New York Magazine - USA (2020-09-14)

76 newyork| september14–27, 2020

mulandoesn’tsing“Reflection”anymore.In fact, noonesingsinthenew

live-actionremake ofMulan,whichtradesthe 1998 film’smusicalnumbersfor

wuxia-inflectedactionscenesandonlydeploysitsmost famousballadtounderscore

selectpivotalmomentsforitsheroine.The 2020 Mulan,playedbyLiuYifei,is madeof

sternerstuffthanheranimatedpredecessor, a characterfromthetailendoftheDisney

Renaissanceerawhowasadaptedfroma Chinesefolktaleabouta youngwomanwhodis-

guisesherselfasa mantotakeherinfirmfather’splacewhenheis conscriptedtoservein

theemperor’s army. Mulanhasbecomea princesswithoutan“I wish” song,whichfeels,in

someway, fitting—shewasnevera royaltobeginwith,andnowshe’s

caughtbetweenthetime-testedformulasofanAmericanentertain-

mentgiantandwhatthat entertainmentgiantbelieveswillappeal

toa Chineseaudience.It’simpossibletoarticulatewhat, exactly,this

iterationofMulanis wishingfor.

Disney’slive-actionremakesofitsanimatedhitshavebecomeone

ofthemorecynicalandsuccessfulendeavorsinrecentcinematic

movies / tv / theater

memory.Mulan,thelatestofthem,fol-

lowsinthefootstepsof 20 19’sAladdin

($1.05billionattheglobalbox office)and

TheLionKing($1.65billion),whichwere

lessmoviesthanre-creations,proofthat

yearsoffilmadvancementsandincreased

resourcescouldbeusedtomakesome-

thingmuchworsethantheoriginalit was

at temptingtoremindyouof. In compari-

son,Mulanhasmoregoingonintermsof

creativevisionandgettingbeyondthelure

ofnostalgia,thoughit may bethemost cal-

culated venture of themall—lessDisney

eating itself and morethecompany trying

to eat the world. It’s asagathat, oddly, feels

as if it owes as muchinitsreferencepoints

to something like ZhangYimou’sHeroasit

does to anything else.

It even shares somecast memberswith

that 2002 film—DonnieYen,whoplays

Mulan’s regiment leader,CommanderTung,

and Jet Li, who’s theemperor—whilelong-

time Zhang collaboratorGongLihasbeen

given the part of a fabulousbutill-served

Yifei Liu

PHOTOGRAPH: DISNEY+

The CULTURE PAGES

CRITICS

Alison Willmore on Mulan ... Kathryn VanArendonk on The Boys ...

Helen Shaw on Coastal Elites.

MULAN

DIRECTEDBY

NIKICARO.

DISNEY+.PG-13.

MOVIES / ALISON WILLMORE

Girl Power, Inc.

Disney’s live-action Mulan loses the songs

but amps up the corporate nationalism.