Mulan 2020 Review - The Mythology Guy

#mythology #mulan #disney #mulan2020 #china #movie #review #remake #comedy
There are several reasons why this movie doesn't work. So let's go over them in my first ever movie review.

[@jeffreyfiegen1538]

Mulan from the original: busts her ass to overcome training, uses her brain to out-think her opponents, is outed as female by accident due to sustaining injury, works to regain her comrades trust Mulan in the new one: has magic powers because... uh, uses her magic to win everything, only receives opposition from people explicitly framed as bad and/or wrong, outs herself on purpose because... be-because, is gifted a higher position because (What was the reason again? What do mean there was no reason given?) Original = compelling female badass New = Mary Sue

[@PhoenixAlaris93]

What really bothers me is... why even bring chi into this? It's unnecessary. If they really wanted to have her be skilled earlier on, why didn't they just say she was interested in marital arts at that age and wanted to learn it to... I dunno, keep her family safe in case thieves tried to break in or something. You know, a legitimate reason that doesn't need superpowers to explain? This is what bugs me about these live action remakes. I don't think it'd be that hard to make some of this work, but they keep taking the easy and lazy route.

[@dylans.1741]

Mary Sue? More like Mary Tzu 🥁 I'll show myself the door...

[@whyarewealwaysyelling]

You mean the movie "Punch kick black and white bear"

[@GeraltofRivia22]

Mary Sue is just a misogynistic term and you hate women. That's why you don't like the movie. Even though you like the original Mulan, which also stars a woman.

[@jeffreyfiegen1538]

@@GeraltofRivia22 please tell me this is a joke, otherwise I can't take you seriously

[@deathtoraiden2080]

"one was a male and one was a female. But you know, you can't really tell when they are running that fast" *She says after having identified them as male and female while they were running that fast*

[@TheMythologyGuy1]

Good point

[@kerrychristensen7204]

👍

[@sahilrahman5066]

Ok you got me right there 😅

[@yami-131]

Yeah I was thinking the same. Plus the whole point of the metaphor in the ballad is that it hits those who never considered it to be possible because she had proven it through her actions. The whole chi/special thing aside, the metaphor is said in vacuum with no real meat behind it. And it's so easy to make the same scene mean something if they simply do the metaphor after the battle with a flashback to the rabbit scene

[@Jason_Ultimate]

Well, she did say _"I think_ one was a male and one was a female." Hence the following line.

[@brightappiah6327]

One thing about woman empowerment movies is that they sometimes go out of their way just to make the men look bad and to show how the entire society was against women

[@mx_nana_banana]

Yeah, and it hurts women not helps them, because they treat all the things that the female lead does as some special event, that can never be replicated.

[@oneofnine9831]

Which is just plain lazy

[@justin2308]

On top of that, there are examples that completely overlook the fact that there were actually some societies throughout history that were actually very tolerant and inclusive towards women.

[@cringeygachakidthatalsodoe7154]

and it also makes all the other woman weak, and the main character has some kind of powers that make her equal to men. Not misogynistic at all..

[@lukeamparo6586]

It’s almost as bad as Christian movies.

[@0axis771]

To add on for the training thing compared to the animation, the animation also had a case where, while Mulan was the weakest link, the other guys were actually pretty bad themselves. They all struggled to keep up with the training and did poorly. It was only when Mulan pushed herself to prove that she is worthy that the other guys followed her and also began to improve. They were inspired because she was the weakest link that got better, inspiring them to also improve. Beyond gender equality, it was about self-improvement. Where even the men realized that they could be better.

[@frog9453]

Facts

[@byronrush9802]

Agreed it was inspiring and she took that a step further later in the film, hell she saved all of China and the emperor himself bowed to her, people don't get how big of a deal that is,

[@casajerosgeoff8530]

And that's equality, it's not about anything, if you have the courage, that's where you are strong

[@rachelblenkin437]

I also appreciated that she had to go about some things a different way, since she's female and has different muscle mass. It was well addressed.

