Talk:Mulan (2020 film)/@comment-27373870-20180728212006/@comment-4889892-20180819210610

Make Mushu a lizard spirit so he can transform into a human (or maybe stay a lizard) and not only make some jokes but act as a help to Mulan. As a helper, he doesn't discredit Mulan's actions because he doesn't do anything supernatural. Mulan still relies on human skill to get things done. The whole superpower thing is the same as Mushu turning into a huge dragon and scaring the Huns. It discredits her as a heroine because she doesn't have a fair fight. Then, even if it is fair and the Huns also had powers, she's an out of reach role model. A spirit animal doesn't really make her too out of reach if he only does what a friend would do. And you wouldn't use both a fantasy war and a spirit lizard )or just talking lizard), but stick with one. The lizard idea actually works better, I think.

You think it's getting worse and that I don't understand Chinese culture because it's straying from a modern Chinese live-action (because there are a lot of live-action films with talking animals), not because it's straying from Chinese folklore and history. My goal is not to create a film following Chinese film standards, but the aspect of culture dealing with history and folklore (as this is what Mulan is). Your ad nauseum argument is the same as someone saying a person doesn't know how to read just because they didn't do their homework. It's not that I don't know what a Chinese film looks like, I just don't feel Disney's Mulan needs to be one (although it works nicely if you make a new version, like in Sony's case). What it does need to be true to is historical setting and Chinese style folklore. I know there were no fantasy elements in the Legend of Mulan, but if it can be retold that way without being offensive (so fix Mushu and some other inaccuracies we talked about), it's okay, as we don't know Mulan's real-life story (if she did exist). And again, if Disney wants to make it closer to the legend, they can, but they should market it that way. Gladly, they started to, although the casting of Ling and Po as well as this picture titled "Reflection" is really confusing me. It's like they can't make up their minds. Now it seems like, like me, they want to fix it, but they took a route that's making it almost unrecognizable. Turning Mushu into a lizard and fixing up the setting would not do that

Yeah, I know a dragon is not a lizard, but Mulan thinks Mushu is a lizard at one point (because Mushu makes a terrible Chinese dragon), so it would an interesting twist if he actually was one (and then he can't really be offensive, and his strange behavior would be exchanged). It's also in his character to lie like that and think he's more important than he is.

So what are we arguing about now? I told you about the whole Mushu idea as proof that the legend can be fixed without changing the whole story, and just because you don't like it, doesn't mean it doesn't work. I don't have to convince you of anything now that Disney already released information about the film not being like the original. (Although I don't know why they then decided to put Ling and Po in, and released a picture called Reflection, but that's another topic.)

So if you're here just to tell me I don't know anything about Chinese culture, I could care less because you don't even know me.