The Absolute Failure of MULAN (2020) | Analysis Explained
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2025
- Disney you've got enough Superheroes, you didn't need to make Mulan one, too.
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#Mulan #Mulan2020 #Disney
But remember guys Mulan is not a superhero
Yes, she's just born with random superpowers, you know, like ALL young girls! 😉
Just a Mary Sue
Funny is that even the chinese don't like this movie. Mainly because they made her a "superhero" of sorts...
But remember stuff like that happens in Chinesse martial arts films
no Amanda's Life Advice this week? :(
Mulan 1998 - Girls can do anything with hard work, perseverance and determination.
Mulan 2020 - Mulan's not like other girls. She's a cool girl.
She's just captain Marvel 2.0 and that's not a compliment...
I imagine if we could see the aftermath of the movie, the situation isn't going to get better for the women. They still continue to follow the patriarchy, tradition still remains, and only mulan gets the benefit of being treated as an equal to men because people see her as a special case (because in the movie, she is).
Meanwhile when i watched the 1998 version, i could see the townspeople looking at mulan and say "see mulan over there? She was just an average girl. If you set your mind and heart to something, you can be just like her."
The sister character made this even worse honestly. The message seems to come across as, “If you have powers, you can be special. But if you don’t, just accept the roles society has for you and be content with the hand you’ve been dealt.”
@@melfree2545 It's basically Disney saying that you need to be special to rise up. From a good family or wealthy or physically gifted. Which in the real world is the harsh reality but it makes a pretty shitty message.
The original was not just “girls can do anything”. But her army friends also can’t do anything at the beginning. She inspires them with her wit and they also go and succeed in their own. And that’s the beauty!
Amanda's disappointment is too pure, this movie sucked.
I know, her reaction is contagious, I was HOPING that this flick would be decent, especially as the original is my favourite Disney movie of all time. But NO, they just had to go and butcher it, didn't they?! 🙄
Maybe I’m just lucky and Amanda isn’t; but has she ever reviewed a mogie she liked, or does she just take them for the team?
@@MrBiggles53 she does do positive reviews
When u watched the star was films last week so u know who Qui-Gon Jinn is
@@MrBiggles53 I mean, she did two videos on Umbrella Academy (One labeled "I Simp over THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY Season 2 for 19 minutes")
"We don't sing when we go to war" There is a youtube video showing Russian Soldiers singing Barbie Girl. At Basic for the US Army we sang a millions songs one of them being Spongebob Squarepants. Singing songs isn't the problem.
This is amazing, and now I can only imagine soldiers singing SpongeBob SquarePants.
I personal favorite is (napalm sticks to kids)
ALSO
The songs in the 90s movie actually had a significance. They helped the scenes flow and helped the audience understand what was happening.
Unrealistic doesn't auto equal bad
The Russian Barbie girl video was hilarious! I would be shaking in my boot if I heard an army of Russian plowing through saying, "I'm A bArbIe GiRl!-" 🤣
Also historically too, like war drums and fuckin trumpets and shit
Original Mulan: "You can be anything you want to be as long as you have determination, wit and true grit." 😍💪
Remake Mulan: "You can be anything you want to be as long as you have inexplicable superpowers, and are totally invincible!🙄
Mulan: the 24th marvel cinematic universe movie. In doctor strange 2, she'll actually side with the villain, and win with a kick at an arrow.
manuek huntyk That’s not it, Mulan is actually force sensitive!
Kinda like Rey from the new Star Wars. she’s just naturally good at everything without any difficulty. 😂 oh the Mary Sue
The cartoon Mulan (despite the faults that people found later) still gives a wonderful empowering message even after all these years. You can also feel the love and passion of the creators and everyone involved through it.
The remake, (even though they keep denying it's a remake and more of a historically accurate Mulan movie) I'll still call a remake because they relied on the nostalgia and the loves & success for the cartoon version to create hype and draw in audiences. The remake barely has an empowering message (despite how much they want to convince people). The movie is basically saying you're born with it or you're nothing.
The actress too, how is it that an animated cartoon is more expressive and easier to empathize with than an actual human actor?
And there there are issues of kissing CCP's posterior and supporting human discrimination and police brutality.
'She lives in China, she has to show support or her family will be in danger' excuse is such bullsh**. She could just stay silence. Nobody is forcing her to choose a side, she willingly does it herself.
turning into a murder of crows = realistic
having a pet lizard = absurd and not believable
"We don't tend to break into song when we go to war."
Jokes aside, that's actually horrifically untrue. Battle songs not only have a strong presence in virtually every recorded culture throughout history, but as someone who was in the army for 5 years as a combat engineer and deployed to Afghanistan, I can tell you thay we still sing on mission. My platoon could have sang Bohemian Rhapsody competitively we did it so often on mission over the radios.
You want to make it a more realistic story, then fine. I'm certain there are cool, hsitorical chinese war chants and battle songs you could have used in the movie instead.
True! It's just a lazy excuse to not include the songs.
I was in the Navy and we were literally singing songs while we marched from day 1 of boot camp! You’re ENTIRE CAREER can be as a musician and nothing else lol I have no idea about the Chinese military but yeah, this was a lazy excuse not to include music
true
also people sing while doing hard work in fields
it's like when it's hard or scary people sing together
often it's for rythm because it's easier to connect everyone through a song or melody
@@danielasilva8765 Speaking of WWI...
OVER THERE! SAY A PRAYER!
SEND THE WORD, SEND THE WORD
OVER THERE!
THAT THE YANKS ARE COMING!
THE YANKS ARE COMING!
Just look at navies around the world, Spanish ladies, leave her Johnny leave her, and everyone's favourite drunken sailor haha
I saw a video of a girl that broke down what Mulan got culturally wrong, and during the scene where Mulan's dad said that she must hide her chi she said "so they gave Mulan superpowers they made her Asian Elsa," I burst out laughing🤣😂
Is it Xiran Jai Zhao's one? It's really good, if people want to go watch it
Xiran Jay Zhao, sorry
Zhao is great! Their videos are so insightful.
They actually identify as nonbinary
@@Daffodillon she’s still ok with people using she/they
They removed the legendary line mushu line and that literally left me depressed.
*Dishonor on them, Dishonor on their Family, Dishonor on their cow*
I would have love this movie a lot more if just a random character had a melt down and said this while everyone else stared in shock.
@@daniellegroves4830 Yeah, like one of the guys she's kinda friends with bangs his knee on a rock and drops his water buckets and kicks one and screams this ... I didn't see the movie but I hear it a humorless slog so that could only have helped.
They didn't want to insult themselves.
Yah I love that line too! But Mushu has other great underrated lines
@@Jenny-vo2ik yah I agree. Quoting that Mushu line would've exposed the truth about their lackluster film. That's why they avoided it lol
Seriously, the animated version ends up being more realistic than this movie.
I know. I mean, it's still inaccurate, but it was pretty transparent about it. And for any criticism it gets, the film at least got the heart of the ballad correct.
Even though Mushu is technically a magical creature, pretty much everything in the '98 film could have happened normally without him there. A letter from the front, the cannons setting on fire in transit, Mulan trying to act manly, etc. He doesn't affect the world around him to a high degree. Making a main character and antagonist character have superhero/magic powers does, though.
@@alyssaagnew4147 Like, we expect an animation not to be accurate. And the live action version is manages to be less realistic than an animation? Hell, that takes real talent.
there were so many things wrong in the 1998 animated Mulan version
- First of all Mulan cut her hair right before she left to join the Army. In ancient china it was uncivilized to cut your hair short, thats why all the ancient chinese men have long hair.
-Second, Mulan was trained by her father as a little girl. the historic mulan was skilled in martial art even before she went to the army. she was trained by her father when she was young. mulan didn't took his father place if she didn't knew she could do it, she had the confidence to do it. the disney animated version just whitewashed this fact. sad fact is that western audiences are not comfortable with strong women, they can't handle it. disney just made mulan weak to begin with to create underdog sympathy.
Why should you downplay someone ability just because she is a woman. All women need to be weak first to be appreciated? That is the stereotype we are holding on to. We are always surprised when a woman is more capable than a male equivalent. The message of the movie is saying, that is wrong!
- Third, the song "I'll make a man out of you" is very sexist. Why would an chinese commander say I'll make a man out of you when the soldiers were already men? I know its a wink at Mulan being a woman, but the song didn't age well. Nowadays both men and woman can join the army. Image your drill sergeant tells you that he want to make a man out of you, while you are a woman, cringe!
