Mulan - The 2 Movies

This is a review of the two movies Mulan - Rise of the Warrior released in 2009 against the Disney release Mulan 2020.

I am only compelled to compare the two because they provide two different perspectives and though there are some similarities throughout the movie the differences is what makes them both unique to each other.

For those who have not seen the 2009 release but may have viewed the animation stories, TV series, stage productions, literature and/or history of Mulan, it is worth checking out the 2009 version and although it has English subtitles it is worth the watch.

I am a little biased about the two movie releases because the 2009 version has been one of my most favourite movies, so when the Disney 2020 was released this year I was curious to compare them both.

The synopsis of Mulan is pretty much the same whoever records it and the story is legendary in China, with poems, ballads, stage show productions, cartoons and television series, children's books and even gaming productions that recalls the legendary journey of Hua Mulan.

"Hua Mulan (Chinese: 花木兰, Chinese: 花木蘭) was a folk heroine of the Northern and Southern dynasties China. According to the legend, Mulan, disguised as a man, takes her aged father's place in the army. After prolonged military service, Mulan retired honorably to her hometown and finally revealed her true gender, surprising her comrades.

Fact or fiction:

"Mulan's name is included in Yan Xiyuan's One Hundred Beauties, which is a compilation of various women in Chinese folklore. There is still a debate whether Mulan is a historical person or just a legend, as her name does not appear in Exemplary Women which is a compilation of biographies of women during the Northern Wei dynasty."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hua_Mulan#Films

MULAN - THE RISE OF THE WARRIOR 2009.

There are many variations of the story and as with all movies the synopsis is prepared by a range of roles including the script writers, screen play writers, producers, directors etc specifically for the actors. A great story can become a big flop if not provided on screen with some integrity, quality of a good director, screenplay writers, actors, and a producers budget that allows the story to bring an intensity that can touch the viewers. The release of both movies, Mulan - Rise of the Warrior, 2009, and Disney's release of Mulan 2020, both do this, although the 2009 has to score a 10 out of 10 above Disney's release.

This is not to say Disney's 2020 release is not good, it is just not as good, and feels like it has been watered down for a younger audience, perhaps more family focused, more user friendly, almost too 'Americanised'.

Mulan - Rise of the Warrior, 2009, explores a warriors journey and starts and finishes in this way. War is filled with death, pain, anxiety, exhaustion, dirt, blood, fear, stench, failures, victories, power, powerlessness, hatred, anger. The list is endless but cannot be provided without adding to the list that includes love, peace and family, because the key component of this story is not only about a woman but one that became a legend equally as, if not, above all men. Hua Mulan through her journey discovers the greater awareness for understanding the value of life and death, love and hate, power and powerlessness.

Mulan, 2009, is an amazing love story of a legendary female Chinese warrior and is so well portrayed (even with English subtitles), so well directed and delivered with such depth that touches the heart and mind. The scenery is so typically and beautifully China and the drama and fighting scenes capture the realities of love and war, and part of the reasons that I list it in my top 10 movies.

The Director - Jingle Ma

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0155598/

Directed and Produced by Jingle Ma, Hua Mulan 2009, delivers a fantastic portrayal of the drama, the plots, the war, the deception, treachery, love and commitment, as he unfolds the story line providing the actors with the opportunities to touch us in each scene.

The acting is second to none and I fell in love with the heroine in this movie, and with the storyline directed by Jingle Ma. It's a wonderful story and of love, drama and tragedy. Jingle Ma's direction for the leading character role is exceptional as Hua Mulan surreptitiously meanders through her feelings of betrayal because her role as a warrior highlights the fact that women are not allowed to join the army, let alone allow fight. Learning to be masculine and discovering a deeper sense of man-thinking and eventually love of which she is unable to give or have, in the companionship role she inherits.

A great director with great vision and fantastic actors and an actress with exceptional talent!

The Lead Actress - Zhao (Vicky) Wei - Hua Mulan

https://www.cleo.com.sg/gallery/play/celebrity/vicki-zhao-wei-facts/

Hua Mulan (Zhao Wei), the lead character and heroine in Mulan 2009, (aka Vicki Zhao), has a history of film and acting credits that include her amazing talents as an actress, director, producer and pop singer. Her kung fu skills and technique is highlighted throughout the movie, as is her compassion for her father, friends, family and for her country.

Her portrayal and emotional input throughout the film is exquisite, from the feminine softness, a gentle and soft natured being, a thoughtful and collaborative soldier, and from that emerges an exceptionally strong and powerful leader. She experiences men within a death and war context as well as how they behave as beings in their gender. Zhao Wei is almost too slight of build and beautiful to pass as a male counterpart however, the natural feminine emotional thoughtfulness and nurturing in addition to her kung fu skills that give her credibility help balance the role in context to the movie.

Her collaborative roles with actors, Chen Kun (Wentai), Jaycee Chan (Fei Xiaohu) and Hu Jun (Mendu) is quite extraordinary and just as exquisitely comparable to their talent and skills of actress Zhao Wei (Hua Mulan).

