#the ballad of mulan

[xuexishijian]

The Ballad of Mulan: 木兰诗 mù lán shī

I was curious about what the original story was like, so I looked up (a version of) the original text. It was really interesting and eye-opening because (unsurprisingly?) it's nothing like the Disney movie(s). The only real similarity is the premise: a young woman with no older brother takes her elderly father's place in the war draft. Apart from that, about every other detail is different:

Mulan has siblings: an older sister and a younger brother.

The ruler of this kingdom is referred to as the Khan/Khagan (可汗) and as the Son of Heaven (天子), titles used together for the emperors of the Northern Wei Dynasty (北魏 386–535 CE).

Mulan is never discovered to be a woman during her time in the army, spending 12 years there.

The enemy is never specified explicitly, though historically this may have been the Rouran (柔然) in present-day Inner Mongolia (内蒙古). Places that Mulan passes include the Yellow River (黄河), the Black Mountain (黑山, thought to be southeast of Huhhot 呼和浩特, Inner Mongolia), and the Yan Mountain (燕山, referring to either the 阴山 Yīn mountains of Inner Mongolia or the 燕然山 Yānrán mountains of Mongolia 蒙古).

The description of her journey is much longer and more colorful than anything about the war itself, providing imagery and parallel structure that differs from the rest of the poem.

On the soldiers' return, the emperor offers Mulan a government position (尚书郎), which she turns down, asking only for a 明驼 to return her home across the 万里 that separated her from her family. I wasn't sure if this "camel" was to be taken literally; translations I found differed on whether this was a camel, a horse, or some magical version of these which traveled at incredible speed.

The soldiers only discover that Mulan is a woman when she returns home, changing back into her old clothing (旧时裳), pulling her hair back into a feminine style, and applying makeup. I found it curious just how quickly she readjusted to her old life.

The last lines of the poem were also really beautiful and spoke to me in a queer way. It says that when you see a pair of rabbits, male and female, running together, side by side, how can you tell them apart?

雄兔脚扑朔，雌兔眼迷离，双兔傍地走，安能辨我是雄雌？

These lines include a chengyu, 扑朔迷离, meaning "complicated, confusing," which originally comes from this passage, referring to the difficulty in telling apart the male and female rabbits. "The male's foot is twitching, the female's eyes are squinted, blurry," but these small differences aren't noticeable from afar or when the rabbits are in motion. Though you might eventually be able to pick out some small details regarding the sexes of the rabbits, in the end it doesn't really matter. To the hunter, for instance, these are both simply targets; their sex is inconsequential.

For Mulan, in her role in the army, it didn't matter that she wasn't a man; she completed her tasks regardless. (And not only did she complete them, she earned recognition from the emperor for her work.)

Transphobes online may waste hours picking apart the details of people's bodies that they deem gender variant, but in the end, in many cases, people simply don't care whether the rabbit has twitchy feet or squinted eyes or whatever else. A rabbit is a rabbit, and our genders are rarely, if ever, consequential enough to the task at hand to merit such scrutiny.

安能辩我是雄雌？你到底为什么要知道？

#中文 #汉语 #mandarin #mandarin studyblr #langblr #mandarin langblr #木兰诗 #诗 #mulan #the ballad of mulan

[dhampiravidi]

notes on my interpretation of the character Mulan...

Mulan as a character is first mentioned in the Ballad of Mulan, which was composed during the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-535 CE). My research (which compiles the findings and hypotheses of many scholars) shows that Mulan (if she was a real person) would have been ethnically Xianbei. The Northern Wei was founded by the Tuoba Xianbei, who sought to protect Inner Mongolia from the nomadic Rouran (not the Huns, as shown in the Disney movie). They bore a genetic and linguistic similarity to Mongolian peoples. Emperor Xiaowei of their dynasty forced almost all Xianbei to sinicize their surnames to look like Han Chinese surnames (specifically, Qiumuling (丘穆陵) -> Mu (穆)).

Today, the Xibe/Xībózú ethnic group claims to be the descendants of the Xianbei. The eastern section (Northeast China) has adopted the culture of the Han Chinese ethnic group, primarily speaking Mandarin and wearing traditional Han dress. The western section (in Xinjiang) speaks the Xibe language, a Tungusic language that has been influenced by Mandarin, Russian, Uyghur, and Kazakh. In the past, the Xibe have been known to practice shamanism as well as Buddhism. Like in the 1998 Disney movie, arranged marriages were common and women had little to no autonomy.

