Mulan (2020 film)
Mulan is a 2020 American fantasy action drama film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Niki Caro from a screenplay by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Lauren Hynek, and Elizabeth Martin, it is a live-action adaptation of Disney's 1998 animated film of the same name, itself based on the Chinese folklore story Ballad of Mulan. The film stars Yifei Liu in the title role, alongside Donnie Yen, Tzi Ma, Jason Scott Lee, Yoson An, Ron Yuan, Gong Li, and Jet Li in supporting roles. In the film, Hua Mulan, the eldest daughter of an honored warrior, masquerades as a man to take her ailing father's place during a general conscription to counter the Rouran army in Imperial China.
Mulan
- Rick Jaffa
Amanda Silver - Lauren Hynek
- Elizabeth Martin
- Disney's Mulan
by- Rita Hsiao
- Chris Sanders
- Philip LaZebnik
- Raymond Singer
- Eugenia Bostwick-Singer
- Robert D. San Souci
- Ballad of Mulan
by Guo Maoqian
- Chris Bender
- Jake Weiner
- Jason T. Reed
David Coulson
- Walt Disney Pictures
- Jason T. Reed Productions
- Good Fear Productions
- March 9, 2020 (Dolby Theatre)
- September 4, 2020 (United States)
115 minutes[2]
United States
English
$200 million[3]
Plans for a live-action remake began in 2010 but the project stalled in development hell for most of the decade. Filming took place in New Zealand and China from August to November 2018. Over the course of production, the film was the subject of several controversies, including changes to the source material and filming in Xinjiang in light of the persecution of Uyghurs in China and Xinjiang internment camps. The film also received criticism for its production team largely consisting of people of non-Chinese descent. This included the hiring of Caro, rather than an Asian director.
Mulan held its world premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on March 9, 2020. The film was originally scheduled for a wide theatrical release later that month, but was cancelled in the United States after being delayed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequently, the film was released on September 4, 2020 by Disney+ for a premium fee known as Premier Access in countries where the service had launched.[6] The film had a traditional theatrical release in countries without Disney+ where theaters had re-opened.
Due to its overall limited theatrical release as a result of the pandemic, the film grossed $69.9 million at the box office against a production budget of $200 million. The film received generally positive reviews from Western, non-Asian critics, who praised the action sequences, costumes, and performances, but was criticized for the screenplay and editing. It received unfavorable reviews from fans of the original animated film, Chinese diaspora, and Chinese critics, who criticized the character development, its cultural and historical inaccuracies, and its depiction of Chinese people. At the 93rd Academy Awards and 26th Critics' Choice Awards, the film received nominations for its costume design and visual effects, as well as a Best Special Visual Effects nod at the 74th British Academy Film Awards. A sequel is in development.
Plot[edit]
In Imperial China, Hua Mulan is an adventurous and active girl, much to the disappointment of her parents Zhou and Li, who hope that one day she will be wed to a good husband. As a young woman, Mulan is arranged to meet with a matchmaker to demonstrate her fitness as a future wife. Mulan, flustered, attempts to pour tea in front of the matchmaker, but a spider scares the former's younger sister Xiu, accidentally causing a mishap that destroys the teapot, leading the matchmaker to call her a disgrace in front of her family.
To the north, an imperial outpost is invaded by Rouran warriors, under the leadership of Böri Khan. They are assisted by the witch Xianniang, who uses her magic to pose as a surviving soldier and report the attack to the Emperor of China; he then issues a conscription decree ordering every family to contribute one man to fight Khan's forces.
Imperial soldiers arrive in Mulan's village to enlist recruits and Zhou is forced to pledge his service as he has no sons, immediately falling over in front of the soldiers due to his crippled leg. Realizing that her father has no chance of survival, Mulan flees with his armor, horse, and sword to join in his place. Mulan arrives at the training camp, which is run by Commander Tung, an old comrade of Zhou. Alongside dozens of other inexperienced recruits, she ultimately becomes a trained soldier under his tutelage without exposing her true identity.