[@summermermaidstar756]

Which is why the line "You're the saddest bunch I've ever met" worked so well in the original, along with the visuals it establishes the army being weak. But later in the song General Shang shows his faith in every soldier with the line "But a fire within, once you find your center you are sure to win". The only time the song changed from it was after the line of time running out, showing General Shang's faith in the army being strong enough for the war was running low "Heed my every order and you MIGHT survive" as in no way to tell, followed by him telling the weakest link (Mulan) to go home as she was the most likely to be a casualty "how can I make a man out of you?" being the only time the line make a man out of you is phrased as a question. Then the line is never spoken again after Mulan through her wit and determination manages to rally the army into a powerful force as she was the first to get up the pole.

[@gatorshark0870]

It's probably a good thing Mushu's not in this movie, they'd probably mess him up too.

[@onelonelypotato7204]

And the lucky cricket

[@simonrief1013]

And the cow

[@erichvondonitz5325]

and her 3 friends

[@edorasmarauder5761]

Yep.

[@invader_ren5974]

Like how they fucked up the genie of the lamp

[@hinglemcringleberry2782]

Remember ladies according to this movie all you need to do to be better than a man is just have super powers

[@ismata3274]

Yes, but then you must not use or show in any way you have them. İt's unseemly and your family will lose face. Only if the males need you to, and accepting and internalising banishment or execution for your troubles, only then you can, but it's still unseemly and your family will lose face. If the said male needing your powers is part of your family, thats your duty to do so. Family won't be shamed then.

[@annieandelsieofarendelle3294]

@@ismata3274 They really didn't know what they were doing with this movie, did they?

[@ismata3274]

@@annieandelsieofarendelle3294(summary of the movie): 😅🤔🤨😅😭😅😭😭😅😭🤨😭🤨😭🤨😭🤨😭🤨🤨🤨

[@ArukiTsukaru]

Wait it's that easy? I should've known!

[@sailiealquadacil1284]

I will endeavour to develop superpowers ASAP.

[@OphiuchusTheBeheaded]

*Gives the main protagonist superpowers, giving off the message that women cannot be as powerful as men without some sort of boosting* "HeR lOvE iNtErEsT cAnT bE iN pOwEr"

[@annieandelsieofarendelle3294]

And even then he was still very professional with Mulan, didn't use his power to force Mulan into uncomfortable situations or anything against her will, and even in the end, it was Mulan who asked if he would join them for dinner.

[@pumkin610]

Imagine if a man complained that their love interest was in power, that guy would be a misogynistic ass. It's okay to be a little jealous but its not okay to discourage success because of gender roles

[@giordanodsouza9563]

@@annieandelsieofarendelle3294 ikr and if I recall correctly, she invited him to dinner after the war so he had no power there? But I could be wrong

[@annieandelsieofarendelle3294]

@@giordanodsouza9563 she did

[@turbo6585]

It doesn’t even make any sense…SHANG BOWS TO HER AT THE END!!!

[@DragonFae16]

If they didn't want to make Li Shang her commanding officer, why not make him the same rank as her? Or someone who starts with a higher rank initially who she equals in rank before they get together. Either of those dynamics would have been so interesting to watch, which is probably why we didn't get them.

[@priscylatorres3510]

that's exactly what happens in the Chinese version of Mulan movie, Shang has a special treatment because he is the son of a great commander but Mulan surpass him with her skills and become the best in the whole army's (ending with a higher rank than Shang), so... disney just fk up pretty big 😒

[@mr.mcnerdo]

​@@priscylatorres3510I don't think that's right! How dare they make Shang date someone a higher rank than him! #MeToo (For the record, I am being sarcastic.)

[@CJDM310]

The metoo argument is complete B.S. Shang never even attempted to make moves on Mulan while she was a soldier. The only time was after Mulan had already left the army and returned home. And get this, if anything she had a higher power dynamic by this point since she was honored by the emperor personally.

[@KanekiKen-mu4nu]

When I heard it was because the producer or whoever tf thought it would be "uncomfortable" with mulan dating a "man in a position of power" I'm like...that's just sexist. Imagine if that was reversed. "Its uncomfortable for (insert Male character) to be dating a woman in a position of power" There would be rage in the streets.