Most who adapt the story from the poem use "Mulan" as the protagonist's given name. One of the most popular surnames given to her is Hua, which means "magnolia" (kinda refers to that quote from the movie: "The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all"). Anyway, I decided to give her the name "Mu Lan", which is explained below. Note that in traditional Chinese names (and many Eastern Asian language-derived names), the surname is written first...

岚 (lán): given name; mountain mist (like mystery?)

穆 (mu): surname; solemn, reverent, calm

I chose this to reflect the calm Mulan shows in the poem. She's calm while she chooses to go to war in her father's place. And her disguise is only seen through after the war is over; like thick mist, it can only be seen through if you have a reason to look through it.

#mulan: headcanon #the ballad of mulan #admin #mu lan

[hyzenthlayroseart]

Last year I drew a bunch of Disney rabbits together since it was the Year of the Rabbit and this year I decided to do the same thing but with Disney dragons for the Year of the Dragon.

#fan art #disney #sleeping beauty #maleficent #the sword in the stone #mad madam mim #mulan #mushu #the reluctant dragon #pete's dragon #elliot #the ballad of nessie #figment #raya and the last dragon #sisu #pengu #pranee #amba #jagan #aladdin #genie

[ancientorigins]

In 1998, Disney brought the story of Mulan to a global audience. This legendary Chinese heroine may be from an ancient ballad, but she was inspired by real warrior women.

#Mulan #Disney #Ballad #Heroine #Propaganda

[pussinbootsandbountyhunter]

Isabela’s in the Rainbow Dress

DisneyFriend draw Isabela in the dress that is based on Lucy Gray's rainbow dress from the Hunger Games (with stars and roses as those cute easter eggs from Beauty and the Beast, Wish, Tangled and even Mulan! They says that they have Lego mini-doll princesses and they love the printings on their dresses).

#Isabela FlorOro #disneyfriend #dreamworks puss in boots #puss in boots the last wish #puss in boots #puss in boots 2 #dreamworks #puss in boots au #puss in boots oc #oringinal character #my story #maybe? #the hunger games #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #disney beauty and the beast #disney #disney mulan #disney wish #wish movie #disney wish movie #disney tangled #lucy gray baird

[quitealotofsodapop]

¿Qué opinas de la balada de Hua Mulan? Yo solo vi la versión animada de Disney No me iba ver la liveaction publicidad feminazi sin mis hombres de acción en la película ¿Y que opinan los monos nerd de la balada?

translated via google;

"What do you think of the ballad of Hua Mulan? I only saw the Disney animated version. I wasn't going to watch the liveaction feminazi advertising without my action men in the movie. And what do the nerdy monkeys think of the ballad?"

Its a pretty cool mythos all in all. However the tragedy of the "Romance of Sui and Tang" version is a really harsh message of how the fairytale most likely ended. Ironically enough it wouldn't be until the 16th century that Mulan gained the family name "Hua".

Hua Mulan goes off to fight in a war and is so successful that she nearly takes a high-ranking position in the government, only to reject it to return home to her family. Then she learns that her father has passed and her mother remarried. A sadly common occurance for many soldiers no matter their background.

Seeing how the original Ballad originated in the 6th century, I feel Macaque and Wukong def knew of the tale and attended a reading/play of it at some point in the pilgrimage days (separate ofc). Wukong would be hit really hard by Mulan's loyalty to her family despite her identity putting her at risk of her own comrades. Macaque was likely the one telling the story to others, often with the ending altered.

They probably both love the animated 1998 Disney version lets be honest XD

#ballad of mulan #lego monkie kid #lmk #sun wukong #liu er mihou #six eared macaque #and i agree the 2020 version sucks butt

[xiao-lantern]

saw a tiktok that said “[Mulan] would’ve been so much better if she was a guy” bc of the whole “Shang finding out Mulan’s actually a girl and not a femboy” stuff as if… as if the WHOLE POINT of the movie wasn’t supposed to be that Mulan was a girl in a country who oppressed women (+ forced men to fight even in their old age or if they were disabled) and she broke the status quo of being a “submissive” “weak” woman… like?? sorry that the Disney movie is based on an actual legend and not your average ao3 fanfic 💀

