History Film / Mulan2020

* BrokenAesop: While Mulan in the animated film and the original ballad has to struggle and work hard to prove herself, this version has a natural talent thanks to her chi and is immediately a master in everything and even if the movie says that those same traits would be praised in a man, whereas they are scorned in women like Mulan and Xianniang, an attitude that is justly presented as a bad thing, the only woman whi's scorned is the witch, and it happens for justifiable reasons since she uses her powers for evil purposes.

* TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers: During Mulan's first day at camp, Commander Tung lists several infractions; all of them have the listed punishment of death, with the exception of dishonesty, which is punished by expulsion and disgrace. It's made quite clear that being caught for dishonesty is a FateWorseThanDeath.

* ScriptWank: In an early scene, Mulan rides alongside two running rabbits before going home and excitedly telling her parents how she thinks one is male and another is female, but she couldn't tell when they are both running fast. This is a direct reference to the last few lines of the original ballad, but many Chinese audiences complained that it was taken ''too'' literally and ended up feeling clumsy.

The cast also includes Creator/DonnieYen as Commander Tung (filling more or less the same role as Li Shang), Jason Scott Lee as Böri Khan (this film's version of Shan Yu), and Creator/GongLi as Xian Lang (a witch who's allied with Böri Khan).

* AdaptationalIntelligence: In the original film, the Chinese army suffered severe incompetence with the army being incredibly overconfident and badly underestimating the Huns. Here, they are shown to be genuinely skillful strategists, with the reason the Rourans keep winning is because of Xian Lang's powers allowing her to make the Chinese enter terrain on the Rourans choosing.

* AppealToAuthority: When a guard questions an order by the Chancellor, supposedly on behalf of the Emperor, to congregate in the city center, the Chancellor (who at this point is [[spoiler:possessed by Xian Lang]]) asks him if he questions the Emperor.

* BloodlessCarnage: Although the film is arguably the darkest and the most violent Disney remake to release with tons of onscreen deaths and portrayal of WarIsHell, the only blood that is shown throughout the whole movie is Xian Lang's wounded hand.
* BrokenAesop: While Mulan in the animated film and the original ballad has to struggle and work hard to prove herself, this version has a natural talent thanks to her chi and is immediately a master in everything and even if the movie says that those same traits would be praised in a man, whereas they are scorned in women like Mulan and Xian Lang, an attitude that is justly presented as a bad thing, the only woman whi's scorned is the witch, and it happens for justifiable reasons since she uses her powers for evil purposes.

* DeathByAdaptation: In the original film, it was unknown what happened to Hayabusa. [[spoiler:In this film, Xian Lang dies towards the end of it.]]

** Much like the original film, no punches are pulled in regards to the gender attitudes of the time, with Mulan being told to accept a husband that is found for her, and her chances with the Matchmaker are blown solely because she was trying to calm her sister. This is further underlined by the fact that Xian Lang's mistreatment because of these attitudes were the reason she joined Böri Khan in the first place. Even then, he treats her like dirt and she resents the living heck out of it.

* DesignatedGirlFight: Mulan and Xian Lang have one prominent showdown during the fight in the mountains. [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]], however, as Mulan is still presenting herself as Jun at this point. [[spoiler:Xian Lang emerges victorious after knocking Mulan down with a blade, though the weapon doesn't kill her thanks to her leather chest bindings. They do ''not'' have a rematch after Mulan sheds her male guise.]]
* DiscOneFinalBoss: Mulan fights Xian Lang in the mountains where she chases Böri Khan, shortly before the iconic avalanche. The final fight is with Böri Khan, [[spoiler:at the construction site of a new imperial palace]].

* EvilIsNotAToy: Xian Lang grabs Böri Khan by the neck and warns him she can tear him into pieces in the blink of an eye, clearly reminding him that she is an ally, and not a soldier.

** When Mulan arrives to help after her fight with Xian Lang, she discards her armor and lets down her long hair as a RuleOfSymbolism of embracing being a woman instead of hiding behind a man's identity, which should've left her body unprotected and her hair constantly blocking her vision. Common sense, what's that?