Hua Mulan's relationship with Wentai (Chen Kun), from the initial introduction as they line up to sign in, at the stables, and throughout the movie to the final scenes is exceptional, touching and often very romantic and moving. It's one of those movies where one cannot wait for the ending that provides the happy Cinderella scenario of prince meets princess’ and they marry and live happily ever after.

Wentai saves her from death when she is condemned for a soldiers crime she did not commit, he supports her when she is overcome with grief, and for his loss (watch the movie to get that line), he is always there for her regardless of the spoils that war brings, building the relationship the trust, respect and the honour of two warriors, two compatriots and two true friends.

As an actress that touches one's heart for both love and pain Zhao Wei's role is without a doubt, worth winning the Best Actress Award for the 10th Changchun Film Festival, alongside the many other awards presented. Well deserved honours for the movie.

On top of this film context and outside of the screen world, she is an incredibly astute business woman and one of the wealthiest working actresses as defined by Forbes magazine in 2015.

"Vicki was once dubbed the ‘world’s wealthiest working actress’ by Forbes magazine in 2015. According to Forbes, Vicki has such keen investing acumen that she’s been nicknamed “China’s show-business Buffett” by her country’s media."

https://www.cleo.com.sg/gallery/play/celebrity/vicki-zhao-wei-facts/

The Director - Jingle Ma & Main cast

http://www.china.org.cn/photos/2009-10/19/content_18726272_7.htm

Wentai, played by Chen Kun, compliments Hua Mulan’s role so well, starting from the first meeting as soldiers preparing for the war, the moment he discovers her secret and begins to fall in love with her and when he has to choose for love or politics.

Alongside Wentai is 'Tiger' Hua Mulan's village friend who keeps her secret, risking his life for her and eventually helping to bring her out of her demise as she falls into a deep caverness depression at the death of Wentai. All three of these leading characters work extremely well together to create the bond that is required and belongs specifically to the movie's storyline and theme.

There are so many great roles delivered by all the actors throughout this movie in the great scenes provided to tell the story. However, I will finally mention Hu Jun (Mendu), who is the bad-ass in the movie that everyone loves to hate. He, of course has a mission of power, and 'takes the leadership role' from his father in order to rule in his personal favour as a conqueror, looting and plundering. His intention is to take the land and rule 'by the sword'. He has the numbers and the power to win. Enough said (for those who have not seen this version).

Rating: 10/10 A must watch.

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MULAN - 2020 DISNEY

Ok! So Mulan - 2020 Disney style.

It makes it a bit difficult to compare without any bias when I clearly loved the Chinese version of Mulan - The Rise of the Warrior, 2009 and a great fan of Zhao Wei not only as a great actress but also as a person.

Therefore, I will make my disclaimers here now, that my personal perspective or review of the Mulan - 2020 release by Disney is not about the actors themselves but more about the storyline, direction and/or the influence of the director Niki Caro, Disney's input (a movie conglomerate will always have an influence somewhere if their name is to be used). The overall feel of a movie or the impact of the intention to capture and entertain onscreen to an audience is key and is determined by the preparation.

Secondly, a movie written for a specific culture is difficult to portray as a director if you are not directly from the culture itself and even more so when Disney producers have a strong say about the direction proposed for the director. The actors in this movie provide the cultural awareness and help bring it to life but it is the responsibility of the producers, director, the screenplay writers, the final scripts and the crew to provide the final direction, energy and intensity it requires for the actors to deliver the story irrespective of culture.

Overall, the end concludes as a gracious and peaceful tragedy following on from the toil and torments of war.

Niki Caro - NZ Director Mulan 2020 Disney

(Photo reference link here: Photo by Celebretainment)

I love Niki Caro's work and of course have a very strong affinity for her as she is a homegrown Kiwi (New Zealander), like myself, and she has a list of highly credible accolades to support her work both culturally as well as westernised movie making thematics. Her work with Whale Rider 2002 is exceptional.

"A contemporary story of love, rejection and triumph as a young Maori girl fights to fulfill a destiny her grandfather refuses to recognize."

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0298228/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Niki Caro captures the roles and understanding of the Māori, the indigenous peoples of New Zealand but her advantages here is that she was born and surrounded by the culture before she left New Zealand and secondly New Zealand is not steeped with centuries of history like China and only has 180-200 years of colonisation. In this context, Māori have already been integrated into westernised systems, therefore the portraying of Māori is a more seamless process and Witi Ihimaera, author of Whale Rider provided all the necessary support to Niki.

The fact that Mulan 2020 Disney, just has the name Disney attached to it almost automatically signals American context and direction and the simple fact that the movie script follows the Disney 1998 animation as a musical that earned many awards.

"It earned a Golden Globe and Academy Award nomination and won several Annie Awards including Best Animated Feature. A 2004 direct-to-video sequel, Mulan II, followed."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulan_(1998_film)

IMDb provide an overview of the remake differences for the Mulan 2020 release, moving from the animation musical. Niki Caro (director for the 2020 remake), decides to put realism into the delivery removing the musical components and a good move in my mind.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120762/?ref_=vp_back

The budget also allows for a strong representation of a Chinese cast and when I say strong I mean the best! The animation musical was very American including the voice overs.