#ren rants #not to fucking mention that Shang didn’t even exist in the original Ballad of Mulan #there was no romance in the original Mulan story #and as much as i love bi king Shang and shanglan ship #PLEASE use your reading comprehension skills

[spider-xan]

I'm also thinking all over again of those bad gender analyses of the scene in the D*sney Mulan animated film where Westerners were like, you see, Mulan uses a fan, which is a symbol of femininity, against Shan Yu's sword, which represents phallic masculinity, so it's a scene about the triumph of woman over man, but it's like, that kind of folding fan isn't associated with women in Chinese culture, and it looks way more like a war fan used by men in the military, though who knows what D*sney intended there lol

Also, I don't really care too much about the D*sney film bc it was made by D*sney for Western audiences (unsurprisingly, it wasn't popular in China, where they have their own long tradition of works based on Mulan), and it's fun for what it is, but white people lecturing Chinese people on the ~true meaning~ of the original folklore is YIKES

#like the main message of the original ballad is filial piety #and to some degree duty to country #sometimes there's the line about the male and female rabbits running side by side #and how you can't tell their genders apart #i think there's also the line about the ideal (male) soldier #having the traits of both a tiger and a woman #and when mulan reveals that she is a woman #she does not get hit with misogyny #but the poem is not about her being a feminist girlboss sticking it to the man by being a tomboy #and white women 'improving' the poem by removing her filial piety to her father for being unfeminist is a bad look #filial piety isn't just for fathers btw #but it's applied to her father in the poem bc he's the one whose life is in danger

[annachum]

Some figures whom I think looks kinda like how I imagine these figures to look like in their respective books/plays/legends

. Christine Daae ( POTO ) - Catherine Deneuve, Sissel Kyrkjebo, Christine Nilsson, Emmi Christensson, Ingrid Bergman

. Meg Giry ( POTO ) - Maria Khoreva, Leslie Caron

. Natasha Rostova ( War and Peace ) - Lyudmila Saveleva, Audrey Hepburn

. Cosette ( Les Mis ) - Rebecca Caine, Judy Kuhn, Isabelle Huppert, Adele Foucher

. Tatiana Larina ( Eugene Onegin ) - Liv Tyler

. Eponine ( Les Mis ) - Samantha Barks, Frances Ruffelle

. Raoul De Chagny ( POTO ) - Vincent Cassel ( especially when younger ), Steve Barton

. Marius Pontmercy - Michael Ball, Victor Hugo ( especially when younger )

. Mr Darcy - Colin Firth

. Elizabeth Bennet - Jennifer Ehle, Jane Austen

. Juliet Capulet - Olivia Hussey

. Jane Bennet - Susannah Harker, Rosamund Pike

. Daisy Fay - Buchanan - Mia Farrow, Ginerva King, Clara Bow

. Jordan Baker - Elizabeth Debicki in Great Gatsby, Gloria Swanson ( especially when younger )

. Fantine ( Les Mis ) - Patti Lupone's Fantine

. Madame Giry ( POTO ) - Maggie Smith, Sylvie Guillem

. La Sorelli ( POTO ) - Michele Mercier, Alessandra Ferri, Darcey Bussell

. Tess Durbeyfield ( Tess of the D'Ubervilles ) - Gemma Arterton

. Carmen ( Carmen Novella ) - Alba Flores, Carmen Amaya

. Scheherazade ( 1001 Nights, Islamic Legends ) - Golshifteh Farahani

. Teiniagua ( Brazilian Legends ) - Morena Baccarin

. Hua Mulan ( Chinese Legends ) - Ming Na Wen

. Katya Scherbatskya ( Anna Karenina ) - Darya Dogusheva, Sophia Behrs- Tolstoy, Evanna Lynch

. Anna Oblonskya ( Anna Karenina ) - Elizaveta Boyarskaya, Greta Garbo

. Carlotta ( POTO ) - Judy Kaye's Carlotta, Adelina and Carlotta Patti, Cecilia Bartoli, Maria Callas

. Desdemona ( Othello ) - Irene Jacob

#literature #books #legends #poto #les mis #ballad of mulan #brazilian legends #eugene onegin #war and peace #anna karenina #the great gatsby

[timetravellingkitty]

Mulan 2020 sucks lol

Written and edited by yours truly

So, Mulan 2020 happened. And I am disappointed. Seriously disappointed. It is utter garbage. I would genuinely prefer it if I watched Mulan II 5 times in a row, and that's saying something.