** Many of the trailers and TV spots for the movie featured Xian Lang more prominently than Böri Khan, giving the impression she was the BigBad while Khan was merely an UnwittingPawn or TheHeavy, especially given that the trailers implied Xian Lang either killed Khan's father, along with the fact that Xian is the one shown in the palace. [[spoiler:Nope. Khan's the Big Bad from the get-go and Lang is on the side of evil only because people hated her for being a witch, not helped at all by being a woman, while it's implied though not confirmed outright that the Emperor killed Khan's father in self-defense]].

** Xian Lang being [[WitchHunt called a "witch" and ostracized for her powers]]. "Witches" (the Western idea of the term, anyway) did not exist in China; while there were women who could use magic, such as soothsayers or shamans, they were actually greatly respected by the people, often holding high positions in their villages and sometimes in royal courts (as shown in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2''). Even if a woman ''was'' punished for using magic to harm someone, there was no persecution geared towards being female and practicing magic in general. If anything, Xian Lang's characteristics are far more in line with an animal spirit like Daji the fox; she would've been labeled as an evil spirit or demoness instead of a "witch", and persecuted for not being human rather than for her powers.

* SquishyWizard: [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-zagged]]. Xian Lang is a powerful witch who can clearly fight, as her battles alongside Böri Khan and her duel against Mulan showed. However, she needs to be specifically defending herself; [[spoiler:when Böri Khan tries to shoot Mulan with an arrow, Lang takes her falcon form in order to intercept it and has no opportunity to change back and protect herself as well]].

* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Subverted when [[spoiler:Xian Lang takes the arrow fired from Böri Khan for Mulan. Xian Lang proceeds to have her parting words with Mulan, but by this point, Böri Khan has already turned away to resume preparing the Emperor's [[KillItWithFire steel bath]].]]

* UncertainDoom: The fate of the people possessed by Xian Lang is left unclear, as they’re never shown regaining their bodies after she transforms back into herself. This ultimately leaves the fate of [[spoiler:the Chancellor]] up in the air.
* UngratefulBastard: Xian Lang explicitly cites this trope, pointing out to Mulan that when the Chinese army finds out who she is, they will kill her because of her gender regardless of her service.
* WarriorVersusSorcerer: Both Mulan and her EvilCounterpart Xian Lang are born with mystical powers. Mulan has super strength, speed and agility, and fights using a sword and martial arts. Xian Lang has VoluntaryShapeshifting and DemonicPossession, and is referred to as a witch. [[spoiler:Xian Lang ultimately pulls a HeelFaceTurn and takes an arrow meant for Mulan]].

The cast also includes Creator/DonnieYen as Commander Tung (filling more or less the same role as Li Shang), Jason Scott Lee as Bori Khan (this film's version of Shan Yu), and Creator/GongLi as Xian Lang (a witch who's allied with Bori Khan).

** In a scene taken from the original ballad, Mulan herself is tasked to lead the men to the Imperial City for their final showdown with Bori Khan's army.

** In the original film, it is unknown what happened to Mulan's sword after she was discovered as Shang arrived to return her helmet. Here, it is destroyed in the final battle with Bori Khan, and it gets replaced when Commander Tung gives her a new one at the end of the film.

** Rather than being named "Leopard Skin", which originates from the play ''The Heroine Mulan Goes to War in Her Father's Place" just as Mulan's surname "Hua" does, or being named "Shan-Yu", which is not a legitimate name but the title of the monarch of a completely different Proto-Mongol ethnic group, the leader of the invading force is called Bori Khan.

* AdaptationalOriginConnection: Bori Khan longs to kill the Emperor because he was the one who killed his father. In the animated film, Shan Yu didn’t have any sort of personal grudge against the Emperor.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Bori Khan's name means "wolf" in modern Turkic, but he is the leader of the Rouran Khaganate, who were more closely related to the Mongols and likely spoke an early form of their language.