- Fourth, historically Shang Li didnt exist. And it is very sexist stereotyping for Mulan fall in love with her superior, thats so cringe I don't know why you support that, its morally not even sound. Honghei is historically seen more accurate as Mulan love interest, and its more logical because he was a fellow soldier and they spent more time witch each other, than you would normally with your commander or drill sergeant.
@@BingDwenDwen copy pasting and never responding to comments that argue your opinion
Critics: Rant about Mulan have "Chi"
Me, a Martial Arts movie fan: Goddamit, they don't even got the Chi Right!!!!
YES.
I am so annoyed about how they portrayed Chi because it isnt something you are born with!!! In traditional myth and stories, you have to practice for years before developing an affinity for Chi and becoming good at it. In addition, having Chi isn't something to be ashamed of or to be hidden, it a mark of a great figher. In many chinese movies and shows, males and females alike are martial artists. I dont know where these Disney wackjob get their sources but they pretty much failed at the authentic chinese culture part.
@@randomcatmeow1394 and it surprising that the crew don't even asked around...
They have Donnie Yen and Jet Li as the casts...
Also the same with fighting scene...
I bet those 2 can make better fight choreography than what they have in crew....
It’s spelled “Qi”
@@arianafox365 it depends, in Chinese hanyupinyin, it is spelled Qi but it is spelled Chi in English due to the difference in pronunciation. The same way kung fu Panda master Oogway is spelled Wu Gui in Chinese
"We didn't want people singing or magic animals in a Disney movie because that would be too unrealistic, Mulan isn't a magical superhero" Mulan: *proceeds to defy gravity and act like a rejected avengers character the entire movie while a woman turns into birds in the background*
*rejected avengers character* 💀
The hawk witch was kinda iconic though✌️😂. I actually liked her character the most.
*and the bird woman is supposedly to be op but later gets pierced by an arrow to save mulan*
That witch triggers me and Mulan’s powers too. Why is the world was a which ok but not an ancestral dragon guide!! WTF! I really don’t understand why. And 200 million to make this shit! W H A T.
Lmaooo
"We don't exactly burst into song when going to war"
*thinks of all the songs soldiers sing when going to war*
yeah
Um yah! "I don't know what I've been told" 🎵🎵🎵
Yes LOL my brother is in the military and he says they sing all the time during training
World War 1: (Keep Your Head Down, Fritzy Boy intensifies)
Fun fact, Hussites won one battle just by singing.
Yeah, no songs allowed in war. Right.
@@luckyann4300 Yeah, I remember how our teacher told us the story, how the enemies started to run when they heard ,,Ktož jsú boží bojovníci," and how I just felt so cool for them, because that were people of my country that were able to do something like that.
So if atleast something similiar would happen in this (well, without the enemies running, cuz Hussites were known for their fighting by that time, but Mulan and others wouldn't, for obvious reason), it would be so fricking cool too to see them fight like that, side-by-side, because, 'Men and women are different, but in battle, who can tell th difference?'
Of course, that's only if you don't throw you fudging armour away! Like for gods sake, Mulan go back and take it back atleast because it's your family heirloom!!
The movie is saying "yea girls can fight in war, but not because they're equally as strong as men, only because she's probably a witch with super powers"
exactly. as if the thought of a woman being clever and quick-witted wasn’t realistic. “why is this woman so good at fighting? is it because she’s stronger than these men? lol no that can’t be it. it has to be magic. that’s why her normal sister is at home married!”
Just to say it plainly - no, women aren't as strong as men, at least not physically. That's why for ages men went to war and women stayed behind. No patriarchy, no oppression, just common sense. I liked original "Mulan" for this specific reason, not because she was "just as strong" as her male companions but because she was able to use her wits for common good when everything else failed. She grew as a character throughout the entire movie and at the end she was, in my opinion, a true heroine. New "Mulan" sends the same message to women as "Black Panther" sent to black folks - you don't need to make yourself better as a person and overcome life challenges to accomplish your goals, some magic BS like "Chi power" or "Vibranium" will do that for you.
@@gratius1394 thank you, I don't have the patience to go into detail about that
@Daniel Henriquez I don't think his personal growth was main premise of the movie. It's more like an afterthought to me. He already started almost perfect - powerful and honorable warrior, heir to the throne of mighty kingdom, kind and reasonable prince... There wasn't much space left for character developement in the first place. Trust me, poorly written characters aren't this movie worst problem. Pushing politics down of your viewers throats or blatant racism are definitely more serious than that.
@Daniel Henriquez I was thinking about generally condescending behaviour of black characters towards white ones. Also all secondary (not really) villains are Westerners and no one would say that's a coincidence. Imagine reaction of the public if those roles were reversed.
Disney can’t do live action. They suck. These remakes suck. Soulless cash grabs.
Disney sucks now a days.
Disney can do live action they are awesome
Disney is boring now. Nothing beats the classic Disney cartoon. There’s more story and it feels more real vs. all this live action remakes. Sorry I’m not into live nor all this Pixar movie bull crap.
Disney made the Star Wars prequels look like classics. They should go out of business now. Stop buying their shit people.
My only consolation is aladdin...
Disney: We want to make this culturally accurate
Also Disney:
Miss uses the concept of Chi to the point of it being something completely different
Brings a witch when the concept of fearing them is a Christian thing and didn't exist in ancient China
Uses the Egyptian phoenix
Completly messes up the representation of a Chinese royal court
Uses vibrant colours that probably didn't exist at the time
Uses the wrong type of housing for Mulan's family
and the list goes on
The weird thing is that if they had made the witch some kind of fox spirit it would have solved most if not all problems with her, instantly. She could still shapeshift, do extraordinary things and people would feel the need to be wary around her, thus keeping the outsider persona. It was... so easy to fix it.
The weird thing is that if they had made the witch some kind of fox spirit it would have solved most if not all problems with her, instantly. She could still shapeshift, do extraordinary things and people would feel the need to be wary around her, thus keeping the outsider persona. It was... so easy to fix it.
Vibrant colors is actually basically fine - we've had bright colors forever. We like decorations lmao we figured out dyes pretty quickly
but people with chi can fly. they got that right. lol
@@yanguskhan8513 Yeah, but if they were going for a wuxia movie, then the chi shouldn't have been just limited to men. Women were allowed to cultivate it too. :)
The animated Mulan was more realistic and grounded, as well as obeyed the laws of physics better than the live action one did...
And it had a talking dragon with the voice of Eddie Murphy, for goodness sake!
Edit: Thank you for the likes! Stay safe, y'all!
I totally agree
Yes, and at that point, Disney didn’t give us “strong female characters,” they gave us strong characters that happened to be female. Which is better in every way, every time.
@@melfree2545 I know right, I feel like with this Mulan they tried to make her some kind of a superhero and she's not. The beautiful thing about the old Mulan is that she was a relatable character we can all identify.
Mel Free exactly
Mulan: Rise of a Warrior takes place in 12 years while Disney's Mulan 2020 takes place in 12 days
Mulan 1998: average girl who actually does so bad in training that she's told to leave, succeeds through determination and hard work
Mulan 2020: she's a magical girl who needs no training cause she's just that good, because magic
Don't forget it is because of mAgIc! That's the important part and makes it totally realistic. But please always remember: Mulan is not a superhero!! (:
Mulan 2009 I'm a human being
MY NAME IS REY PALPATINE!!!! Yeah, Disney is fucking up their female characters completely by making them perfect. Maybe their animated movies are the best for their woman characters now.
That’s actually more in line with the original story of Mulan... Not defending the new movie but educate yourself.
@@dxcSOUL No its not. As @Speculative Dude Reviews
said No shapeshifting witches, no chi (qi) and Mulan also NEVER SHOWED THAT SHE WAS A WOMAN!!! In the original poem, she hid her identity the entire time she was in the military. It wasn't until she had left service and gone home when some of the soldiers that had served with her visited her home and she met them dressed as a woman. That was the first time anyone knew that she wasn't a man.
“WELL WE DON’T ELECTRIC SLIDE ACROSS WALLS EITHER NIKKI, BUT HERE WE ARE!” The amount of distress in the delivery of that sentence..
General public: "hey disney, could you write a competent story and create a competent female character that would at least honor the legacy of the classic animated film Mulan?"
Disney: "No we'll create a historically accurate and more serious interpretation of the original fable."
General Public: " Understandable have a great day."
Disney: *turns Mulan into a B movie level martial arts flick*
General Public: "wtf happened here!"
Disney: *money printer noises*
Think that printer jammed, poor Disney
@@TheCinderfang I hope it explodes.
My mom is a fan both disney and chinese historical fiction war films, and she still found this movie boring.