There is so much to talk about because this has so many issues. I don't think my brain can handle a movie as bad as this for some time. It is a disgrace to the original animated movie.

(Who cares about spoilers?)

And yes, I can and I will compare it to the original movie because it is a remake. It is totally valid to see where this fell flat and where the original succeeded. I'm not saying it has to be like the original cartoon, that is stupid. As I mentioned, it's to highlight the failures of this movie.

Besides, even if we forget the fact that it is a remake, this movie is still horrible.

INTRODUCTION

Mulan 1998 is a classic. It has great visuals, an awesome soundtrack, wonderful and compelling characters, a great message and a cool plot. It's just a great movie in general. It is an adaptation of The Ballad of Mulan, a Chinese legend. Both the legend and the animated movie are about a young girl named Mulan who disguises herself as a man to take her father's place in the army to fight back against an invasion.

As big of a success Mulan was, Chinese audiences thought some things were weird. For instance, having a dragon be a comic relief character, given that dragons are highly respected in Chinese culture. So of course, Disney decided to try another shot, claiming that they wanted to be more culturally sensitive, accurate and closer to the original ballad.

Mulan 2020 is a remake of the original animated movie, and was marketed to be more "accurate to Chinese culture and the Ballad". This claim is, of course, false, because they failed in that aspect. Say what you will about the cultural inaccuracies in Mulan 1998, but at least it was a great movie. Besides, Mulan 1998 didn't pride or market itself on being culturally accurate, the way Mulan 2020 did, so there's that.

CHANGES

I don't mind some changes. And honestly, if there's one thing I appreciate, it's that it isn't a carbon copy of the original (looking at you The Lion King 2019).

Li Shang's character is divided into two characters: Commander Tung and Mulan's love interest Honghui, apparently in light of the Me-Too movement. This is a dumb reason. Disney wasn't comfortable with a superior having a relationship with a subordinate? The hell? The romance between Shang and Mulan was only insinuated at the end, when Mulan wasn't even a part of the army anymore, so there's that. Also, Mulan gave her consent, so I don't know what they’re talking about.

Mushu isn't present in the movie. I can see why though. He contributed quite a bit to the soul of the animated version but a CGI dragon would be very distracting. Also, the director said that removed him to achieve a more realistic tone.

Grandma? No grandma. Mulan has a sister though, who only exists to mess stuff up.

The Huns are replaced with the Rourans and Shan Yu is replaced with Bori Khan.

Mushu is replaced with a phoenix, who acts as an emissary for the ancestors

There are no songs, except in the end credits, which isn't a bad thing. The instrumentals of the songs in the animated one play during some scenes (I'll talk about the music, don’t worry)

CHARACTERS

The characters in this movie are so boring. Our lead character Mulan lacks the charisma her animated counterpart had. She's utterly bland, uninteresting and poorly written. In the original, she knew she wasn't physically strong and that she couldn't solve her problems with her strength, so she used her intelligence and wit. She excelled by working hard and being strong willed and determined. This Mulan is a well rounded character.

Mulan in the live action is given Chi powers (Chi is a big part of Chinese medicine, in case you didn't know). Honestly, I wouldn't be as mad at Mulan being given superpowers, had they actually done this properly! Chi isn't like midichlorians, it's something that flows through everyone. Mulan is naturally born with dumb superpowers and has to hide them because as her dad says, " Chi is for warriors, not for daughters”. There is a problem:

It has been mentioned many times that Mulan needs to hide her superpowers otherwise she will be shunned and ostracised. Then why doesn't she get more repercussions everytime she uses her powers? The worst thing that happens is little Mulan getting looks of disgust when she uses them. On other occasions, when she is now a part of the army, she uses her powers in training and she doesn't get any backlash? What the hell?? Then why even bother in the first place?

The only way for this narrative to work is if Mulan got more repercussions for using her powers.

If I were to make the line "Chi is for warriors, not daughters," work, I would make it go something like this:

*At the end of the movie when Mulan comes home*

Dad: Didn't I tell you that Chi is for warriors, not daughters?

Mulan: "I am a daughter, but I'm a warrior too."

(Yes, I know this is similar to a scene in Avatar: The Last Airbender, but this would be better, tbh. Also, watch Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Let me compare the training montages from both movies.