* CatchAndReturn: Bori Khan catches an arrow fired at him by a Chinese archer and shoots it back at them. ''[[HorseArcher On horseback.]]''

** Much like the original film, no punches are pulled in regards to the gender attitudes of the time, with Mulan being told to accept a husband that is found for her, and her chances with the Matchmaker are blown solely because she was trying to calm her sister. This is further underlined by the fact that Xian Lang's mistreatment because of these attitudes were the reason she joined Bori Khan in the first place. Even then, he treats her like dirt and she resents the living heck out of it.
** Bori Khan is especially notable given that nomadic peoples were much more equal in regards to gender, and Shan Yu in the original film was completely unfazed when he learned Mulan's real gender, even seeing her as a WorthyOpponent. Khan's misogyny is unusual to his culture.

* DiscOneFinalBoss: Mulan fights Xian Lang in the mountains where she chases Bori Khan, shortly before the iconic avalanche. The final fight is with Bori Khan, [[spoiler:at the construction site of a new imperial palace]].

* EvilIsNotAToy: Xian Lang grabs Bori Khan by the neck and warns him she can tear him into pieces in the blink of an eye, clearly reminding him that she is an ally, and not a soldier.

* HordesFromTheEast: In this case, Bori Khan and the Rouran Khaganate are the hordes from the ''north''.

** Many of the trailers and TV spots for the movie featured Xian Lang more prominently than Bori Khan, giving the impression she was the BigBad while Khan was merely an UnwittingPawn or TheHeavy, especially given that the trailers implied Xian Lang either killed Khan's father, along with the fact that Xian is the one shown in the palace. [[spoiler:Nope. Khan's the Big Bad from the get-go and Lang is on the side of evil only because people hated her for being a witch, not helped at all by being a woman, while it's implied though not confirmed outright that the Emperor killed Khan's father in self-defense]].

* NoodleIncident: It's not entirely clear how Bori Khan's father fell to the Emperor, and the film doesn't delve much into the event.

* RevengeMyopia: Bori Khan seeks to avenge his father's death, implied to have been at the hands of the Emperor. However, [[spoiler:it's also implied that the Emperor did so out of self defense]]. The actual circumstances [[NoodleIncident are never fully addressed]].

* SparedByTheAdaptation: Bori Khan and a large number of Rourans are absent from the majority of the mountain battle and are therefore spared from the ensuing avalanche, in stark contrast to the animated film where only Shan Yu and his four elite generals survived.
* SpreadWingsFrameShot: As Mulan asserts herself in her final fight against Bori Khan, her family's phoenix can be seen briefly spreading its wings behind her, giving her the appearance of having wings.
* SquishyWizard: [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-zagged]]. Xian Lang is a powerful witch who can clearly fight, as her battles alongside Bori Khan and her duel against Mulan showed. However, she needs to be specifically defending herself; [[spoiler:when Bori Khan tries to shoot Mulan with an arrow, Lang takes her falcon form in order to intercept it and has no opportunity to change back and protect herself as well]].

* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Subverted when [[spoiler:Xian Lang takes the arrow fired from Bori Khan for Mulan. Xian Lang proceeds to have her parting words with Mulan, but by this point, Bori Khan has already turned away to resume preparing the Emperor's [[KillItWithFire steel bath]].]]

** The Matchmaker in this adaptation is not an [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid Ursula]]-esque {{Gonk}} like in the animated film.

** Ron Yuan (Sergeant Qiang) played an officer who [[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3 served in the Imperial army]]. [[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3 A bonus since the Emperor in that game]] [[Creator/GeorgeTakei is one of Mulan's Ancestors]]

** Creator/MingNaWen’s unnamed character wears a robe that’s the same shade of green as the original Mulan’s outfit.

* WeAllLiveInAmerica: The Chinese characters reference the phoenix dying in fire and rising from the ashes, which is more associated with the western phoenix than the Chinese ones.
* {{Wuxia}}: The genre’s influences are all over the film, especially in the shots with the aforementioned CombatParkour.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: While people have correctly pointed out that there was no sorceress in the original ballad, their errors come in from the fact that the 1850 novel "The Fierce and Filial Girl from Northern Wei" did in fact feature a sorceress amongst the antagonists. True, she is not an entirely accurate portrayal culturally, but even then, it is not like a previous retelling has never featured a sorceress or even magic.