Also the movie only raked up US$7.5M box office from a US$200M budget. There ain't much money to print there 😂
Also the movie apparently still gets so much historical crap completely wrong so the ‘historical changes’ really only barely helped on that front
"We don't tend to break into song when we go to war."
Yes, yes we do. The history of military bands is because we wanted music during battle. Maybe it was just a drum and a fife at times, but it happened. Music is proven to lift moral. Its nothing new.
Hence the Coma Doof Warrior of "Mad Max: Fury Road"!
Good point! And when you look at the original Mulan, the music showed a really powerful contrast between triumph of training and the hardships of war
Militaries have been using music for literal Millenia not only does it improve morale, it keeps people marching in time, and can be used to convey orders in battle. Its really useful so the idea that "hur dur people didn't use music" is just fucking stupid
Everything about this movie was just......not true and bad. Tragically horrid.
Yah so true. Its like that old song "I dont know what I've been told"
I remember seeing this film with my dad as a 10-year-old girl. I remember looking up at him and seeing him cry during the part where Mulan's father hugs her when she comes home. When I asked him what was wrong after the movie, he said to me, "whenever you ask me if you need to do better in school or as a girl, or if you're good enough, smart enough, whatever, that is how I feel about you." Mulan gave us a so much more impactful of a message between girls and their fathers than most films we've seen in recent years.
Actually, people did break into songs when going into war, to lift their spirits which were already depressed enough. The war folk songs are the result of that tradition. So, "Girl Worth Fighting For" is actually more realistic of a scene in the animation, than this movie had.
It's also a much more emotional moment, since it's the soldiers realizing for the first time what war actually means. They sing, joke around and imagine becoming heroes and getting their perfect women, but then the music stops when they see the destruction the war has caused. In just one moment both the characters and the audience see what's really at stake, in the disconnect between the happy song and the destroyed village. It's one of my favourite scenes from the movie and it perfectly shows the real emotions that many soldiers throughout history must have felt when they were confronted with the horrors of war for the first time. It's both realistic and a great dramatic device.
@@ichbinben. Completely agreed. It brought so much goosebumps to me and my bro as children that we legit stuck to our mom at that moment o_O
Not only were the 4 writers not Chinese, they also have (apparently) never been anywhere near a real military. It's like they picked 4 women at random - "Got a vajayjay? Stick a pen in it, baby; you're a strong empowered writer now!!"
Of course, war is intimately connected with singing (and dancing as well). It is only with the end of the second world war that these became disassociated with warfare. All warrior cultures had war songs featuring prominently, and warriors from most of these cultures were expected to be accomplished dancers as well, (cossacks, maori, samurai, norman knights...) Those people who wrote this piece of crap "cinema" have no conception whatsoever of reality. By "realistic" they mean something that might conform to their comfortable first world existence where high drama comes from not finding a parking spot and then throwing a tantrum or going off to mope. Zero research, zero wisdom, zero anything.
The American military, along with others, use songs to march and run to while in formation. They're called jodies. So much gas lighting and bs from the director's and writers
“We don’t tend to break into song when we go to war” except we do? Songs during war times are very common and very important, they’ve been around since war was a thing. Marches and chants helped raise the spirits of soldiers and motivated them, saying songs during war times and during battles aren’t a thing is just plain wrong. Lots of armies throughout history had bands playing during training, before battle and sometimes even during battle to raise moral. In the original mulan a girl worth fighting for is an excellent song bc it shows the mindset of soldiers, how they fantasised about how great life would be back home once they won, which motivated them to keep fighting. The song is lighthearted and is cut abruptly as we see the devastation of the town making for an amazing and heart wrenching transition, juxtaposing the emotions of both scenes and making the effect of the destroyed village so much more impactful. It’s not only accurate but it fits with the story and makes it so much more effective
Glad to see I'm not the only one who was thinking this. Especially given that most if not all of those men hadn't seen battle before (so they have no real concept of how serious it is), I find it extremely likely that they would break out into song.
There are so many folk songs originating from soldiers all over the world. Also drummers are really common among all different era's in the world. Battle/war crys too. Even modern armies have legit bands. It's very morale boosting or good to spur up courage
Glad I wasnt the only one who thought this too. I served in the army and those cadences and chants were like our fuel to keep going and to get started. And the Military Band is a key part of that tradition that didnt just take place outside of war efforts but also during times of conflict to keep morale high. And this is something not just westernized but featured in other civilizations and eras.
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I THOUGHT
Yeah, I was thinking that too - like what the heck, where up their ass did they find that information from. I remember a bunch of ww1/2 songs the brits sang like "It's a long way to Tipperary" (an absolute bangger).
Actually, by taking out “A Girl Worth Fighting For” they are arguably making the film less realistic. That song is derivative of war chants that most armies use when marching to keep themselves occupied. An equivalent could be “I Don’t Know What I’ve Been Told” which is a musical chant used by the U.S. Marine. It is less likely that the army walks for miles without doing any chants then singing chants up until they need to get ready for battle
Another important aspect of "A Girl Worth Fighting For" is the juxtaposition used when the troops actually come across the devastation that has already fallen upon the checkpoint. It creates hope and morale, which amplifies the despair that follows.
@@Rikrobat another reason why that song is amazing is because when Mulan finds the doll, the little girl who owned it becomes the girl worth fighting for.
there's also a fair few military marching songs about 'girls back home'
katyusha the soviet one for example
@@averynelson5751 😭
@@averynelson5751 omg, I never thought of that... I got chills reading your comment! 😭😭
I take the Mary Sueing of Mulan’s character as a personal insult.
Jupiter Disney doesn’t understand how to make good movies anymore.
@@emhu2594 I don't think Disney even cares to. They're all about soulless cash grabs now.
@@alleycat2297 These days Disney only make 3 types of films. Bad live action remakes of some of their best animated films, animated films not as good as the ones they used to make or they buy the rights to other series and proceed to make bad sequels, prequels or remakes of them. And that's not even getting into the bad fanfictions they make like the Maleficent film. People don't want to see you give cliched origin stories of your best villains where they had bad childhoods Disney. Then there's shit like Descendants where Disney villains who died in their respective animated films are alive and trapped on an island and have lazily named kids.
Same.
@@Xehanort10 ok i actually maleficent 😔🤚but I don’t connect the original and that movie together I just view maleficent as a whole different movie and descendants is literally a copy of ever after high that had a way better storyline which then had to get cancelled cause of Disney
That ending, when the father threw the sword away and embraced Mulan, spoke to me more like, no amount of honor or loss of it would make up for her loss. That his love for her was unconditional. I loved that.
Right? Mulan was quick to show him her trophies because she thought that her family must have been feeling great shame for what she did, but really they were just worried about her. Makes me cry now when I watch it because he’s basically saying “I don’t care about any of that, I’m just happy you’re home” 😭
As a father that teared me up a bit since I know no amount of money would be equal to even a finger of my daughter.
It's a very western anachronistic thing for the father character to do though. It's fine in the context of an American kids' movie but it feels very un-Chinese.
Let’s be honest, we knew the movie would be crap when they got rid of the best Disney prince, the bi-con Shang.
and mushu, like as soon as i heard that mushu would not be in the film i made up my mind that i would never watch it. Based on the youtube videos i watched about the movie, it was a good decision.
I agree 🥲
I feel like he’s Pan not even bi, he loved Mulan no matter what gender she was.
@@Cecebookworm07 actually yeh that makes more sense... he loves her for who she is as a person not what sex she is... there’s a difference
@@plasticmodels I’m bi and that’s not really bi at all. EDIT: Looking back, my internalized biphobia was pretty massive. Bi doesn’t have just one definition, and it’s the persons choice what to identify as. I am so sorry. (But I do still like to think of Shang as Bi/Pan because Pan’s aren’t always represented)
my problem with this movie is that the vast majority of the original movie was watching mulan fail and yet she wouldn't give up. in this version you turn her into a mary sue, perfect in every way and never makes mistakes.
truuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
I think that's the problem when bad writers try to write "strong independant women". They forget that we love characters mainly for their struggles and their flaws, not because we see them winning everything....
@@krankarvolund7771 Disney doesn't know how to write interesting, entertaining, badass flawed heroes who struggle any more. They think everyone wants to see perfect, flawless Gary Stus and Mary Sues who effortlessly beat the villains with no trouble.
@@Xehanort10 And that make kids and other viewers feel like shit because they already think they're not great as they watch basically a magical girl do convoluted shit in a war. Screw modern Disney.
YES. Animated Mulan was relatable and inspiring because even when she failed, she kept trying, and she did it without some magic powers. And even if this director wants to give her some dumb qi-but-that's-not-actually-how-qi-works powers, at least give her some struggles. Even superheroes have struggles and fail sometimes, because good writers know it makes them more believable and grounded, and it helps the non-superpowered audience connect with them.