In the animated one, there is an absolutely AWESOME montage of Mulan training side by side with her companions, slowly gaining their trust. She climbs the pillar with both medallions by using her wit, not by brute force. This Mulan worked hard. Besides, the fact that "I'll Make A Man Out Of You" plays over this is the only thing that makes it better (banger song, thank you Donny Osmond)

In the live-action, Mulan is supposed to lift up buckets and climb on top of a mountain. There are also other training scenes, but those aren't very important. In these scenes, she succeeds with the power of CHI. WHY? Mulan here just achieves her goal because she is oh so special. She didn't work to achieve her goal at all, because she is perfect. No struggling or development here at all.

Mulan in the animated version was more concerned about saving her father. Mulan in the 2020 version is a dumb patriot who can't even do patriotism right ("I know my place. It is my duty to fight for the kingdom and protect the Emperor") How very empowering.

In short, live-action Mulan can do no wrong. She has no flaws, no personality and no charm. Everything comes to her pretty easily, because MAGIC.

Li Shang's role in the live-action is divided between Commander Tung and Mulan's love interest Honghui, as mentioned before. Both of these characters are flat, dumb and boring. Tung exists to tell Mulan to cultivate her Chi and to train these idiots (and to offer his daughter’s hand in marriage to her, unaware that Mulan isn’t actually a guy, but eh). Honghui is there to be a stupid love interest, who gives us an “I am Spartacus” moment.

The witch is by far the most interesting character. She actually has more than one side to her, has SOME kind of depth and you can even feel sorry for her. She is supposed to serve as a foil to Mulan, given that both have similar powers. In case you've forgotten (which is something I wouldn't blame you for), she's an outcast who's now working with Bori Khan. Why is she an outcast? Because of her Chi. The witch has said many times that she could kill Bori Khan in a snap, then why doesn't she kill him? Because she needs acceptance? What the hell? She decides to pull out the whole "We're the same, you and I," stupidity to Mulan, and I can see that. It's just that the writers just didn't put much thought into it. “It’s too late for me” because you saw a woman leading an army of men? Also, why does she warn Mulan that Bori Khan is coming? Unless she's playing both sides, except her motivations aren't made clear enough for this to make sense. Finally, she dies for the dumbest reason. God, it just makes me so mad. She had so much potential, but no. They just had to mess her up.

Bori Khan? MORE LIKE BORING KHAN. Not much is there. His animated counterpart Shan Yu was scary and contributed to some of the darkest moments in the movie. This guy over here is just...nothing. That's all I have to say.

Mulan's sister is only there to mess up the meeting with the Matchmaker. What a stupid change. First off in the animated version, it's Mulan who messed up, because she isn't perfect. She fails at being stereotypically feminine AND masculine, but in the live-action, she literally pulls off a Spiderman cafeteria scene, and the blame is put on the sister. In the animated movie, this scene is groundwork for Mulan wanting to prove herself and going on a hero's journey, providing depth to her character, but in the live-action, she's perfect. What is the point? (I know this section was supposed to be about the sister, but eh). The sister doesn't provide anything else to the movie, so thanks! I hate it. Moral of the story: Girls can do anything boys can, as long as they have superpowers. If you are born special like Mulan, you can be respected, whereas if you are like the sister, you have no significance and in the end, you can just fit in and be irrelevant. Congratulations!

The live action group of guys Mulan met and befriended in the army lack the charm and comedic timing of their animated counterparts. That’s it. Seriously. I have nothing more to say about them, because they don't really have anything going on. I don't even know why they are included, because their contribution is nil, save for them blandly speaking lines from the animated version’s songs ("I don't care what she looks like, I care what she cooks like"), which is seriously cringe.

The dad is there to tell Mulan that Chi is for warriors. A shame, because I really liked the dad in the movie. He was a source of wisdom for Mulan, whose greatest honour was having her for a daughter. In the live-action, he just takes the sword that Mulan is given at the end of the movie. The mom is meh.

The emperor is also meh. At least he was wise and cool in the animated version, but here he just does bed sheet kung-fu.

Did I mention that the dynamics between the characters are unnatural, forced, awkward in a bad way and in no way indicates any chemistry between them? Oh yeah, I didn’t, until now. They don’t establish much when it comes to emotion.

Simply put, Khan (Mulan’s horse in the animated version) had more personality than all of these characters combined

PERFORMANCES

Liu Yifei as Mulan was a pretty terrible choice. She is just a block of wood, who has absolutely no range, and this isn't because of the writing. She is genuinely bad, and is regarded as one of China’s worst actors (I kid you not). She just can’t emote.

