Opinion | How Disney’s misconceived Mulan lost the Chinese audience it so cravenly courted
- Disney lost Chinese film-goers because they watched Mulan through a magnifying glass, looking for errors of cultural representation and historical inaccuracies
- They found plenty. For starters, Disney doesn’t understand qi. On top of that are plot changes, dire action scenes, bland characters and lifeless acting
Towards the middle of Disney’s live-action remake of Mulan, the shape-shifting witch Xian Lang, played by Gong Li, finally encounters Liu Yifei’s Hua Mulan on the battlefield. Although Mulan is disguised as a man, Xian sees her true identity and tells her: “You will die pretending to be something that you are not.”
There is perhaps a lesson for Disney in these words.
Mulan is supposed to be just another Disney princess in a Chinese outfit – and the desire to be free and independent is seen in all iconic Disney characters, from Jasmine in Aladdin to Elsa in Frozen. But themes of freedom and independence are taboos for a film targeting the vast China market, so if a Chinese dress is to be given to a Disney princess, some tweaks are necessary.
Perhaps understanding this, Disney appears to have decided to infuse as much “Chineseness” into the film as possible to please China, the world’s second-largest film market, and its censors in order to get the film screened.
So what should be added? Mulan must be loyal to the country and be willing to sacrifice her life to protect the emperor; and must live to bring honour to both her family and her country. Such elements aimed at boosting China’s national pride should work like magic, right?