I hate how with every Disney remake they go like “oh everyone’s already seen the original so we can skip lots of detail and story line that’s crucial for the film to make sense... people can fill in the gaps”
Just like Aladdin
That's what they do with bad film adaptations of some books and games too. "Oh we're just going to assume everyone's read the books or played the games so we don't have to explain anything."
The beauty and the beast was nice but I don't want to see any other remake Disney could have made
@@Walkingcalamity404 bro even that was trash...Emma did absolutely no justice to her character (Belle) and that too they made her more of a political (more like the 'woke' type) feminist while in the original animated version, she already was perfect and a true feminist and please don't get me started on the ball gown and the music.
@ yess that too!
As a Chinese, there are so many things that are culturally wrong, 1 In Chinese culture there is no such thing as the phoenix rebirthing that is a misconception, and 2 in Chinese folk tales, women with magical powers that use them for good were seen as like a fairy but if they use them for bad they are called monsters it is actually much more complicated than this but this will give you a general idea. And chi is nothing a thing there's just so much more wrong
I would say chi is a thing but the way it was represented in this film is so laughable. I'm also Chinese btw.
I have seen a few videos pointing these out and more. It really is disappointing that they could have made it completely accurate, they said they were going for accurate but decided not to go accurate.
Mulan 1998: Female empowerment
Mulan 2020: Mulan empowerment
I wouldn't call it empowerment since she was apparently superman from birth.
More like : Mulan Stronk
Mulan bad :)
Correction: Mulan (2020) bad.
Mulan (1998) good.
Mulan (original ancient story) good.
BIG bad
I just wanted to see Mushu or atleast the lucky cricket 😭🥺
We need a collaboration, I love both of you
Both my favorite Amandas in one place. Noice! ^_^
Too bad this movie was such a trainwreck. =/
"We don't tend to break into song when we go to war." I mean, we kinda do, war songs are basically their own genre, a type of folk song.
God, the arrow-kicking. That’s like a “gritty, realistic” action movie character picking up a bullet and throwing it with their hand and it actually hurting someone. But sure she’s not a superhero, ok. 🙄
It's like those films where characters somehow catch bullets between their teeth then spit them out.
You just never threw bullets at people.
It stings.
I tell you what, if I had a nickel for every time I kicked an arrow out of the air to end a battle... I would have no nickels. 😔
The bullet thing kinda happens in a recent South Korean movie called _'Sweet Home.'_ It's about a virus that mutates people into crazy looking monsters. Some characters can resist the change and become humans with super powers that are extremely difficult to harm. They heal almost instantously and can come back from death among other things.
Anyway, there's a moment where one of these superhuman characters that resisted giving in to monster-hood, is being shot at and you see a bullet go into their neck. Almost immediately, they shoot the bullet out of their neck in the direction of the shooter, with the same speed of a gun lol. It's amazing.
They didn't pick it up and throw it, but I feel like turning a bullet wound into a gun is way cooler haha.
It's the kind of shit you see in low-budget parodies. I say this because _Hot Shots! Part Deux_ is a low budget parody of Rambo which has this exact thing.
director of mulan: “mulan is not a superhero”
me: nah she’s just a random chic that has superpowers to jump off buildings to save people no biggie
Director probably watched kim possible and thought all girls were like her
Remake Mulan is basically Chinese Rey or Carol Danvers.
Have you ever seen a Kung fun movie?
OhSnap ItsMe being culturally accurate as a Kung fu is not the same as a superhero movie
The sole blessing of 2020 Mulan: everyone suddenly realises how awesome 1998 Mulan is
THE DIRECTOR WASN'T EVEN CHINESE, NONE OF THE CREATORS ON BOARD WERE CHINESE. WTF DID THEY THINK WAS GONNA HAPPEN!?!?!?
Yes. All the yes.
The original animated Mulan also did not have Asian directors or writers. The differences is actually the competence of the writing and directing. The live action Mulan crew has incompetent writers and director. The biggest fail was how they used the Western meaning of the Phoenix instead of the Chinese meaning.
@@vashythewabbit8288 agreeing with you, for me the directing is extra rough for the live action because of how HEAVILY they stressed how loyal and accurate the live action will be to the original story and the culture of China. The animation one made no such promises. Also the phoenix was really bad and is not really mentioned in reviews, thanks for pointing it out
@@vashythewabbit8288 yeah, should've been more clear with my statement. This entire movie was pushed as being "completely authentic" to the original ballad of Mulan and Chinese culture as a whole, yet none of the creators were Chinese themselves?? How on earth did they think this was gonna go?? And while it's not much Disney did have a chinese woman work on the screenplay of the original movie, her name was Rita Hsiao, she also worked on the original Toy Story movie!
I read an article that Disney did approach Chinese directors and they all turn it down.
Straight up can we have talk about how they removed Li Shang for giving off “I’m attracted to Mulan as Ping” vibes but in this movie the replacement character gives off the same vibes????
They removed Li Shang bc relationship between male with higher rank would make this movie look even worse xDD
But Mulan was a general...
@@kostusia Yeah, and the movie would be banned in China if it was left in
@@robertagren9360 in Disney story she was just at the end raeching for higher status and her and Li Shang had clearly a thing before she outed herself as woman.
@@kostusia How would that make it worse? They don't start a relationship until after she leaves the army and he's not her superior.
mulan cutting her hair and using the weights to climb the pole were the two most iconic scenes from the original for me. I was so disappointed that neither was in the remake :/
As it is an iconic scene the hair cutting is actually something that's completely inaccurate of the chinese culture...
"We don't tend to break into song before going into battle."
"WELL WE DON'T TEND TO ELECTRIC SLIDE AGAINST THE WALL WHILE FIGHTING EITHER BECKY!!!"
Best line and point (ignoring the witch)
“We don’t tend to break into song before going into battle”
-a college educated white woman from America who knows next to nothing about history
@@misanthropicservitorofmars2116 and how do you know this? No, we don't tend to break out into song anymore, because that's not a fear tactic anymore.
@@pepebabushki9376 While in Iraq we would regularly break down into Katy Perry while on foot patrols. In Afghanistan it was common to sing Barbara Ann while on convoys. It isn't a fear tactic but it does help with moral.
@@BoredDoc yeah, totally. I meant like on the eve of battle, on the front lines.
@@misanthropicservitorofmars2116 yes honestly he’s even less than that because america has also did a similar thing. Especially during the world wars
Senpai noticed me!
Dude your video was amazing.
haha you made an amazing video!
I've watched so many _Mulan (2020)_ reviews at this point and yours is still my favourite.
Senpai notices quality content, and yours was quite the quality💪💪
I love your channel 😭😭
"We wanna make it accurate and realistic to Chinese culture."
*proceeds to spread misinformation about the symbolisms of a Phoenix in mythology, that chi is a rare superpower for men only when it is actually a kind of life force that everyone has like blood (you don't praise someone for having blood), and calls the female antagonist a 'witch' instead of a more accurate to mythology bird spirit or something.
Lmao u watched the girl too
Mulan 2020 also alternates between using western style 3 finger draw for archery and Asian style thumb draw, so not even the archery is accurate
@@michiganscythian2445 :0 interesting, how about the animated Mulan?
i wish you hadn't stolen xiran jay zhao's talking points without even mentioning her name
"We don't tend to break into song when we go to war"
Uhm.... the existence of marching songs would like to differ
Yes there are so many armies from different countries and cultures and times in history who would sing, shout, or chant on their way into battle :o and yeah like you said, marching songs etc. I'm not sure that the director knows much about history in general at all really, which makes it even more offensive that she claimed she wanted to make the remake of Mulan more 'historically accurate/realistic' (they should have got an actual Chinese history expert, and a Chinese warfare expert, to help them write the movie!)
@Lillian Oak
Exactly, I learned this when I was in Jrotc 16 years ago(I turn 32 in 11 days). How hard was it to do the tiniest amount of research?
@@DemonicRemption I just turned 32 the other day! Happy Birthday for 11 days away ^_^
I guess I haven't been singing when I March I must have been saying the lyrics in awkward conversation this whole times.
ISNT THAT WAS GIRL WORTH FIGHT FOR WAS MODELED AFTER ?!?!?!?! I HATE THESE PRODUCERS !!!
The feeling I got when I was a kid, laughing and nodding my head to the beat of A Girl Worth Fighting For, and then that cut to jarring silence when the ravaged village scene hits the characters was memorable. Like, that's when the characters and the audience realize this is the reality of war, we are facing it right now. From lighthearted teasing between the guys and then death and destruction. Amazing. Same feeling with the Mulan to Jun transformation, the haid cutting, the visit with the ancestors.