Jet Li as the emperor is meh. But hey, he doesn’t have much to do, so eh.

Jason Scott Lee as Bori Khan is fine. He doesn’t suck, but he lacks the command and authority of a character who is supposed to be intimidating, but I guess it has something to do with the writing of his character.

Donnie Yen is a martial art legend, but unfortunately, he doesn't have much range as an actor.

The best performance of this movie is that of Gong Li, who played the witch. Honestly, she is charismatic, charming and has an idea of what she is doing.

To save everyone’s time, simply put: most of the performances are bland and mediocre. Partly due to bad writing and partly due to most of the actors not being, well, good at acting.

CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL ACCURACY

So Disney went all “we like cultural and historical accuracy”, which is nice. For example, the Huns are replaced by the Rourans, a real tribe in China around the time Mulan was supposed to be alive. They also removed the hair cutting scene, because as iconic and awesome as it is, it doesn’t make sense. Chinese men wore their hair long too. You know what? I like these kinds of changes. I appreciate accuracy. If only Disney didn’t pride themselves on their accuracy when they got almost everything else wrong (They somehow got Mulan's house wrong lol). I don't know jackshit about Chinese culture so just go watch that Xiran Jay Zhao video it's very swag

THE BALLAD OF MULAN

In a surprising turn of events, this isn't accurate to the Ballad, like they had marketed it to be (I know, I’m shocked too). In a reference to the Ballad, Mulan is riding a horse and she sees two rabbits running side by side. She goes home and tells her family that she saw 2 rabbits, and she thinks that one was male and the other female, but she wasn't sure. This just misses the entire point of the Ballad.

Long story short, Mulan in the Ballad is actually a seamstress. She joined the army in her father's place. She defeats the barbarians and goes on a ten year long campaign with her friends, after which they meet the Son of Heaven (a sacred imperial title of a Chinese emperor). He offers her a high ranking position, which she refuses, because she just wants to go home. She returns home and her family welcomes her. Sometime later, her friends come to visit her, and they find out that she is actually a woman. The friends are shocked because she has been in the army for 12 years and in those 12 years, they didn't even realise that she was a woman.

Mulan then replies:

The male hare's feet hop and skip

The female hare's are muddled and fuddled

But when two hares are running side by side

How can you tell the male from the female?

Which is where the poem ends.

So, Mulan just going on, judging those rabbits like that makes absolutely no sense. The Ballad is about how no matter how different men and women look, when they live and fight amongst each other, who gives a damn about the differences? You know what would have made sense though? If Mulan got off her horse, went close to the rabbits, examined them, and then made the conclusion that one is male and the other is female. This would actually be sticking to the message of the Ballad. Also, why do they make it ambiguous as to whether she accepts the high ranking position? I assume for a sequel (yes, God save my soul). Here we can see another example of its impeccable accuracy to the Ballad.

THIS ISN'T EMOTIONAL AT ALL

Everything that made the original film good has been stripped away. Every moment that is meant to be emotional is very dull. For example, the scene where Mulan makes the decision to take her father's place in the army is supposed to be a very powerful scene. Mulan is risking it all just so her dad can be safe. She might be killed if discovered, and her family would be dishonoured.

When Mulan comes back from the Matchmaker, she has a moment of reflection while singing "Reflection". This is the beginning of her personal journey, discovering who she is. In this, after Mulan comes back from the Matchmaker, she doesn't have a moment of reflection. The army immediately shows up. Am I really supposed to believe that Mulan feels bad about this? That Mulan is really struggling?

When Mulan’s friends are singing, it suddenly shifts to the striking scene of the burnt village. This, in my opinion, is the best use of tonal whiplash. From this point on, things are getting serious, and the emotional weight of this tragedy is felt. In this, they just randomly show up at the village.​​ There is no seriousness (stop trying to tell me this movie is adult, mature and serious, it just looks like that on the surface).

Their attempts at being emotional are poor and unconvincing, and ultimately, the end product is an emotionless, soulless, depthless entity.

THE MUSIC

The director mentioned in an interview that she didn’t add songs into the movie because it is “unrealistic to break into song when you're in war”, and I don't think I’ve heard anything more false (apart from the concept of a flat Earth). Even I, who isn't going into war anytime soon, know this is false. They instead inserted instrumentals from the original film. Except, it's very weirdly placed. The instrumental for Reflection is placed when Mulan is fighting the Rourans after she reveals herself to be a woman. Like, there isn't any context. In the end credits, they had the original song "Loyal, Brave and True" sung by Christina Aguilera, which was nice. I don't really have much to say in regards to the music. The music is overall forgettable.