[@AverageAwesomeDude]

@@KanekiKen-mu4nu not that I don’t agree with you but I think it was in the Hayes Code that a woman could not be a man’s boss in a movie and in those days films would really only have 1 female character that was a love interest, rarely there would a be a supporting character but usually a villainess

[@annieandelsieofarendelle3294]

And even then it was MULAN who asked him to come inside for dinner not Li Shang!

[@kevinsaviro2708]

It was made in 2020 what did you expect lol. You know 95% of movies nowadays is woke garbage.

[@ArukiTsukaru]

@@kevinsaviro2708 sad but true 🙁 my hope for humanity is just freefalling at this point

[@pineappleal9629]

Disney: “Ok so we’re going to get rid of Mushu because he does not line up with Chinese myth” Fans: “ok I guess if it’s culturally appropriate it’s fine” Disney: “Ok Now Let’s Trow In A Witch And A Form Of Chakra That Makes no Sense

[@littleaqua32]

Japan comes in and is like u wot mate?

[@Akr_3]

Abymanu : I died in a formation of chakra. Sorry for spelling mistake.

[@chloesummer_wolf13]

And a flipping Greek phoenix

[@joshuauloho5871]

@@chloesummer_wolf13 we do not speak of the paper fowl

[@DuvieGJ]

lol true though

[@Speculativedude]

I REALLY hate the, "I'd rather be executed." line, because in this situation death would have been a less humiliating result because being expelled means you have to live with the shame. Mulan asking to be executed would have been seen as very selfish and probably would have been met with imprisonment and torture/ public humiliation.

[@pumkin610]

It also isn't sending a good moral message and they were probably trying to represent that samurai stabbing themselves thing but they can't do that in a disney movie

[@SCP_Wandsman13_13]

This is the exact reason why terrorists get life sentences. so that they can live with the shame or just not get the easy way out.

[@biggusdickus9246]

honestly the whole army-honor mistyfication in this film feels like propaganda: "oh, even if you are a woman you can join the army, follow your general and ask to die for honor, all for the great emperor winnie the pooh"

[@ThatRandomEncounterGuy]

@@pumkin610 *seppuku That’s what you were referring to, also Hara-kiri, when a Samurai is dishonored and ritualistically uses his own sword to take his life. Though, since Mulan is a woman, it would be jigai; same thing, but it’s basically a way of saving an executioner the trouble.

[@Crackpot_Astronaut]

​@@ThatRandomEncounterGuy There's also the bigger issue that Mulan is Chinese and seppuku is a Japanese/samurai thing.

[@X-SPONGED]

Mulan (1998) was special because Mulan didn't TRY to stand out. She desperately wanted to be like The Other Girls. She sullied herself over her difference and unladylike behavior. It was not until pushed to the limit that she actively tries to stand out and save her father from being conscripted. She did all of that to protect her father not because of any self-righteous reason or for a want to prove herself. In the end, she wasn't as strong as The Men. In fact, in the beginning, she was The WORST of The Conscripts. She was so bad that Li Shang personally told her to go home because she wasn't prepared for war. As a last ditch attempt, she tried to prove herself worthy by triumphing over The Climbing Challenge at Their First Day of Training. She then realized she's not strong enough to lift the weights up to the pillar. But by using her brain, she turned the burden into an advantage and managed to climb to the top. Proving to everyone that she CAN do it. Everyone else who were also lagging behind got inspired by the seemingly weakest link being the one to succeed on the task which they cannot complete. The only reason her identity was found was because she singlehandedly took down The Invading Hun Army and saved Her Comrades from dying a horrible death. She then had to regain back their Shan's trust after being exposed. Which culminates into her devising a plan to save The Emperor and take down Shan Yu for good. This is why her position was The Emperor's Advisor. She used her brains to compensate for her lack of physical strength against her enemies. She's not a One Man Army. She's a Strategist. Unlike Ms. Phoenix Chi over at The 2020 Remake.

[@TheMythologyGuy1]

When I uploaded this video, it was immediately copyright claimed and blocked, which I had to dispute. I’m happy to see that KZbin has corrected that mistake.

