2020’s Mulan is, without a doubt, the least enjoyable movie experience I’ve had so far in this year. I thought that The Rise of Skywalker might take the gold with its convoluted plot, or perhaps Anastasia: Once Upon a Time, a half-serious movie that features a time-travelling Rasputin brainwashed by Vladimir Lenin to hunt down the titular Romanov princess in 1980s Wisconsin. But it was Mulan, the botched $200 million Disney powerhouse, that disappointed the most.
Mulan (2020) suffers in many categories, from its production to its marketing to the plot of the movie itself. It was caught in development limbo from around 2010-2015 and went through numerous screenwriters and directors. In addition, the movie was constantly being tweaked to pander to audiences in China and Disney was open about this.
Based on its marketing, the movie was supposed to blend the plot of the 1998 animated film and the source material it drew upon to create a more “realistic” action movie. Unfortunately, this goal was not achieved and the result was a watered down version of the source material and a distinct lack of charm compared to the 1998 film.
The plot of Mulan (2020) is absurd from the start. The opening scenes show Hua Mulan to be an energetic child who has heightened physical abilities thanks to her unique affinity for using “chi”. The film runs through the known story beats with the matchmaker, conscription of one man from each family to fight the Rourans (this film’s stand-in for the Huns), and Mulan choosing to join the army in her father’s place.
Mulan attempts to hide her powers for as long as possible, fearing she’d be branded as a witch, and is cast out of the army camp when this comes to light. She returns and leads the army into a battle, saves the emperor from his Rouran captors and is offered her job in the capital, which she turns down in favor of returning home to her family.
On paper, it seems to vaguely fly through the story beats of the film, and when watching the movie, it somehow feels like the story is moving too quickly and dragging on simultaneously. There are a lot of character changes in this film, with the glaring omission of the beloved dragon Mushu, Cricket being a human adaptation of the character from the 1998 film and the addition of Hua Xiu, the sister of Hua Mulan. There is also a new villain alongside the Rourans, Xianniang, who is a witch and acts as another supernatural force.
Essentially, this film loses sight of the message of the 1998 film. In the animated adaptation, Mulan joins the army with the same lack of experience as her male comrades and develops her skills just as well as they do. As she grows as a soldier, she works to find her own way, not bound by gender roles, and inspires others to do the same.
The 2020 film blows that message out of the water. In this film, Mulan has innate, supernatural abilities that set her above and beyond those around her. She does not gain experience through her training; she simply decides when she does or doesn’t want to use her powers. The film also perpetuates the idea of reinforcing traditional gender roles if you are not imbued with these special powers, both through the men in the army and the sister figure who is married off at the end of the film.
Mulan (2020) is an utter failure. It has a clear lack of charm, backwards message and is a generally bland and confusing movie. Save your money and don’t buy this film. Save your time and don’t pirate it either. Just watch the animated version instead.