1. All commercial products have target groups. If you are not good at Disney's live-action princess, of course it is not the crowd that this film is intended to serve.
It has always been Disney's goal to be suitable for the whole family to watch together, and the live-action princess series is more conservative - telling a primary school student with a magnificent picture is also easy to understand the story, conveying some simple and beautiful qualities (summarized into a few words repeated in the film cue is also a Disney tradition).
2. Within the scope of the princess live-action version, "Mulan" is already the best in terms of layout, action, and regional characteristics. Protecting the family and the country, taking responsibility is different from the main line of love in the past. The action isn't as good as a real action movie, but it definitely surpasses the other princesses, and it's the spice, not the staple, here. The representation of ancient China is more figurative and real than Aladdin in Arabic background.
3. Many people give bad reviews because the China in Mulan is not the China they want to show the world, and they resort to reasons such as tumultuous entry, bright colors, war play, and English lines. emm... Appropriation of non-national elements in literary and artistic creation is a common technique, and it is understandable for creators to adapt them according to their own needs. Restoring historical facts is an academic requirement, and enhancing the national image is the function of the Propaganda Department. For creators, the core appeal is to produce works that they are satisfied with. For example, Liu Cixin sets Tomoko as a very stereotyped Japanese woman, which I think is embarrassing.
Why do so many people have such high publicity expectations for a Disney princess film? Because we have a long-standing grudge against the presentation of Chinese culture in the West (such as some big-name Chinese restrictions), and China's external publicity is indeed not very good. ?♀️But expecting it from Disney is whimsical. In fact, with Disney's ass, the restoration of the ancient imperial city architecture, the Silk Road scenery and the makeup of the Northern and Southern Dynasties to the extent of Hua Mulan has exceeded my expectations.
4. Is Gong Li's witch role inexplicable? I don't think so, she is a mentor to Mulan. They have the same talent. Mulan saw the possibility of a choice in her, and then realized that this was not what I wanted to be, and resolutely refused this path, so she chose another path very firmly. Seeing Mulan's success, the witch finally realized that a person like herself could stand up as a human without being enslaved, so she sacrificed herself to help Mulan's actions, which was a kind of revolutionary friendship. (Witch Gong Li really didn't hurt Mulan at all, and even throwing darts made Mulan leave the cracking ice without hurting her?)
5. There are three shortcomings of the film that I am more concerned about. First, there is no singing... Second, Liu Yifei's performance is a little awkward... Third, Mulan's boyfriend lacks some highlights.
View more about Mulan reviews