THE ACTION

The action may seem weird, but this kind of martial arts is a part of the Wuxia genre, which is what they were going for. Well, they failed. The choreography is bad, the CGI is bad, EVERYTHING is bad. Honestly, if you want a good Wuxia movie, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon exists. The action is here stupid and stiff.

OTHER DUMB STUFF

Why does Mulan take her armour off before going into battle? That is just stupid. Can't you just take the bindings off? Also, WHY OPEN YOUR HAIR-

Mulan really likes kicking spears (and pointy stuff in general). Seriously. It’s weird.

The CGI is okay I guess, I don't know. The phoenix in some scenes looks pink to me. There are some pretty visuals though.

It is very obvious that there is a green screen used in the scene where Mulan and her friends find the burnt village. And it looks bad. Pretty ugly. It looks bad. The green screen looks bad.

The war strategy is just weird. I can't really say anything about it in text form because how am i supposed to describe it, help- (she literally teleported behind the bad guys in the avalanche scene-).

I like how the animated film, which had a dragon as a comic relief and other silly stuff, is more mature than this.

For what joy does Mulan get another sword from the army? Also, shame the dad is all “oh look at the values written on the sword, they are honourable” even though in the original the greatest honour was having her for a daughter.

How was Mulan even able to tell the gender of the rabbits?

Why not just try to send a warning to the Emperor that the Rourans are coming to get him?

Why does Commander Tung let Mulan lead them-

I AM SO DONE

Well, I think I have said everything I wanted to about this movie. I know I havent talked about its controversies (like filming next to a concentration camp), but honestly, I am done. I am so done with this. This document took 5-6 months of my life. I am kind of proud of this, and there isn't much I have done to be proud of. I did procrastinate on this a bit, and I had stuff going on, but finally, I am done. In the future, if I remember something, I'll add it here, but I think that is unlikely. I never want to watch or even go near Mulan 2020 again. It's horrible, and there is barely anything redeemable. I hate it here. It’s been reported that a sequel is in development. If it’s true, of course I’ll watch it, how else am I supposed to validate my self hate? I am also, of course, the resident “friend who suffers for everyone else’s entertainment”. If you want a live action remake of Mulan, Mulan: Rise of a Warrior exists. Go watch it, it’s free on YouTube with subtitles. I really liked it.

If you’ve somehow made it this far, thanks for reading. I congratulate you for putting up with whatever this is. I would also like to take a moment to congratulate myself for actually committing to this. It was painful yet fun to complain about this to the best of my ability. If anyone wants to add anything to this, feel free to do so. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m out. I have lost my faith in humanity, and I have other things to complain about.

#this was written 3 years ago. are you proud of me yet #i should mention. the animated mulan is one of my favourite movies ever so 😙 #reva speaks

[dhampiravidi]

just a reminder that Hawkwoman/Shayera Hol (inspired by the Justice League cartoon) & Mu Lan (based on the original Northern Wei-era ballad) have been added to my muses list!

#hawkwoman rp #hawkgirl rp #admin #my muses #disney #ballad of mulan #superheroes #dc comics #comics #disney princesses #shayera hol #mu lan

[disney-is-mylife]

I chose to cut Frozen 2, mainly cuz I was running out of room lol. And alas, poor Jasmine has no solo in the original movie.

Happy voting! ❤

#Starling Polls #Disney Soundtrack Polls #Disney #Disney Princess #Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs #Cinderella #Sleeping Beauty #The Little Mermaid #Beauty and the Beast #Pocahontas #Mulan #The Princess and the Frog #Tangled #Frozen #Moana #original post #200+ votes #20 notes

[ancientorigins]

Hua Mulan is one of the most legendary women of ancient China. Her heroic actions were first recorded in ancient texts, retold in the famous poem Ballad of Mulan , and later popularized in the 1998 Walt Disney film Mulan.