Böri Khan's army continues to advance, forcing Tung to end training early and send his battalion to fight. Mulan chases some troops on her own, but is confronted by Xianniang, who mocks her for pretending to be a man. She attempts to kill Mulan, but her attacks are stopped by the leather with which Mulan's chest had been bound to hide her identity. Mulan removes her male disguise, returning to the battle just as the Rourans begin attacking her fellow troops with a trebuchet. Mulan uses discarded helmets and her archery skills to maneuver the trebuchet into firing on a snowy mountain, triggering an avalanche that buries the Rourans.
Mulan rides back to camp and rescues Chen Honghui, a soldier she befriended in camp. Mulan decides to reveal her gender to Commander Tung, who expels her from the army. On her way home, she is confronted by Xianniang, who reveals that she was also shunned by her people and fights for Böri Khan only because he treats her as an equal. Additionally, she reveals that the attacks on the outposts have been a diversion, as Böri Khan's true plan is to capture and execute the Emperor for having his father killed. Risking execution, Mulan returns to her battalion to warn them of the impending capture. The soldiers she befriended stand up for her, and Tung decides to believe her, and allows her to lead a unit to the Emperor's palace.
Xianniang uses her magic to take the image of the Imperial Chancellor, and persuades the Emperor to accept Böri Khan's challenge to single combat, while removing the city guards from their posts. The guards are murdered, and the Rourans prepare to burn the Emperor alive. Mulan's unit distracts the Rourans while Mulan goes to save the Emperor. Böri Khan tries to snipe her with an arrow, but Xianniang, sympathetic to Mulan and disenchanted with the Khan, transforms into a hawk and sacrifices herself by intercepting the arrow. Mulan kills Böri Khan, but not before he disarms her and destroys her father's sword. She frees the Emperor, who offers to let her join his personal guard. She declines the offer and returns to her village.
Mulan is reunited with her family. An emissary from the Emperor, under the leadership of Commander Tung, arrives to present Mulan with a new sword, while making a personal request that she join the Imperial Army as an officer.
Additionally, Ming-Na Wen, the original voice of Mulan in the animated film, its sequel, and other projects, cameos as an esteemed guest who introduces Mulan to the Emperor.[25] Utkarsh Ambudkar and Chum Ehelepola were cast as two con artists, Skatch and Ramtish,[15] but their roles were cut from the final film.
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
As early as 2010, Walt Disney Pictures had expressed interest in a live-action adaptation of the 1998 animated film Mulan with international Chinese star Zhang Ziyi, and Chuck Russell chosen as the director. That version of the project never came to fruition.[26]
On March 30, 2015, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Disney had restarted development of the live-action adaptation with Chris Bender and J. C. Spink producing, while Elizabeth Martin and Lauren Hynek would be writing the screenplay.[27] On October 4, 2016, it was announced that Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver would rewrite the script, combining the Chinese ballad and the 1998 animated film, while Jason T. Reed would be producing the film along with Bender and Jake Weiner.[28] On February 27, 2020, Reed said that Mulan's sidekick from the original film, Mushu, was removed due to the character's negative reception in China.[12] Reed also said that in addition to drawing from the animated movie and the original text, the filmmakers viewed adaptations of Ballad of Mulan produced in China for cinema and television. He stated that since "[t]he traditional Disney audience and the diaspora Asian audience viewed the movie in one way, and the traditional Chinese in China audience viewed a slightly different way," the filmmakers "dug in to try and make sure that [they are] addressing both of those audiences in a thoughtful way."[12]
Marketing[edit]
