Talk:Mulan (2020 film)/@comment-27373870-20180728212006/@comment-4889892-20181022190616

Well, first of all, they're changing it in the live-action to be the Tang Dynasty, not Han. Second of all, whether the setting is within the Han or Tang Dynasty, it's still not historically correct. Mulan is thought to be from the Northern Wei, and there is no actual account of any army under the command of a Mulan. Of course, she could have changed her name, but which general would you choose to randomly turn into a female? It couldn't be one with a known backstory, and it having a story based on their war experience would be a movie about that historical figure, and extremely unlikely Mulan's. So whatever dynasty you chose, you have to create events that did not occur. Now, there are some stories in Chinese history that tell of supernatural evens, such as Su Dingfang watching Kim Yushin's sword just start moving on it's own. If you change Mushu into a yaojing or something, it could be a more accurate portrayal of this mythology, appropriate to the setting. Third of all, the first movie appears in architecture and fashion to be in the Sui/Tang period, and the addition of parts to the Great Wall could align with that. At the time, there was still a group of Huns called the Hephalites, that lived more to the side of the empire, but considering how diverse the Gokturk Khaganate could be, and that the ancestry of both the Hephalites and Gokturks is thought to contain Xiongnu,  there could have been a clan of Huns coming from the Northern Border of China. If Mulan was fighting this made up clan in the original, it is not based on an actual war, just a certain time period. Normal events to that time are unaffected.

I'm just saying, racebending, unfortunately, happens in American society, and I was giving Big Hero 6 as an example. A lot of people have the idea that only racebending a minority group (someone who isn't white) is wrong, while racebending a white character isn't. I personally disagree with that, and did not believe Zendaya should have played Ariel. Maybe if she did actually resembled her (Zendaya is mixed race and while I don't believe she's hispanic I think she could pass for a hispanic character. More than likely though, you could just hire a Latina actress.), but she could not pass off as a white character. I know I'm pretty racially ambiguous with people telling me I look like Mulan, Pocahontas, and Zendaya, while simultaneously being "the white girl n the family." Yeah, I have no idea, but that is the truth for some people. So if they cast an actress that was part black and part east asian, and she looked more east   asian, than she'd be alright as Mulan. A fully black actress, or mixed race actress that looks more like Zendaya, would not be a good Mulan. I'm not saying that asians are interchangable, as the cultures between east asian countries vary greatly, but to me the most important thing is the look of the character, along with the acting of course. Of course, finding a Chinese actress is the best bet, especially since this is now Hua Mulan more than Fa Mulan, and she can be made to look a little different (I've heard some people say Mulan looks more Korean in the original.), and Mandarin was a requirement. Having a Korean actress play Mulan would be kind of like how an English actress played French Belle, with her English accent and all. A bit weird, but she had the look and a good act.

My question is, how is your logic "Disney's Belle must have a yellow dress because it's iconic" but not "Disney's Mulan must have Mushu because it's iconic." Beauty and the Beast is an old fairy tale, so there could easily have been a completely different adaptation of it, just as there is to this Mulan film. I mean, people didn't exactly break into song during 18th century France anymore than the did in 7th century China.