Niki Caro's cast for Mulan 2020 is very Chinese and she gets a big thumbs up for the strength of the roles and the cast she has chosen to represent the script.

Yifei Liu, I love her! She's awesome and works well in this movie! As I am obviously a kung fu movie buff that goes way back to the early Bruce Lee movies (of course), YiFei Liu also has a list of amazing films and some of my favourites include The Assassins (2012), The Forbidden Kingdom (2008), The Four (2012), Once Upon a TIme (2017) and Outcast (2015), so she is more than familiar with the Mulan role.

She was born in Wuhan, China which I have visited with wonderful memories and friendliness of the people so of course I think she is awesome and just as beautiful and talented for this role.

I love Jet Li and Donnie Yen as actors and have a great deal of respect and admiration for their love and passion for acting and their kung fu martial arts that provides insights with great story lines. Of course Donnie Yen's IP MAN 1-4 movies are fantastic but Jet Li's role in Fearless (2006), is one of my all time favourite kung fu movies, although his role in Mulan 2020 is more low key in a fighting context.

Their roles in this movie again are exceptional and a must see!

But check out the cast. It's an awesome list where almost every cast member has a list of accolades as long as your arm!

The Who's Who of Kung Fu! Mulan 2020 Disney Cast List

The Mulan 2020 Who's Who Martial Artist cast - Amazing cast list! (Sorry it's a screenshot from IMDb (it's easier).

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4566758/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

The actors make the film and though I still felt the movie itself is very much Americanised for a very specific target audience very similar to the Disney animated musical 1998, I prefer the realism of Mulan 2009 which is delivered without fantasy storylines.

It's definitely entertainment, typically disney but without the life and love depth that is provided in the Mulan 2009 release. In fact the Mulan Disney animation 1998 reminds me of the Disney screening of 'Moana'.

Moana 2016 - Link here

However, about the movie!

The playfulness and youthful naivety of Hua Mulan as a youngster is captured well by Niki Caro and gives the role a great sense and touch of realism as she intended.

It was good to see the opening sequence summarising how Hua Mulan became skilled in martial arts with her Chi, the 'gift', as passed down by her father that included his wisdom and the respect he has from having served his time as a great warrior himself. The respect of warriors is reciprocated between her father and Commander Tung in the final scenes.

In this movie Hua Mulan has a mother and a younger sister and that helps to provide a greater sense of family and unity as a family. Her father's love and pride for Hua Mulan is obvious as well as his struggle of the appropriateness of societal gender roles expected of his daughter. Her father explains to her in the opening scene ...

"Your Chi is strong Mulan, but Chi is for warriors, not for daughters. Soon you will be a young woman and it is time for you to hide your gift away too, to silence its voice. I say this to protect you, that is my job ... your job is to bring honour to the family".

Tzi Ma as Hua Zhou, Mulan's father, provides a great character in his role and I commend him for his delivery. He opens and closes the movie with his wisdom, respect and commitment to the role.

There are some very light and humorous moments in the first scenes for the young Hua Mulan struggling with her expected role as a female and as a teenager preparing for the matchmaker who will choose her mate.

The 2009 release obviously did not have the time to incorporate this and didn't really need it but it was great to have this concept put in place as it highlighted the concept of 'devotion to family'.

The scenes with the shape shifting witch as portrayed by Xian Lang (Li),was an interesting role but not, in my perspective, delivered as strongly as it could have been. There are great animated scenes supporting this role but the content and context seemed very young teen based fantasy. The direction evolves equity in a very male orientated culture. I loved Niki Caro's work on the North Country (2005), a great overview of women's struggle to be accepted as an equal in a man's world. She obviously has the knowledge, strength and awareness to create a stronger visual message of unity and equity as a supporting role to the leading characters journey. Perhaps her hands were tied on this to make it even stronger.

In the 2009 release I talked up the emotional content and may have made it seem that there weren't any deep and emotional scenes in this movie, but that is not the case. Niki Caro has provided some great scenes that are very touching and memorable but in comparison to the 2009 release there aren't as many and this may have been intentional for the flow of the story with less emotional dynamics.

When I referred to the Mulan 2020 Disney remake earlier as more 'entertainment' and typically Disney based it does not mean it is not a good movie or a good remake. It is a good movie in fact a great 'Disney' movie! My preference is just for the 2009 remake as it is not influenced by the Disney world view.

The actors, actresses and Niki Caro give it the credibility it deserves and I particularly love that it was filmed in both China and New Zealand (if my resources are correct).

Rating: 8/10 A must watch.

If you haven't seen either of the two movies, Mulan - Rise of the Warrior 2009 and the Disney remake Mulan - 2020, then I would highly recommend them both. Firstly, Mulan - Rise of the Warrior 2009 for a more mature audience (older teen+) and hopeful romantics, and secondly, the Disney remake Mulan - 2020 for a younger teen or adult teen audience.

Enjoy

Teriu

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"The Mulan Disney controversies erupting at the moment (September 2020), with lead actress comments and other political challenges and boycotts highlighted, does not change my support for the need that movies is an important form of documenting history fact or fiction and must be made available - Teriu"

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