On July 7, 2019, the official teaser trailer and the official teaser poster were released during the broadcast of the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup Final.[19] The teaser trailer was viewed 175.1 million times in its first 24 hours, including 52 million from China, making it the seventh most viewed trailer in that time period.[49] On September 30, an exclusive photo featuring Liu as a soldier in the Imperial Army was released on Empire's upcoming Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker issue.[50] On October 24, a prequel novel written by writer Grace Lin was announced along with a preview being made available online. Entitled Mulan: Before the Sword, the novel was released on February 11, 2020.[51] On November 4, a video clip filmed during a Toho cinema preview was leaked online, featuring new shots of Mulan as a warrior battling fiercely and taking off her hair band.[52] On November 6, Liu was featured as one of the 25 stars of Next Gen Talent 2019 nominated by The Hollywood Reporter with two new studio stills released concurrently.[53] As a result of delaying its original March 2020 release, film executives estimated that each time the film was delayed it cost Disney between $200,000 and $400,000 in marketing fees, a figure that could reach $5 million if it was moved out of the summer season altogether.[54] Variety estimated that Disney spent around $50 million on global advertisement for the film, with Deadline Hollywood attributing $35 million of the marketing budget to TV ads.[55][56]
A tie-in novelization of the film written by Elizabeth Rudnick was published by Disney Publishing Worldwide on February 11, 2020.[57]
Reception[edit]
Premium video on demand[edit]
Variety estimated Mulan would need to be rented by about 8.4 million subscribers (13.8%) in order to break even.[55] On the weekend of the film's release, the Disney+ app was downloaded 68% more than the past weeks' total, similar to the 72% spike upon Hamilton's release that July.[101] Deadline Hollywood reported that industry sources with knowledge of the situation "are figuring that Disney may not have earned great presales" and that they could put Mulan on a third-party service before the December release.[102] However, following the film's opening weekend, Business Insider reported it had been viewed by 1.12 million households (only including users renting with TV-connected devices), which would result in $33.5 million in sales for Disney.[103] Yahoo! Finance then reported that, according to analytics research firm 7Park Data, nearly 29% of U.S. Disney+ subscribers that accessed the app from September 1 to 12 purchased Mulan, which in the best-case scenario would result in $261 million for Disney.[104] 7Park Data co-founder Brian Lichtenberger stated Yahoo! Finance overestimated Mulan's revenue, as their figures were for accounts active during that period and not the total subscriber base, and clarified that 10.3% of all accounts purchased the film, with U.S. revenue estimated to be $62–93 million; Yahoo! Finance amended their article to reflect this.[105][106]
According to Nielsen ratings, Mulan was one of the top ten most-watched streams in the United States between August 31 and September 6, 2020. During its opening weekend between September 4–6, Mulan drew 525 million streaming minutes in the United States.[107]
In its first weekend of being available on other digital platforms, Mulan was the top-rented film on FandangoNow, and third on both Apple TV and Google Play.[108] In its second weekend in the open market, the film placed second at Fandango, fourth on Google Play, and fifth at Apple TV.[109] In October 2020, The Hollywood Reporter said the film was the most popular PVOD title amid the COVID-19 pandemic,[110] and the following month Variety reported the film was the sixth-most watched straight-to-streaming title of 2020 up to that point.[111]
Box office[edit]
Mulan grossed $5.9 million from nine countries in its international opening weekend, including $1.2 million in Thailand and $700,000 in Singapore, both of which were the highest debuts of 2020 in the respective countries. It also made $800,000 in the United Arab Emirates, and the same amount in Saudi Arabia.[112][113] In its second weekend, the film made $29.1 million from 17 countries, including $1.8 million in Russia, and finished first in Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia, and South Africa.[114] Through three weekends, the film grossed $57 million internationally.[115]
The film made $23.2 million on its opening weekend in China, a low figure but a 23% improvement upon Aladdin's debut the year before.[114] Several factors were cited as contributing to the film's muted performance, including the announcement of the official Chinese release date only days before the premiere, giving little chance to build a strong marketing campaign; the prior release on Disney+, resulting in pirated copies being available online; a lack of local press coverage in order to avoid drawing attention to the controversy over the film having been partially shot in the Xinjiang region; and poor fan reception on sites such as Maoyan and Douban.[114][116][117] The revenue of the film fell 72% in its second weekend of release in the country, to $6.5 million.[115]
Critical response[edit]