Nothing in the live-action evoked that feeling.
This movie evoked almost no feelings at all. It was just bland.
Ikr? And that stupid conversation they had with Mulan in place of it felt so unnatural and just reminded me of the amazing songs you were missing out on.
For me it's still one if not the best transition in a movie! And nothing could show the cruelty of the war better without showing it actually.
As much as the hair cutting seems like an important part in the animated movie it's actually one of the very bad representations of chinese culture in it...
That scene's engraved into my brain. The sudden shift from joyful and playful banter to the harsh cut to silence.
I havent seen the original Mulan in at least 6 years but I can still remember that scene so vividly, and also the sounds.
Also the eggs and porridge one, it looked so tasty that for a whole week i asked my mom to make me eggs and porridge for breakfast lol.
Everyone: WTF is this?
Disney: Sorry but this was intend for the Chinese audience 🙄
Chinese audience: WTF IS THIS???
disney: uhhhhhhh
GIRL POWER AMIRITE
Disney One More Time: This movie was intended for the planktons and algaes 10,000 m below the sea level.
Planktons and algaes: WTF IS THIS?! 🔮🔮🔮🔮🔮
They were scrapping for excuses
@@ombricshalazar3869 Girls: WTF is this?
My wife is from Nanning China she hates it.
“We tried making it as realistic as possible”
“So anyway, there is a witch that can turn into a bird, a magical Phoenix that shows the way and the main character has superpowers”
And can jump a lot of feet in the air. Don't forget that part.
The oddity of the more "realistic" version being less grounded in reality than the cartoon.
They can kick and catch arrows with their bare hands
The Phoenix featured isn't even a Chinese myth, it's Greek
@@rex8951 actually Chinese do have a phoenix but it's more for beauty and decoration if anything. its why they have them as one of the 4 cardinal guardians, North is the black tortoise, South the phoenix, East the blue dragon, and west the white tiger
Disney: "We want a more culturally authentic story."
Also Disney: *doesn't have a single person of Chinese ethnicity in the writing team, and based all the Chinese cultural stuff on American stereotypes of Chinese culture without consulting anyone of Chinese heritage*
(Also, there's a video out there called "Everything Culturally Wrong about Mulan 2020" and it gives a lot of insight as to what they got wrong from the perspective of an ACTUAL Chinese person, I recommend watching it.)
@@Jellofreeze your comment didn't make any sense. Op wasnt blaming Chinese people; he was blaming Disney, which is american. So what are you talking about? He is blaming the Americans.
It's the one by Xiran Jay Zhao and after watching the video and having that perspective I was even more annoyed at Disney over this. So disrespectful of them
This lip service crap to authenticity is really starting to annoy me more than parody ever could. I can't relate to Chinese culture because I'm not Chinese and other than a few Chinese friends, I have no place to comment on it historically. But I can comment on other efforts like the Beauty and the Beast remake supposedly being "more historically authentic" or something... (yeah, I know wilting roses that curse everyone to eternal damnation was really a big thing in those days...) and no, it wasn't. It was a live action cartoon, essentially. Admit what it is.
Culturally and historic authenticity: you either go for it and go all the way (at least make an honest effort and keep liberties to a minimum) or just don't bother, make a fun film and be completely unapologetic about it. Both these options are fine! But if you're going to claim a "more culturally authentic" and then it isn't, you're going to come off as just lazy. If you go the route of not even bothering, and just borrowing a cultural look, you'll be accused of being culturally insensitive, of course, but all the sane people will have fun with it.
@@TheRisky9 or you can say "I'll be partly accurate but it's still entertainment and not a documentary, so I'll knowingly give myself wiggle room by design, not because of some insufficiency in my research but because it's the nature of the medium".
@@FOLIPE That is true. There is that healthy middle ground where movies like "Gladiator" reside. But they also have a level of believability. And their directors don't tote how they're not "superheroes" while giving them super powers.
Director: "Mulan is not a superhero" **proceeds to make a rip-off of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" instead**
Yesss. That was the whole fucking movie!
Don't get me wrong, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was awesome - but it was not, in the slightest, what "Mulan" should have been.
*Cinderella:* Let's give her less agency.
*Audience:* Eeerrr... what?
*Belle:* Let's make her less confrontational.
*Audience:* I don't think that's a good-
*Mulan:* LET'S MAKE HER A WITCH!
Yeah and at least live action Belle was a good witch ;)
Honestly I liked the new Cinderella I didnt mind Aladdin, Beauty and The Beast and Alice in Wonderland but most were just really dumb. *Looking at The Lion Kinga and Mulan*
Honestly you can never really replace the original.
Veomf you thought Aladdin was okay but the lion king and mulan is where you draw the line? That’s the exact mindset that gave us this crap in the first place.
@@misanthropicservitorofmars2116 Sorry man it's just my opinion. I'll delete the comment if you really want.
Veomf nah I just find it odd. Did you pay Disney to see any of these movies?
Did anyone notice that the original voice actress in the original movie made an appearance, she appeared when she introduces live action mulan to the emperor and she’s dressed up in the original colors which I thought was cool
I had to look up a clip because I love Ming Na Wen, and now I have seen the only 12 seconds of this movie that I intend to.
I did! I scared my movie-watching buddies when she showed up because I got a little over excited seeing her in the film.
Hannah E. Gwaltney I did the same thing. 😂
ming na wen. what a legend
Fun fact! She also plays a major role in Marvel's Agents of Shield
That pole climbing scene hit me hard as a kid. It showed that anyone can do anything if they just try hard enough, practice, and use some creative problem solving. And even as a child, I noticed how they used that as foreshadowing and did a call back when they infiltrated the palace to save the emperor. Mulan is my favorite Disney character (Esmerlda and Quasi are a close second, followed by Meg and Moana and Belle) and I even dressed up as her for Halloween as a young child. I was so excited to see this live action remake, but they really messed up here
"We don't tend to break into song when we go to war."
[Glares in Scotland The Brave]
🏴🏴
🏴🎵🎶🏴
The thing that bothered me the most is that everything looks like a set. There wasn't any realism the village, markets etc all look too clean and and well fake...
I felt the same way about the Beauty and the Beast remake.
Its 2020 the fact that's a thing when LOTR got it right in the early noughties is Just so.
Also the capital of China in this movie has like 30 people, and the enemy army maybe 100-150.
You should watch the 2009 Chinese Mulan, its basically a war movie, realistic and sad
@@jessbeingme8155 i watched it as a kid and god it still scarred me till this day of how they portrayed the cruelity in warand politics
"People don't tend to break into song when going to war" Obviously she has never been in or near the military before.
ahh yes, the movie disney says is a champion for racial diversity for having an entirely asian cast... despite the fact that they have to have an entirely asian cast because its set in literal feudal china and also has 0 asian people working behind the scenes. just the championing for racial inclusivity we like to see. also they got rid of a character because people said they gave off bi vibes. WHAT A GOOD COMPANY THAT I DONT AT ALL HATE.
It’s just impressive how Disney went from being able to make legendary films to being absolute uninspired garbage now
No we need more diversity! Throw in a black guy in there and a Mexican sidekick named Juan for no reason whatsoever and pretend no one is phased by this. Real chinese culture means 21 century American values!
Proper diversity should look like pre-Abrams Star Trek. Not just people of both genders and all races working together on the ship, but no one is treated differently for their race or gender. Not by anyone on the ship, and not by the plot either. Everyone is smart and can deal with problems their own way, and they all understand this, allowing them to deal with very hard problems they couldn't possibly do alone
@@I_am_always_correct YES. thats what it should be. Someones not a minority for Plot Reasons, its just who they are, they need to stop making it like a character can only be a minority or LGBTQ+ if the plot needs them to be, but otherwise everyone else is straight, cis, and white, its performative
To illustrate the difference, Let's say that a hypothetical episode of Star Trek was about a gay wedding, something Roddenberry wanted to add in but didn't get the option to.
The episode starts with Ensign Dikembe talking to the captain while they eat together in the mess hall, about how he's planning to take leave when they dock on a nearby planet, because his fiance lives on that planet and wants to have a traditional wedding in his culture. Dikembe also has some traditional wedding items from his home nation on Earth, Kenya, and this wedding could be the first time these two cultures collided.
