Gkaidan / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
On September 4, 2020, Disney released its live-action version of Mulan to the public. .The film, a remake of the 1998 animation, is based on the ancient Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, a courageous young woman who assumes her father’s position amongst the Emperor’s army.
About a year ago, Disney expected the film to be a blockbuster; predicting that Chinese moviegoers would propel the film to record-setting heights. That didn’t happen.
Instead, Covid-19 became responsible for a near worldwide shutdown of cinemas in March. Subsequently, Disney opted to premiere the film via its streaming service, DisneyPlus. Countries that received a theatrical release include Croatia, The Czech Republic, Singapore, Slovakia, Thailand, Turkey, Hungary, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, and China.
Come release day, DisneyPlus subscribers were surprised( relatively unpleasantly) with a $30 price tag ($34.99 Canadian), for “premier access” to the film. Additionally required, is a subscription to DisneyPlus( $8.99 per month, $89.99 per year). Disney likely factored several variables into this price point. After all, Mulan was filmed with a $200 million budget; the highest budget ever, for a female-directed film. A lack of cinema- goer’s meant that Disney needed to make adjustments for revenue or at least attempt to.
Tomorrow the movie will be two weeks old, and Mulan’s global “box office” totals aren’t spectacular. So far, Mulan has earned a light $42 million worldwide. In China, Disney’s remake of the classic only grossed $23.1 million Mulan’s astronomical budget completely eclipses sales. Streaming numbers may increase marginally, but they’ve likely peaked until Mulan is released to all DisneyPlus subscribers on December 4.
Sure, when compared to the average $9 North American movie ticket, $30 is definitely steep. However, that only concerns single moviegoers buying their own tickets. Once you begin to factor in families of two, three, four, or more; not to mention popcorn and snacks, the price point begins to level out. With a PG-13 rating, Mulan is optimal to be viewed in a family setting; its minor violence won’t be keeping any children up at night.
The original film is usually regarded fondly by customers and critics. The only glaring criticism regarding the 1998 classic is the lack of an Asian cast.
Not this time. Disney made sure to secure an all-star Chinese cast, with celebrated actors like Jet Li, Gong Li, and Donnie Yen. So how did Disney perform so poorly with this second version of Mulan? There are several reasons, ranging from pricing to politics, and even human rights violations.
A Closer Look At The Numbers
Compared to the weekend of August 2, Mulan’s premiere on DisneyPlus fueled a 68% subscriber increase across 20 countries. Unfortunately for Disney, this didn’t translate well into sales for Mulan. A measly 4% of these customers went on to rent the film
No Music
Disney isn’t a stranger to remaking their classic animated movies. The Jungle Book, The Lion King, and Aladdin have all recently seen live-action adaptations. All three of these movies retained (some of) the musical numbers that made them so memorable. Not Mulan. The film’s director, Niki Caro chose to use instrumental versions of the animated film’s score. Fans had valid reasoning for being upset. Mulan’s animated score was nominated for an academy award in 1999; it was exceptional. Mulan 2020 seems quiet by comparison.
No Mushu
The lack of musical numbers isn’t the only significant difference across both versions of Mulan. 2020’s live-action remake won’t be featuring a certain red dragon. Voiced by Eddie Murphy in 1998, Mushu the dragon spirit was Mulan’s beloved companion. According to Nicki Caro, the decision to forego Mushu and singing was Disney’s attempt at creating a more realistic, somber atmosphere for the film. Akin to Zazu (Rowan Atkinson) in The Lion King, or Genie (Robin Williams) in Aladdin, Mushu was essentially just comic relief; but Eddie Murphy did a fantastic job with his role, and is thoroughly missed this time around.
Boycott Mulan?
This is where things started to become hectic for Disney.
On August 15, 2019, Mulan’s leading actress Liu Yifei shared a message to her 65 Weibo (China’s very popular alternative to Twitter), million followers, in support of Hong Kong police. Additionally, Yifei shared an image via The People’s Daily; the official newspaper for the Communist Party of China (CCP). According to a CNN translation, Li Yifei posted on Weibo saying, “I support the Hong Kong police. You can all attack me now. What a shame for Hong Kong.”
Since last year, Hong Kong’s police force has received heavy accusations regarding excessive force against democratic protesters. Her post was received incredibly well in China, gaining more than 70,00 shares, 80,000 likes, and thousands of positive comments.
Contrarily in Hong Kong and the Western World, Yifei’s post erupted in a wave of backlash. #Boycottmulan began to trend on Twitter and Instagram, condemning Liu Yifei’s stance towards Hong Kong. Critics additionally went after Disney’s Mulan Instagram account, spreading contempt wide across social media. Not everyone is angry at the Chinese- born actress, with some users even suggesting her post may have been influenced by the Chinese government. In the past, the CCP is rumored to have blacklisted performers; as such, several Chinese fans have cautioned against drawing rapid conclusions regarding Yifei.
Li Yifei wasn’t Mulan’s only cast member in support of the CCP. Donnie Yen, who plays a military commander, Tung, also drew negative attention from Hong Kong supporters
Following Mulan’s release, it was discovered that Disney worked in cooperation with the CCP during filming. As it would turn out, Disney was filming in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, a controversial location where the CCP has been accused of numerous humans rights violations against the region’s Uyghur Islamic people, and other minorities. During Mulan’s final closing credits, Disney gives thanks to the propaganda departments in Xinjiang, and the public security bureau of Turpan, a predominantly Uighur city.
Upon this crediting, the Chinese Government has imposed a ban on publicizing Mulan. Amidst the human rights controversy, major media companies in China have revealed that they are forbidden from covering the film’s release.
Just Bad Timing
Have you seen Disney’s Mulan remake yet? An unfortunate combination of timing and controversy ultimately spelled disaster for this remake of a classic.