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AbacusCulture

Disney’s Mulan hit with bad reviews in China as pirated copies circulate online ahead of theatrical release

  • Chinese viewers who watched Mulan online blast the film for being bland and mishandling Chinese culture
  • China is a crucial market for the success of Disney’s US$200 million live-action remake of the hit 1998 animated film

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Disney’s live-action remake of Mulan is heading to Chinese cinemas on September 11. Image: Disney via AP
Xinmei Shen
Mulan has pulled out all the stops to attract a Chinese audience. The movie that adapts a local legend has an all-star cast with multiple household names in China. This stirred up a lot of excitement in China, but now that reviews are coming in, it looks like that early goodwill is dying.
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“It’s like that feeling when you go to a Western Chinese restaurant and have a pretty weird Chinese meal,” one user said of the new Mulan on Q&A site Zhihu.

Mulan is the latest live-action remake from Disney, which has been adapting its hit animated films. But this one was supposed to be a less Westernised version of the tale it told in the 1998 animated musical by the same name, which follows a woman who disguises herself as a man to join the army in her sickly father’s stead. The animated version also failed to take off in China.

With a budget of US$200 million, Mulan is one of Disney’s most expensive live-action remakes and the most expensive film ever directed by a woman. Disney was betting on it being a big hit in theatres before the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in months of delays. The company finally released the film on its Disney+ streaming service in some markets this past weekend. For an additional US$30 on top of the subscription price of US$7 per month, viewers can watch the film at home.

But in China, where cinemas started reopening in July and Disney+ isn’t available, the film is getting a proper theatrical release on September 11. Based on reviews, Disney might be hoping there are still enough people who want to see it by then.
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Pirated copies ripped straight from Disney+ are already widely available in China. Some people are also watching overseas and weighing in on the Chinese review site Douban.

Mulan already has more than 50,000 reviews on the site, but the rating is a paltry 4.8 out of 10. Nearly 90 per cent of users who submitted reviews gave it three stars or less out of five. Reviewers blasted the movie for having flat characters and a bland story with details that don’t make sense. Many people also appeared unsatisfied with how the film handles certain Chinese cultural elements.

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