Nobody on the ship has any misgivings about the ensign marrying another man, and one who isn't human to boot. Everything being discussed about the upcoming wedding is talked about positively. The word gay is never once said, it's just called a wedding. Similarly, nothing is brought up about his race, nor his nationality, nor his husband's
A conflict of some sort arises, naturally, and the crew have to take care of it. The conflict is not someone trying to prevent the wedding because they think of it as wrong. No one blames Ensign Dikembe or his groom-to-be for the problem, and Dikembe works just as hard as the rest of the crew to solve the issue, because even with everything happening, he still tales his job extremely seriously.
Now ask yourself: would the new Star Trek, or in fact any show being made these days, behave the same way about these subjects?
The '98 movie: You can do whatever you want, whoever you are. Everyone has their strong side.
The 2020 remake: You can do whatever you want...but you need to have special Chi power. Otherwise you're just ordinary...sorry.
Yes, qi is something you develop through effort and discipline. It isn't something you're just given.
"We don't tend to break into song before going into battle."
Well here you go Becky, please go back to history classes because you are wrong again
" no songs because we're don't break out into song during war."
except people literally did, military songs, wartime songs and the like are well documented and they were really there because people need something to take their mind off of the horrible situation that is war.
also marching songs are a thing, no one is gonna march miles without some form of entertainment.
I'm an anthropology major and I like to use this fact to defend/explain the Coma Doof Warrior of Mad Max: Fury Road. The flamethrower guitar is for MORALE!
Marching songs aren't even just for entertainment they also help soldiers keep pace with eachother
And then there are the Highlanders and the Scots who used Bagpipes to intimidate their enemies.
Animated Mulan: **young girl has to work twice as hard compared to everyone else so she's at the same level to the male soldiers,she's never been in battle so the message is that with determination and hard work you can achieve anything**
Live action Mulan: **young girl doesn't even need to train,in fact she has to hide her natural talent because she has magic Chi that makes her invencible so the message is if you weren't born special sucks for you only perfectly born women can be strong and achieve stuff**
They blamed the lack of a male love interest in the story on the me too movement, but at the end they end up completely undoing their claims by essentially making the other daughter marry someone she didn’t pick.
The thing about the avalanche here, in this movie this strategy only works due to the enemy being complete and utter idiots and firing a catapult at a friggin mountain. In the original, it was entirely mulan being clever that triggered this, here she pretty much just prays that the enemy loses all of their brain cells and triggers an avalanche themselves...because that sure does portray them as a credible threat that should be taken seriously now doesn't it?
I'd also loved to know how she had time to do this (and didn't get killed collecting all of those helmets)
I agree that was so stupid. Their shot was so far above and beyond where Mulan was hiding it didn't make any sense other than an obviously contrived scene. There is no way a catapult crew that can accurately target groups of soldiers under shields could miss that badly. This Director was so bad I can't believe she was given the job let alone a $200 million budget.
I was so happy that they finally remembered she was supposed to be smart that I over-rode my own questions about that scene... like:
- how did she get behind them?
- how many of her company died while she snuck around and collected helmets?
- how did she carry all those helmets?
- how did she *collect* all those helmets so fast, without being seen?
- how is she firing accurate arrows that fast?
- ain't it lucky that they didn't just send a few soldiers to charge the ridge instead of turning their back to the other, clearly larger force?
*sigh* EVERYTHING was wrong with this movie and unlike most things where I forget the bad the longer I'm away from it, with this I just keep being hurt by more and more and more failures
Also, why tf would they use a trebuchet on infantry? Especially sparsely located ones. Logically it makes literally zero sense because trebuchets are meant to be used on either enemy regiments standing very close or on castle walls, using it on single target enemies is like trying to hit an ant with a marble from 15ft away
I hated that part so much. Like, why in the world would they do that??? There were like seven helmets behind them. They could've just sent a few men over to kill them. And even if they did want to use the cannon thing, how is their aim so bad that the hit like 20 feet behind when Mulan was?
The directors: "We don't tend to break into song when we go to war."
The Hussites who once literally won a battle by scaring their enemies off with singing: Am I a joke to you?
I legitimately cried tears of frustration while watching the movie. It was like watching my childhood being destroyed maliciously in front of me.
they tried to give mulan a childhood but they only spent like 5 minutes on it and from the beginning they made her seem like she had superpowers. I’ve watched it a few times and i still don’t understand how the witch works with the chi and stuff. also the sister does nothing for the story. overall they took a lot of good characters, got rid of everything great about them, burned all the music, and made it seem like you can’t do anything unless you are born with it(like mulan)
There are some great Twitter feeds on the subject by people who understand it much better but I will try to summarize to the best of my abilities (Xiran, a historian, even made a youtube channel just because her tweets blasting mulan on every level)
First off, women who did "magic" weren't outcasted, women who used magic to commit wrong doing were.
Another thing is qi (chi) is used as to explain magic, but qi isn't magic? It's energy that binds the universe together, it's why in wuxia novels there's a lot of people who eat the qi of others to gain more energy or refuse to eat qi and find ways to peacefully consume qi. It's also where the yin and yang concept comes from, though it's such a small part of the overall thing. Tai chi, acupuncture, traditional chinese medicine is also a part of this as well, the idea of achieving balance by opening channels. This is generally shown in wuxia with the walking on walls. Everyone can do it (in wuxia novels, not irl, it's a fantastical intepretation of real life which is very common in chinese stuff, mulan is a legend based on potentially historical events, same goes for most operas and myths with few exceptions) it's not a special gift, it requires training to achieve.
On the other hand, the "witch" in the movie has more in common with what I can only describe in english as "demons" but animal spirits can gain supernatural abilities, can depending on how powerful can possess humans or even shapeshift as our villian witch. Living humans can't do that, but the dead/gods can. And this is just a SUMMARY. It's a fun read/watch, I really recommend a deeper dive with people who know better.
Basically the reason the film makes no sense is due to bad writing and taking western concepts about magic and putting it into a chinese setting. It's just all bad.
You... You watched it more than once ? 😱😱😱
The MOST ANNOYING THING ABOHT THIS TRASH MOVIE IS the emotionaless actress
Chi doesn't even work like that IRL. Everyone has it
@@jaykingplays You are correct about qi. The stereotypical master in wuxia novels is the wizened old hermit living in the mountains, not some kid. The only time a kid has powerful neigong is if they picked up a super secret powerful martial arts manual some super powerful old person or genius left behind. Or they chanced upon some rare/mystical fox/toad/snake/turtle/etc and it gave them a boost of sorts. Getting stuff by fluke is common in wuxia novels, but being born with powerful qi or equivalent is not a thing in wuxia novels. Even someone born with superior intellect still has to work to hone their skills, it just takes them less time.
I don't find the witch problematic at all. She works with the nomads/Mongols/non-Han Chinese. Her outfit seems to fit someone who isn't Han Chinese. I know the costumes in this movie is pretty shit and historically inaccurate, but I can see her as a witch doctor or shaman of sorts from the nomadic tribes. And her shapeshifting could just be Disney making things more fantastical. She doesn't have to be a "yao", which is what you seem to be describing.
My husband who is also a marine would beg to differ about the “breaking into song” part of that lady’s statement.
Hasn't music always been an important part of comradery? Don't soldiers all sing when being transported into war to raise morale? I don't know, I heard each branch has their own go-to song.
Back in the 1800s, Prussia actually had their band blast marches AS THEY WENT INTO BATTLE (while the enemy was shooting down at them). Britain might have as well, along with a couple others. It was a very different era than today's warfare.
@@thunderbird1921 Ottomans too, a couple of centuries before that. And it became a standard to use music (drums, pipes, trumpets) to train soldiers to move in formations. On top of this, since ancient times armies used musical instruments to give orders on the battlefield since a shout obviously wouldn't have cut it.
All cultures that I know of did battle chants, war drumming or marches until World War 1 when the marching bands because ceremonial. The Mongols and the Chinese historically both used war drums with the Mongols even placing large drums on chariots so they could play as they rode into battle.
I don't think fighting while singing is a good idea?
About “not breaking into songs during war”... there are SO many war songs in every single country. War songs, comedic war songs, fighting war songs... Like the “I don’t know what I’ve been told” or whatever
It’s kinda funny that the creators were like “oh we wanna make it authentic to Chinese culture and the original story” and then turn around and have absolutely not diversity or Chinese crew members behind the camera. And they made a superhero which, yes, completely and utterly accurate I swear
It is really funny. Because it's not authentic to Chinese culture and they butchered the original story. They alienated existing fans so they could appeal to the Chinese market, but they ended up failing with Chinese audiences. This is a classic Chinese story that every kid who grew up in mainland China would have read in school. The writers must be kind of stupid. They could have used the cartoon or they could have used the original story, instead they tried to reinvent the wheel.