** Mulan's enemies are the proto-Mongolic [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rouran_Khaganate Rouran Khaganate]], who existed long before the Tang dynasty's founding. They were the likely antagonists of the original Mulan poem, but Mulan would've been an inhabitant of the bordering Northern Wei Empire, thus Xianbei rather than Han Chinese. The correct Northern neighbors to use for a film set in the Tang dynasty would have been one of the various neighboring Turkic empires.

* CoolSword: Hua Zhou’s sword, which has the disc-shaped guard characteristic of a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dao_(sword) dao]], but the straight double-edged blade of a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jian jian]]. Mulan wields the weapon once she joins the army, and it becomes her WeaponOfChoice throughout the film. At the end of the film [[spoiler:the Emperor gifts her with a more conventional jian, encrusted with jade in the handle.]]

* CompanyCrossReferences: The castle featured in the Disney logo at the beginning of the film is Shanghai Disneyland's Enchanted Storybook Castle.

* CompanyCrossReferences: The castle featured in the Disney logo at the beginning of the film is fittingly (given the Chinese setting), Shanghai Disneyland's Enchanted Storybook Castle.

* CompanyCrossReference: The castle featured in the Disney logo at the beginning of the film is the Enchanted Storybook Castle at Shanghai Disneyland.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[{{Tagline}} Loyal, Brave, True.]] [[note]]Yes, those are what the words on the sword mean.[[/note]]]]
->''"Do you know why the phoenix sits on the right-hand of the Emperor? She is his guardian. His protector. She is both beautiful and strong. Your job is to bring honor to the family. Do you think you can do that?"''

When the Emperor of China (Creator/JetLi) issues a decree that one man per family must serve in the Imperial Army to defend the country from Northern invaders attacking China, Hua Mulan (Liu Yifei), the eldest daughter of an honored warrior, steps in to take the place of her ailing father. She is spirited, determined and quick on her feet. Masquerading as a man, Hua Jun, she is tested every step of the way and must harness her inner-strength and embrace her true potential.

The cast also includes Creator/DonnieYen as Commander Tung (filling more or less the same role as Li Shang), Jason Scott Lee as Bori Khan (this film's version of Shan Yu) and Creator/GongLi as Xian Lang (a witch who's allied with Bori Khan).

The film had a world premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 9, 2020. It was originally scheduled for wide release in the United States on March 27, 2020, but due to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic, it was postponed several times. The film would ultimately be released on September 4 through the then-experimental Creator/DisneyPlus with Premier Access model, while receiving a more traditional theatrical rollout in areas where theaters were open.[[note]]While Disney would continue to utilize the Premier Access model through much of 2021, later films would be released in theaters alongside the streaming platform.[[/note]] A month after its Disney+ debut, it also received a release on more traditional VOD platforms.

** Mulan's family name is now "Hua" instead of "Fa", which is actually the same name, but using the Cantonese pronuciation instead of Mandarin[[note]]although ''Hua'' is an acceptable substitute in modern Mandarin and is used interchangeably in context[[/note]]. Also, her alias is no longer "Fa Ping"[[note]]thus averting comparisons to [[AccidentalInnuendo certain internet slang]] that arose after the animated movie[[/note]] but rather "Hua Jun".

''Mulan'' is an American war action drama film directed by Niki Caro and produced by [[Creator/{{Disney}} Walt Disney Pictures]]. It is a [[LiveActionAdaptation live-action remake]] of Disney's [[WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}} 1998 animated film of the same name]], itself based on the Chinese legend of [[Literature/TheBalladOfMulan Hua Mulan]].