[@lucanthefuccinelf5032]

Thats a first for youtube

[@dirtyfox2289]

U did 20k though

[@shizachan8421]

So on the issue of Shang, so explain the accurate view and reception the general mainstream of the feminist movement has of this character, his interactions with Mulan and his role in the story: He's a bisexual icon. Everyone in the movement considered him a bisexual icon. He literally looked at Mulan the same way when he thought she is a man with hints of him being romantically attracted to her even then as he did when he knew that she's a woman. Like, nobody had a problem with their romance because there is never an abuse of power happening here, in fact he clearly falls in love for Mulan for her strength and skill as a warrior which surpasses his own. Like, it was a perfectly feminist dynamic for its time to show that a badass and awesome guy like Shang will love a woman for her strengths instead of felling threatened by it. Mulan and Shang are probably among the Disney couples who have aged the best, in fact they aged like fine wine because it isn't just a cool romance anymore but Shang is considered a piece of LGBT-representation. Disney is stupid. It's so stupid that it causes me physical pain. Also the whole chi stuff not only diminished the story but also made it unnecessarily complicated. Without it, we could just pass off all the crazy stuff as part of the wuxia aesthetic.

[@yami-131]

@@shizachan8421 I wholeheartedly agree

[@DuvieGJ]

Same

[@flyingteacup8369]

The Phoenix is the one part of the movie that makes the little sense to me. It literally just shows up and then disappears. You could honestly edit out every scene that has the Phoenix in it, and it wouldn't change anything. It's just such a strange creative choice to me.

[@TheMythologyGuy1]

Exactly

[@pumkin610]

I guess they were just trying to get it to represent the themes in connection to mulan somehow

[@lilman641]

"How the heck is he doing that? Does he have Chi powers?!" No, that's just Jet Li doing Jet Li things.

[@bruhtnt4258]

The writer obviously has no idea what chi is. Because it is not magic. It’s similar to how Demon Slayer’s breathing works.

[@normalhuman9878]

Mulan in the animated movie: * works hard to gain the respect of her peers * Mulan in the live action movie: * just good at fighting because magic *

[@lessismore8533]

I agree about Mulans character development! Its so satisfying to see a protagonist go from rock bottom to the very top!! Why didn't 2020 do that?

[@onelonelypotato7204]

Bc 2020 sucks

[@orangeslash1667]

@@onelonelypotato7204 Because Disney wants Marvel and Pixar to do all the work for them.

[@shizachan8421]

They also removed a perfectly fine bisexual icon nobody had issues with and everybody loved with Shang. Who in the wake of modern feminism and the woke-movement was in fact not demonized but cheerished as a bisexual icon because he clearly fell in love with Mulan back when he thought she is a guy.

[@hughjass4290]

the movie sucked...

[@pedrobrgames1314]

uh... me too movement?

[@silverthewitchdoctor8262]

What's so funny is that Pokemon manages to represent the Chinese Phoenix (Through Ho-oh) in both appearances and meaning better than the movie that was set in CHINA could.

[@Eric-py8yy]

Man, pokemon is good in representing animals/myths about cultures because most of time they RESEARCH I can't say the same to this movie

[@cepahreinholt8710]

@@Eric-py8yy yeah. And I think japanese people know a bit more about chinese culture than americans...

[@Eric-py8yy]

@@cepahreinholt8710 DreamWorks got right with Kung Fu panda trilogy but Disney missed the mark

[@cepahreinholt8710]

@@Eric-py8yy yeah. Anyone can do a decent job with effort. I was just saying it was a bit easier when you got some basic knowledge to begin with.

[@karolinakuc4783]

@@Eric-py8yy Animals not really. They couldn't decide how intelligent Pokemons are. Some are just like humans (Meow Meow for e.g). Some Pokemons are so inteligent and powerful that I don't know how trainers can even control them.

[@lauramartin7675]

There was already a great Mulan live adaptation. Mulan: Rise of a warrior (2009). Chinese made, lots of battles, good love interest, and actually fits into the ballad showing the wear of 12 years at war. If you don't hate subtitles it's a definite must watch. Hopefully still available on KZbin too.

[@kevinojea6306]

As an active-duty Sailor in the United States Navy, I can 100% confirm that we constantly tell our shipmates when they need to shower. This sometimes involves sniffing to figure out who in the compartment is the stanky one.