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 72% of 323 critic reviews were positive, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's critical consensus read, "It could have told its classic story with greater depth, but the live-action Mulan is a visual marvel that serves as a stirring update to its animated predecessor."[118] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100 based on 52 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[119]
Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three and a half out of four stars, praising the "fine cast, exciting action and spectacular visuals" and writing, "This is such a great-looking film, with amazing set pieces and dazzling action and colors so vibrant they would dazzle a Crayola factory, it will still play well on your home monitor. There are so many gorgeous shades of orange and magenta, blue and yellow, it's as if we're seeing these colors for the first time."[120] Kate Erbland of IndieWire gave the film a B+, calling it a "remarkable action epic that carves its own path" and writing, "Mulan is perhaps the best example of how to marry the original with something fresh. The Ballad of Mulan has always been an epic-scale story about the power of being yourself in a world not ready to accept that, a tale that will likely always have resonance."[121]
Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B+ and described it as "a classic hero(ine)'s tale, exhilarating in its elaborate set pieces and large-scale ambitions even when the smaller human story within it sometimes falls short."[122] Writing for Variety, Peter Debruge said, "On one hand, the result isn't immediately recognizable as 'a Disney movie,' but neither does it establish its own narrative or visual signature, the way Tarantino did when remixing Asian influences for Kill Bill. This is pure pastiche, as Caro and her crew shamelessly pilfer from kung fu, Fifth Generation and Hong Kong action movies, incorporating anime and Bollywood touches as well."[123]
Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote, "Mulan is a spirit lifter, and though it doesn't arrive as planned, it could not arrive at a better time", saying, "Throughout Mulan, there are shots of such visual splendor that viewers will catch their breath. In one, the morning mist clears and reveals an army in the distance, with its flags and colors, a frightening yet strangely beautiful sight."[124] Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Mulan is a heroic muddle, one that elicits both a disappointed sigh and an appreciative nod. It lays down a marker of progress achieved and progress to come."[125]
Aja Romano of Vox wrote, "The Mulan remake jettisons everything great about Disney's animated classic and delivers nothing new" and "Mulan's few bright spots can't save it from clunky writing".[126]
Walter Chaw of Film Freak Central gave the film half a star out of four, writing, "[E]verything about this Mulan is ironic accidentally. Whatever its intentions, its execution and the circumstances of its creation are in opposition to them. It's a feminist tract that enforces male notions of value; a call to arms that fights for the wrong side of our current history; and a proud statement of national identity that celebrates the Nation of Disney as opposed to China. It's majestically painful as a representation of how white people view Asians and, yes, it would be different had an Asian person been allowed to direct the film."[127]
Grace Wong of the Chicago Tribune wrote, "The animated Mulan meant so much to me, and the character I grew up loving taught me that being loyal, brave and true means standing up for what you believe in, no matter the cost. Today, I believe Mulan would be on the side of the Hong Kong protesters, who also fight to have independence, their voices heard and their lives valued. I hoped to see these threads in the new iteration. Instead we got an almost unrecognizable, twisted reflection of the original."[128]
Hamilton College professor Zhuoyi Wang argues that the film "is not, as many believe, just another Disney film suffering from simple artistic inability, cultural insensitivity, or political injustice, but a window into the tension-ridden intersectionality of the gender, sexual, racial, cultural, and political issues that shape the production and reception of today's cross-cultural films. [...] The film made significant compromises between its goals of cultural appropriateness, progressive feminism, and monetary success. Although it eventually failed to satisfactorily resolve these at times conflicting missions, it still achieved important progress in addressing some serious gender and cultural problems in Mulan's contemporary intertextual metamorphosis, especially those introduced by the Disney animation."[129]