much more simplified list of elelments that allowed them to bring them all into fruition and actually bring things full circle while making well rounded and interesting characters.
And that’s exactly why I grew up aspiring to be like Mulan. To stand up for what is right, for those I love, for family and friends. To stick together no matter what. To defend everyone, because in my heart I know it is right and how you were born has no real meaning on how you have to be or are, despite what society may say. To recognize these subtle things that plague our mindset within our greater foes, and when we have overcome all these things, to live a simple, comfortable life. One you enjoy. In my watching, Mulan doesn’t have to take up the mantle the emperor offers her, and in the 1998 version, story-wise, it wouldn’t make much sense honestly, because as I’ve stated, she’s never wanted that in the first place. The whole movie is about finding what she does want and who she really is. Which in the end is balance. As all things should be.
The 1998 version was done too well, with too perfect of a musical score, pace and timing too on point to hit the emotional and story beats, and amazingly emotional acting, that Disney cannot find any way to redo it themselves that truly bring something better to the table.
February 28, 2021