As a huge wuxia fan I get the idea of "she's not a superhero." In the genre the high flying antics aren't powers, they're learned skills hard earned. They aren't blessed with good qi, they put in the fucking work. If they had actually shone her training, learning, and working hard that statement would work.
But since her mad skillz from birth they shit the bed there, too
@Philip Malerich
As a fellow Wuxia fan, I need to see in spite of what I've heard, because based on what little I've seen it seems like Mulan's the only one with those capabilities.
In my opinion Wuxia works best when more than one martial artist has great control of their qi. And with Mulan being the only one with these capabilities, I don't see myself enjoying this all that much.
"We don't sing when we go to war"
Me, a French person : Our national anthem is a song writen for soldiers who go to the war. Which is weird I think, but just to point out : war song is a big thing.
And the *United States of America's* National Anthem (The Star-Spangled Banner) was a drinking song set to a poem (Defence of Fort M'Henry) about Americans weathering a bombardment from the British Navy during the War of 1812. I could *almost* forgive Ms. Caro for this, b/c she's from New Zealand...but no. When the lyrics to the NATIONAL ANTHEM of the Walt Disney Company's home country includes lyrics like "...and the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air..." Yeah: Ms. Caro's just culturally tone-deaf here.
6:15 People don't tend to break into song when they go to war...EVER HEARD OF A MILITARY MARCH?! god...all these live-action remakes just need to stop being made, just stop...please...
Exactly! And other than that, soldiers often sing because war is fucking traumatizing! I don't get what didn't Disney get about what made the animated movie good.
I'm suddenly overcome with a vision of Russian troops marching to "Barbie Girl...."
They'll only stop if the movie start failing at the box office, which they won't since parents want to watch this shit.
@@Everik-ct6pg I think it's made only 7 or 29 million so far. A lot of people pirated it and a lot of people didn't watch it at all. Maybe this could be the bonk on the head Disney needs to start trying to make actually good movies again.
@@47ratsinahoodie here's hoping
"We don't tend to break into song when we go to war."
Uh yes we do. War protest/support songs are a major point of culture. Furthermore, songs are used constantly in the military as cadence, when marching or training. Which is EXACTLY what two of Mulan's songs are used for in the original film.
"Behind us lay Atlanta, smouldering and in ruins, the black smoke rising high in air, and hanging like a pall over the ruined city.…and right before us the Fourteenth Corps, marching steadily and rapidly, with a cheery look and swinging pace, that made light of the thousand miles that lay between us and Richmond. Some band, by accident, struck up the anthem of "John Brown's Body"; the men caught up the strain, and never before or since have I heard the chorus of "Glory, glory, hallelujah!" done with more spirit, or in better harmony of time and place." - Memoirs of General William Tecumseh Sherman
Also, there are entire instruments (many which are no longer used) that were designed specifically for use in war.
A privileged movie director wouldn't know that though.
@@erraticonteuse God, I love that quote.
Not to mention the other two songs was before she went to the army in the first place.
"People don't break into song when they go to war"
yeah they do, ever heard of a marching song?
For any idiot that says they were trying to be more "realistic" with this version, I live and work in China, and I've read the original poem. No shapeshifting witches, no chi (qi) and Mulan also NEVER SHOWED THAT SHE WAS A WOMAN!!! In the original poem, she hid her identity the entire time she was in the military. It wasn't until she had left service and gone home when some of the soldiers that had served with her visited her home and she met them dressed as a woman. That was the first time anyone knew that she wasn't a man.
I would love to see a movie about that, isn't of what we got for 2020.
I got in a fight with an ex about this, he was in fact an idiot.
I kinda wish that we still talk just for me to send him this video!!😂😂😂
Yes!!! It had to take her to become a literal dressed man to be taken seriously! Back in those times women were in some ways expected to obey and become feminine attributes. She was silenced. She was careful to not let any of her femaleness show ... and General Tsang. The real story was more of heartbreak. But again Disney finds ways to bring happy endings.. but not this year
Cartoon Mulan: A young teen girl trying to make it in her society. She's smart, resourceful, but not magic. She has fears, likes, difficulties and triumphs.
She is only discovered as a female hiding in the army after saving her commanding officers and many of the other soldiers lives. She is embarrassed and scared because she knows what this means. She also felt bad about deceiving everyone who had then become her friends.
Life action Mulan: In the first 3 minutes of the movie does crouching tiger hidden dragon moves that would make Jackie Chan full of confusion. She's a good fighter not because of practice and determination, but because chi which is basically magic.
She is discovered when she just says "f**k it" and takes down her hair to fight in a battle (very helpful to have your hair in your face while swords are coming at you) and doesn't care if they kill her for it. Is also very rude and uncomfortable around everyone.
The cartoon one is about as female empowerment as you can get, because it didn't treat Mulan as special because girl, but because of her determination in a world that didn't treat women the same as men. She never tried to over push "females are human too" but intsead proved it through her actions and ingenuity.
While the cartoon one has it's flaws, it's a million times better than the live action. Both as the story of the Chinese legend and as a movie in it's own right. The characters are memorable, better written, empathetic. The art style brought so much more respect to Chinese culture and was a lovely tribute to an old legend.
The new movie doesn't even feel Chinese. It just feels like a vaguely east Asian badly done martial arts fighting movie with excessive magic elements thrown in.
Thing is, it's apart of various cultures to believe ancestors watch over them and that they have things like guardian animals. Those elements didn't make it just more fun for kids, they also were adding to the lore and beliefs of that culture.
The new movie is an insult to the legend of Mulan and to the art of film making. This is not even to mention the lead actress being a shill for the CCP and it's ilk.
There was no reason for this film to be made.
It wasn't even an argument of representation by getting Chinese actors to play Chinese characters. The original voice actors for most of the main characters in the cartoon Mulan were Chinese already.
The new Mulan was pointless and offensive on so many accounts.
Chi is not magic.
@@thesixaddict5174
So mystic energy, the point is it makes her super, when she supposed to be average girl.
And she is not. She is flying and kicking the bad guys left and right with her little finger, and they dare to say it is normal stuff, and imply every girl can do it.
Didn't read all that.. But I agree with your point
1998: *She does everything she can to protect her family and dynasty*
2020: *She has chi...*
Also I think that her father tossing aside trophies was him showing his fatherly love and relief she came back alive and well. And that was greatest gift from him. To have his child, safe and sound back at home after facing deadly danger., This movie...squanders that too.
Exactly! And it's shatters the idea of what Mulan THINKS her father wants from her. She THINKS those trophies are what will make her father proud of her, that she will earn his respect and admiration for.
But, it's NOT.
Her father doesn't love these things at all. In fact, they are worthless to him because he tosses them aside, so he can HUG HER! It's one of the most important scenes in the movie! She goes off and tries to be something she isn't for her father's sake, but, at the end of it all, her father LOVES Mulan for who she is even if she hasn't quite got that figured out yet.
It's pure unconditional love for your child, even if the world doesn't approve of the fact that child isn't living up to the expectations of that world.
Mulan isn't good at living up to the role set out for her, but really, her family doesn't make her feel unloved for that. She's just not quite there yet and that's OKAY.
@@midgetwthahacksaw yes. I mean after she came back from the matchmaker all down and sad, he sat down by her and made that late bloomer metaphor, literally telling her, she just might need some time to come to herself and that it's not only ok but can be an advantage. It was so sweet and really showed a supportive parent there. It was a double lesson one the obvious about not fretting over being a late bloomer, and the other about how to be a supportive parent. Like y'know when Disney remade their old stuff like Cinderella, I was fine with it. Characters got some more screentime and some characters got more depth. But Rennesance movies well...they already did give their characters more rounding. They stepped up in that regard. And they only end up flattening them. and all of this for money and in order to be able to copyright strike people. Because they're renewing licences for the movies by rebooting them
As a father thats exactly how I felt when I rewatched it recently.
It’s actually funny how culturally inaccurate it is after all the fanfare about proper representation. Like even as big as the fact that Chinese folklore, and most Asian cultures, didn’t have “witches” in the European sense because Christianity wasn’t a thing there so hearing them talk about it so much was so uncomfortable. Also chi is an acupuncture/energy/metaphorical thing, not magic.
True
Issuing Chi to power martial arts magic is fairly consistent with traditional beliefs. The idea that you would be punished for doing that is not.
Me: Wait, isn't chi kinda more like a humor was in past western medical practice? Like an energy current thing in your body that everyone has?
Google: Yup.
Mulan 2020: NO, it's MAGIC
@@newperve In traditional Chinese sense, everyone had Chi. Men AND women. Plenty of Chinese wuxia movie had powerful women that cultivated chi. Chi isn't the same thing as the Force from Star Wars, where only "special" people are born with. That was what I had an issue with.
