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Fiona Dong

Dr. Tabitha Clark

First-Year Writing

04/6/2021

Mulan: Then and Now

Hua Mulan’s story has taught many to embrace your own identity. The story is thought to

have originated from a short poem called the “Ballad of Mulan” somewhere from the fourth to

sixth centuries (Haynes). In 1998, Disney released the animated film Mulan which was directed

by Tony Bancroft and Barry Crook. According to Box Office Mojo, the film made $304 million

worldwide (Mulan). Mulan shows traditional gender stereotypes but was also seen as a feminist

film since it was released during the third wave of feminism. In 2020, a little over twenty years

later, Disney released the live-action remake which was directed by Niki Caro. Many thought the

live-action film was great for using an all Asian cast. However, the film also received a lot of

criticism. The actress who played Mulan (Liu Yifei), received backlash when she sided with

Hong Kong police against pro-democracy protestors (Yu). The film also came under fire for

filming in Xinjiang, where they abuse Uighurs and other Muslim minorities (Kuo). The live-

action Mulan is deemed heavily controversial after its attempt to show gender expression and her

inner struggles with herself which leaves the 1998 animated version more accurate in telling its

origin story.

In the beginning of both films, the gender stereotypes of a woman are present when

Mulan must bring honor to her family by proving that she is a good bride. At first, she is

expected to match with a husband by her family and the people in her village. In the 1998
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version, when preparing to see the matchmaker she says “Quiet and demure, Graceful. Polite.

Delicate. Refined. Poised. Punctual” because she is reminding herself of the qualities that a

perfect bride should have. In the next scene, the women that help Mulan get ready sing a song

called “Honor to Us All” and they sing a lyric where they list what men want in a woman. The

women sung “Men want girls with good taste…and a tiny waist, you’ll bring honor to us all.”

This song means that the only way Mulan can bring honor to everyone is if she possessed all of

these qualities and finds a husband. To everyone in the village, a daughter who does not act

graceful is seen as a disgrace to the family. Mulan shows her masculinity when she cuts her hair

and talks in a deeper voice to look more like a man and to fit in with the other men in the army.

While both films do mention that Mulan is expected to marry, the live action version took

on a different approach. At the start of this film, she is seen causing a little bit of chaos when she

chases the chicken around the rooftops and receives disapproving looks from the people in her

village because it was not ladylike of a daughter to do so. After the chaos Mulan caused, her

father talks to her about her “chi.” He says to her, “Your chi is strong, Mulan. But chi is for

warriors, not daughters. Soon, you’ll be a young woman, and it is time for you to hide your gift

away.” Chi is not mentioned in the animated version. This gives off a clearer meaning on how

she possessed qualities that are not typically expected for a woman. It also enforces that Mulan is

expected to be a young woman after marrying and cannot show her true self because chi is only

for men who are going to be warriors. In this live action version, Mulan does not cut her hair

before joining the army. Other men in the army such as the commander and Honghui have long

hair. She shows her masculinity by showing that she can fight after one of the men made her

angry. Mulan appears tougher in the live action version than she does in the original animation.
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In both films, Mulan has a similar conflict with herself of whether she can bring honor to

her family. She disappointed her family and village when she did not have the qualities of being

a perfect bride and could not be matched with a husband. When she finds out that her injured

father must represent their family in the war, Mulan argues that he should not have to go to war

and tells her father that he will die. Mulan takes her father’s gear and joins the army to save him

however, in the animated version, when she gets caught, she says to her sidekick Mushu,

“Maybe I didn't go for my father. Maybe what I really wanted was to prove that I could do things

right. So that when I looked in the mirror, I'd see someone worthwhile. But I was wrong. I see

nothing.” Mulan feels that she has disappointed her father not once, but twice and she is afraid to

face him. However, she realizes she must warn her team to save them after seeing the Huns come

up from the snow. No one believed her so she took matters into her own hands and saved the

emperor.

The man versus self conflict is shown differently in the live action version because she

does not have sidekick and the second antagonist (Xianniang) tries to convince Mulan to join

her. In the beginning of the film she says to her father “I wish I was as brave as you.” She

already doubts herself after she was embarrassed by the matchmaker. Then, in the first battle

with the Huns, Mulan saves her team by causing the avalanche but also reveals her true self to

the commander. She is expelled from the army; however, she replies to the commander with “I

would rather be executed” because she would rather die than face her father. She walks away and

in the next scene, she is crying to herself because she feels that she has failed. Xianniang appears

and tells Mulan that they are the same because they are both misunderstood. She tries to

convince Mulan to join her so that they could “take their place” together. Mulan refuses and

says, “I know my place and it is my duty to fight for the kingdom and protect the emperor.”
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Unlike the animated version, the men believe Mulan which convinces the commander to also

believe her and Mulan leads them into the imperial city to save the emperor.

The 1998 animated and 2020 live action version of Mulan both attempt to break gender

stereotypes however, after the release of the live action version man believed that it did not do

much for female empowerment. The 1998 animation was released during the third wave of

feminism but does not represent feminists. The film does somewhat break traditional gender

roles as Mulan was able to fulfill the duties of a man in the army, but she had to portray a male

for most of the film. This better represents the origin story because in the “Ballad of Mulan,” she

went unnoticed as a male until the end of the story. For the live action remake, the media and

public thought this version was telling women that they can only be rewarded if they know their

place (Lau, Chen). Both films appear to break gender stereotypes however, the message that is

mostly received is that things cannot be accomplished unless you are a man or a woman who

know their purpose in life. The original story does not show much conflict which makes the

films less accurate however, out of the two films the live action version is closest because she

does not doubt herself as much as the animation.

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Works Cited

Haynes, Suyin. “Is Mulan Based on a True Story? Here's the Real History.” Time, Time, 4 Sept.

2020, https://time.com/5881064/mulan-real-history/

Kuo, Lily. “Disney Remake of Mulan Criticised for Filming in Xinjiang.” The Guardian,

Guardian News and Media, 7 Sept. 2020,

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/sep/07/disney-remake-of-mulan-criticised-for-

filming-in-xinjiang

Lau, Sin Wen, and Shih-Wen Sue Chen. “Disney's Mulan Tells Women to Know Their Place.”

The Conversation, 15 Sept. 2020, https://theconversation.com/disneys-mulan-tells-women-

to-know-their-place-146017.

"Mulan." The Internet Movie Database. IMDb.com, 19 June.

1998. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120762/.

Yu, Elaine, “After Agnes Chow is Arrested in Hong Kong, a ‘Mulan’ Meme Is Born.” The New

York Times, 13 Aug. 2020, ProQuest.