#mulan #disney #legend #china #ancient #true story

[joshuasumter]

You're not going to believe this! The Disney 100-year Anniversary crossover short, Once Upon A Studio, is coming! 100 years of stories, 100 years of magic, 100 years of Disney! It's like Disney's House of Mouse all over again, with a hint of Night at the Museum. I've been waiting for this all my life, I'm so excited! (Also gets you and some people hoping for a House of Mouse revival/reboot on Disney+, or maybe a mini-series inspired by this short) Featuring 543 characters from over 85 Disney films and shorts, the following list features those that are only from Walt Disney Productions (1937–1985), Walt Disney Feature Animation Studios (1986–2007), and Walt Disney Animation Studios (2007-present).

Films

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Pinocchio 

Fantasia 

The Reluctant Dragon

Dumbo 

Bambi 

Saludos Amigos

Victory Through the Air

The Three Caballeros 

Make Mine Music 

Song of the South 

Fun and Fancy Free 

Melody Time 

So Dear to My Heart 

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

Cinderella (1-3)

Alice in Wonderland 

Peter Pan (1-2)

Lady and the Tramp (1-2)

Sleeping Beauty 

101 Dalmatians (1-2)

The Sword in the Stone 

Mary Poppins 

The Jungle Book (1-2)

The Aristocats 

Bedknobs and Broomsticks 

Robin Hood 

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh 

The Rescuers

Pete's Dragon

The Fox and the Hound (1-2)

The Black Cauldron 

The Great Mouse Detective 

Oliver & Company 

The Little Mermaid (1-3)

The Rescuers: Down Under

Beauty and the Beast (1-3)

Aladdin (1-3)

The Lion King (1-3)

Pocahontas (1-2)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1-2)

Hercules 

Mulan (1-2)

Tarzan (1-2, Tarzan & Jane)

Fantasia 2000 

Dinosaur 

The Emperor's New Groove (1-2: Kronk's New Groove)

Atlantis: The Lost Empire (1-2: Milo's Return)

Lilo & Stitch (1-2: Stitch has a Glitch)

Treasure Planet 

Brother Bear (1-2)

Home of the Range  

Chicken Little 

Meet the Robinsons  

Bolt 

The Princess and the Frog 

Tangled 

Winnie the Pooh

Wreck-It Ralph

Frozen

Big Hero 6 

Zootopia 

Moana 

Ralph Breaks the Internet

Frozen 2

Raya and the Last Dragon 

Encanto  

Strange World 

Wish 

Shorts

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in "Trolley Troubles"

Mickey Mouse in "Steamboat Willie"

Silly Symphony (Three Pigs, Big Bad Wolf)

Donald Duck

Goofy

Pluto

Figaro 

Chip n' Dale

Adventures in Music

Humphrey the Bear

John Henry (Disney's American Legends)

Ballad of Nessie

Paperman

Ben and Me (1953)

Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom (1953)

Lambert the Sleepish Lion (1952)

*Roger Rabbit, made by Richard Williams's studio in England, and Enchanted, made by Tony Baxter, will not appear in this short because they don't belong to WDAS. 69 + 16 = 85!

#once upon a studio #disney #disney 100 #disney 100 years of wonder #once upon a studio disney #disney once upon a studio

[its-to-the-death]

Villain Song Showdown Preliminary Round #30

Top two will make it into the bracket

Songs below the cut

French Horn Trio/The Wolf’s Score - Villain: The Wolf

La Cebolla - Villain: La Cebolla

Your Love Will Kill Me - Villain: Frollo

I'm a Priest - Villain: Frollo

Bad Guy's Gonna Win - Villain: Crow

No More Toymakers to the King - Villain: Burgermeister Meisterburger (Banger from my childhood)

The Ballad of Striker - Villain: Striker

Klown Bitch - Villains: Glitz and Glam

Thunderstorm - Villain: Audrey Redheart

Attack at the Wall - Villain: Shan Yu

#villain song showdown #preliminary round #peter and the wolf #hamster and gretel #notre dame de paris #nefarious #santa claus is comin' to town #helluva boss #wandersong #mulan #tournament poll

[maytheblogbeforeverinyourfavor]

Guys, I just realized that now that The Ballad of the Songbird and Snakes is out (and has been for a while) there’s Coriolanus x Readers 😭

p.s. how dare you thirst over that man, after what he did to finick??? DISHONOR on you and your cow and your whole family!!!

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edit: y’all this is literally a joke, stop taking this so seriously. I literally made a Mulan reference, I don’t know how y’all missed that.

#hunger games #coriolanus snow #lucy gray baird #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #suzanne collins #coriolanus x reader