People actually believed Disney? If they could use blackface to make money they would.
Don't believe these corporations faux wokeness, they just care about money.
Fun fact: soldiers singing songs during war was actually a pretty common thing especially for the time period!
the message the writers wanted to say "Mulan is not a girl, she's a warrior" since you know....they repeated that over and over again. Was this movie even empowering women? Before I even was aware of the whole gender thing I just thought Mulan from the animated movie was a badass and brave character who rose from nothing to a skilled fighter then a hero.
I haven’t watched any of the Disney live action movies but one thing I’ve noticed from the trailers is that they all look so... fake. Like, the sets LOOK LIKE sets, imo Aladdin especially looked like a movie version of a stage play, like everything looked so fake and not genuine, there’s no charm :// I was excited for Mulan bc I thought the trailer looked good, but some of the clips you showed in this, like when she’s a kid and when she’s at home, all literally looks like a big stage instead of an actual place. I kinda hate it idk
Ok, cool, I'm not the only one. I've had the same problem! This one looks noticeably cheaper than the other ones too and looks like a disney channel movie was given more of a budget.
I've refused to watch any of the Disney live-action remakes on sheer principle. Like you said, the trailers make them look extremely fake, and whatever clips I've seen from films (from "Maleficent" and "Beauty and the Beast") gave me an even worse impression. And I heard about the location troubles regarding "Mulan" before I ever saw a trailer of it since I decided to retreat under a rock after the "Aladdin" trailer and "Prince Ali" number were complete jokes.
If I want to watch these movies, I'll stick with the animated originals. At least their animated movies used actual voice actors for major supporting roles from time to time (e.g. Paul Winchell, Frank Welker, and David Ogden Stiers).
I don’t mind that. The good Tim Burton movies all look like sets. It’s just the opposite of idea generation and being creatively alive, redoing all the old ideas into the current technology. Come out with new ideas. I won’t watch the movies on principle
Exactly, there’s no life in them.
omg I thought I was the only one with the problem. I still can't watch Aladdin because of it. Especially that scene where Aladdin and Jasmine fly away on that flying carpet.. My. God. Cringe is real.
"We don't break into song when we go to war"
Hymns? WAR HYMNS???
"WELL WE DON'T ELECTRIC SLIDE ACROSS WALLS EITHER, NIKKI, BUT HERE WE ARE!!!"
My favorite line from the video
Two years later and this line still gives me life.
When is Disney going to realize that they'll make a _lot_ more money if their movies are good? Who's going to pay to watch a bad movie (other than Amanda)?
There's just too many idiots out there that will pay for garbage, and still think it's good. Disney is a large company, the only way to teach them is like you would teach a dog; through positive reinforcement vs negative reinforcement. So they'll keep pumping out this crap for as long as it gets them a profit. Only after multiple losses will they stop and reconsider what they're doing. But since people still buy garbage... It won't happen, at least not for a long time.
Too many people simp for the big mouse these days, they'll pay money for literal trash and still say it was good because its disney
You guys do realise the people your calling idiots and simps are mostly kids don't you? Like literally children who just enjoy Disney shit. That's how they make their money. Kids like it so parents will buy and watch it with them. As for any adults that choose to spend their money on it, we'll that's their choice. We work for our cash, so spend it on what you like. The real idiots and simps are the people who go around the Internet calling people names just cause they like something others don't 🤣🤣🤣 humans are such pathetic and bitter creatures.
@@kcamanda5215 Ah yes, only children are allowed to even *want* to enjoy a movie. Us adults clearly don't want to sit down to a well put together story. Because we're not children we're not allowed to have a say. Good point you made there.
@@HoloFizz no where in my comment did i say adults were not allowed to enjoy a movie or comment on it? My comment was highlighting the fact that you seem to think people are idiots for the simple reason they like something you don't. Just another example of how the human race are selfish and pathetic cry baby's. Besides...even though us adults love to relive our childhoods through Disney, they always have been and always will be aimed at children. That's their main target audience.
"we don't break into a song when we go to war" I can hear the bards crying...
I’m so heartbroken that Mulan was done dirty like this. She’s so powerful and she’s been reduced to... this
Sulan skywoker
Yeah we need to prevent Disney to ruin any more Disney classics.
"So why did you make this movie?"
"Money"
Um, why is any movie ever made if not for money?
...you had one job, one...
@@IcarusReborn Cause it should be made with your hearts, not with your wallets (of course you actually need money to make a movie, but you get what I mean)
And they even failed to do that lmao
@Freeze Peach Yes, but most movies are also made with passion and heart. Mulan 2020 was ONLY made for money
6:13, "we don't tend to break into song when we go to war" yeah, but Full Metal Jacket had U.S marines singing Mikey Mouse in the Vietnam War.
“Well we don’t electric slide across walls either Nicky but here we are!!!”
😂😂
okay.... sooooo WHO THOUGHT THAT MAKING AN ANIMATED "MUSICAL" INTO A BORING SAD BLOB OF A MOVIE WAS A GOOD IDEA??????? sorry I am a bit disappointed
I guess the producers thought that the best way to make a chinese movie was to make a bad kung-fu movie ^^'
The promise wasn't to adapt the og film into live action, they said they were gonna be more loyal to the original story. But that was a complete lie as you see
The one line from the 1998 Mulan that always stuck out to me (probably because it was in the trailer) was the line "The greatest gift and honor is having you for a daughter". It seemed to encompass well part of the core message of the film, not just being accepted for who you are, but being valued for being yourself. It's a shame that it seems like they dropped the ball on the live action.
Mulan was supposed to be about her fighting with the men and being equal. That women can also fight and not be seen different, which is why she maintained her cover. Her fighting smart and using her brain when pure muscle wouldnt work (like climbing the pole, setting off fireworks etc..)
Its NOT about superpowers and magic and her being better than the other women and being special 😑 she's supposed to be a normal warrior saving her family
Mulan was never about equality. It's about filial piety.
Their first mistake was wanting to do a more "culturally accurate" version of Mulan with an all-white writing team and director 🙃
That’s exactly what liberals in the west do. They say they are anti racist anti fascist pro multiculturalism. While at the same time, being the most uneducated and brain dead people in society. They know nothing about culture or history. These are the same people who say white people have no culture, that they stole everything from blacks. These people are delusional and should never be in a position of power.
Yeah this comment is textbook woke racism. The race of the people producing the film does not impact its historical accuracy. Any race can become an expert on Chinese history. You’re basically making a racial supremacist argument.
@@snorgonofborkkad Yea, but none of them did have any knowledge of Chinese culture, nor really studied it before (possibly after too) production. They spent a bunch of money to send a costume designer around China to study the historical fashion, when they could have saved money and actually hired a Chinese costume designer who has probably spent years in this field. The mental gymnastics you gotta do to reason why the heck they would hire a crew ignorant to Chinese culture and spend thousands on educating them on a culture many Chinese people know naturally is ridiculous. Also, what happened to giving people of color and minority a chance to tell their stories in hollywood? Honestly, Disney is superficial in their support of minorities in hollywood. I'm not saying minority voices should be prioritized, but if you're going to tell a story from them then yea they should be prioritized in this situation.
We don't break into song when we go to war.
There are ancient war song/ poem in many cultures .
Even in modern era soldier sing to lighten the mood.
Singing and dancing are very integral to military.
"I never want to see another naked man again."
Doesn't even blink while an army of naked men run past her.
Because she was in shock 😂
@@realswobby or another possibility? 😏
@@blackgobbogaming4236 Shock.
@@nkbujvytcygvujno6006 You're no fun
It is called shock
“Well we don’t electric slide across walls either, Nicki, but here we are!” LMAO!
Even magical girl genre can get the "magic isn't always the answer" saying right, especially with the recent ones that aren't trying to be edgy for the sake of edgy.
It takes brains and adapting to the situation to take down a villain, because once the magic runs out. You're a sitting duck unless you act fast, and Mulan 1998 proved that without magic!
Filming near literal prison camps and thinking the agency didn’t help
"we don't tend to break out into song when we go to war" uuuuuhhhh..... even with my limited knowledge i know that a lot of armies (not just chinese btw but from several asian and non asian cultures too) would literally use music to hype up the soldiers for fighting... i get that she meant that she wanted the movie to be more Serious™ but that's a bad argument lol
great video thank you so much!
"I'm just so tired"
Hands down, most relatable statement of all time.
The Mulan remake brings dishonor to it's family.
And the cow
@@laylaubeid102 and the co...chicken