Talk:Mulan (2020 film)/@comment-27373870-20180728212006/@comment-4889892-20180801140748

I know Mulan's reception in China wasn't that great, but they are changing an iconic Chinese legend to include a witch that was never there. At that point, they might as well have a dragon. I have seen Chinese historical dramas before, and some do include songs and slight comedy.

Now

1. Disney's Mulan created a general sense of China rather than sticking to a particular dynasty, as it is unknown which dynasty Mulan truly belonged to. While the Xiongnu War took place during the Han Dynasty, the setting is based on the Tang Dynasty. When dating the movie myself, I stick with the Sui/Tang because there were still small strains of Huns left (such as the White Huns that attacked the Gupta Empire in the late 6th century), most being assimilated into rising nations such as the Gokturk Khaganate (who themselves may be descended from Xiongnu).

2. I hope you're right about her not having stupid powers.

3. The cartoon had a great mixture of conflicts. We see Mulan's inner conflict, her conflict with society, and the external conflict, which is the Hun invasion. There is no need for a witch and having one takes away from the story's believability (again, there might as well be a dragon. I'm not saying that withes or dragons don't exist, but supernatural forces aren't usually a part of most peoples' lives.) It's going to be harder to relate to Mulan with these new conflicts, and her relatability was one of her best characteristics.

4. Li Shang is not cocky at all. In fact, he is unconfident, desperately trying to prove himself to his father, and probably himself too. This is one of the reasons Mulan comes to understand him, as she feels the same way. The reason he seems cocky when he starts training his soldiers is that he is using an intimidation tactic to get the best out of the recruits. Mulan and Shang came to trust each other in the army, and when he realized she had lied to him, he felt betrayed. His anger is understandable and has nothing to do with being a sexist jerk like some, or even Mulan, might have taken it to be at the time. He, a man who is used to following all the rules, had to break to save her even though he was upset with her. By leaving her on the mountain, it was pretty much up to her own skill whether or not she would survive. On the other hand, Chen Honghui was explicitly described as cocky, implying that he is the actual jerk.

5. Again: but they have a witch?