#BoycottMulan a social media movement for the new live action “Mulan” movie, sets the tone for what to expect. When making a remake live movie of an original animated Disney film, the actor and directors should have met the high expectations of the original and many say that this “Mulan” movie did not.

The movie changed way too much from the original and it impacted the final product in a most negative way. The remake of “Mulan” eliminated significant characters from the original. For instance, Mushu (played by Eddie Murphy) wasn’t in the remake and neither was Mulan’s grandmother (played by June Foray). Those two characters carried the movie and added flavor to it. Without them, it just wasn’t right. 

The remake also didn’t have any of the classic songs such as “I’ll Make a Man Uut of You” or “Honor to Us All.” In fact, none of the songs from the original soundtrack were included. Is it really a Disney classic without the songs? No, it’s simply not. The directors changed the parts that shouldn’t have been touched and that is one of the reasons this movie just wasn’t good. 

“Mulan” is a classic Disney movie based around a young girl named Fa Mulan (in the remake her name is Hua Mulan) played by Liu Yifei, who takes her father’s place in the war. She took her father’s place because his leg was injured and she believed he’d done enough for their country and since he had no sons she believed she was his only hope. The ancestors send The Great Stone Dragon to look over her but Mushu the dragon accidentally breaks it and takes its place to watch over Mulan, but this doesn’t happen in the remake — no one is looking over her. While training in the army she has to hide the fact she’s a female and has to learn to adapt in a man’s world. At first the training is difficult, but then she works harder and overcomes that. The war ends up being rushed and the Imperial Army has to fight against The Huns, in the remake they fight against The Rouran and a witch. Her cover ends up being blown but she ends up saving the emperor. 

The exclusion of great characters wasn’t the only thing wrong with this film, though, it was also the actor who played Mulan in the movie. There have been reports that Yifei supported the Chinese police and how some of the remake was filmed in parts of Xinjiang where Uighur Muslims are being abused and held in concentration camps. At the end of the movie, “Mulan” makers gave thanks to eight Chinese departments in Xinjiang who are involved in the genocide of Muslims. 

With a budget of $200 million this is the best they could do? 

“This film was undertaken with the assistance of the Chinese police while at the same time these police were committing crimes against the Uighur people in Turpan,” Tahir Imin, a Washington-based Uighur activist, told the New YorkTimes. 

Niki Caro is the New Zealand film director who directed the “Mulan” remake. Even though her 2002 movie “Whale Rider” had won multiple awards, her talent wasn’t fully shown through the “Mulan” film. With so many changes and replacements made, the movie didn’t live up to the expectations and was honestly not worth the $30 Disney+ wanted members to pay. 

Rating: 1.5/5