[@anshsharma4131]

Come on we all know at this point that military men are the most gayest straight people out there.

[@ketchup4756]

lol

[@Jamie_Pritchard]

But no homo though 😏

[@dante_0962]

Well Your living in small spaces for possibly years you don’t want to stink up the place.

[@Amilino.]

"We are literally one minute in and you've botched the entire story, thats gotta be some kind of record" percy jackson movies: *already 17 when you get targeted by monsters around the age of twelve and the prophecy is bound to happen at age 16*

[@cabbagemerchantt]

You mean the Peter Johnson movies?

[@slyracoon9256]

@@cabbagemerchantt I think he’s talking about the Peter griffin chronicles

[@lassehoffmann625]

@@slyracoon9256 there is no movie in ba sing se

[@momoe9349]

I had no idea how different it was from the movies until once when I heard my stepmother reading the books to my little stepbrother a couple months ago and heard that they were 12 when the book started.

[@mateocoglianio1965]

@@momoe9349 oh and Annabeth is blonde with grey eyes with a Cali tan, that was directly described (albeit not exactly)

[@StaubZuStaub]

Disney: You can do anything as long as you have magical powers.

[@alexlascu2136]

Basically the force

[@emoji3266]

@@alexlascu2136 and Harry Potter

[@bruhtnt4258]

@@alexlascu2136 Fun fact, I as a Chinese Canadian can tell you. Chi is not magical at all. Every single person has it. It’s like a flow of water inside your body. You know Demon Slayers use breathing to enhance their strength? That is basically how chi works.

[@DanielRodriguez-dt9rt]

“Alright so we wont bring Mushu because it’s not culturally accurate” “Oh ok that makes sense” “So let’s throw in a witch that turns into an eagle and a flame phoenix that does nothing the entire movie”

[@tyronetalam8488]

Xiran Jay Zhao does a great indepth explanation of this from the perspective of a chinese, witches aren't even really a thing in China, i think she said it was more like shamans and fortune tellers and such, and even then they're not treated like Western witches like the movie presents. Also apparently it seems that from what she gathered, Chinese people weren't exactly botheres by the fact that Mushu was a dragon exactly, it's more like they couldn't understand the humor of Eddie Murphy so they thought it was weird.

[@cosmicdoggo9296]

Mushu was my favorite

[@lauramartin7675]

Also Chinese mythology doesn't have what westerners call 'witches', just like the phoenix it doesn't translate. A dragon would be more appropriate.

[@emoji3266]

@@cosmicdoggo9296 we all can’t forget the grandma. One of my favorite characters of the movie. I don’t get why they had to replace her

[@lily-if8ir]

@@cosmicdoggo9296 mushu the grandma and cricket the top 3

[@OnurTheXbot]

Gotta give props to Disney for “If it ain’t broke, then break it” strategy, round of applause for Disney

[@catjustine10]

Okay here's my criticism about them deciding to remove Shang. Correct me if I'm wrong but for the most parts of the animated version of Mulan, I never had a sense of impression that Shang was falling in love with Mulan or even vise versa. Shang only gave a hint of having a crush on her after the Emperor gave him one of the best lines in the animated version that he later translates into layman's term - "You don't meet a girl like that every dynasty". Considering how the Emperor has a lot of Wives and or Concubines, I think that it was definitely funny of him to say that 😂 This was also confirmed by Shang's visit to Mulan's home at the end; just the way he was quite bashful about it because her Grandma encourages him to stay forever 🤣. I seriously don't understand how the director of 2020 Mulan got the impression that it's uncomfortable for them to fall in love. Doesn't she realize that even male warriors at that time fall in love despite their sex or gender? Like for real it seems that they also think that women can't be considered strong if they fall in love? If I remember correctly #MeToo fights for freedom to exercising consent but Shang nor Mulan can't be with the people they choose to love despite them having mutual respect and admiration for each other? 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♀️Okay Ms. Director, I see that it's just your opinion but don't push you misguided beliefs as something that most men and women will agree with 😂

[@lessismore8533]

Amen!!

[@onelonelypotato7204]

I feel like some people are offended by everything now a days

[@jonaldjodonald1888]

@@onelonelypotato7204 Entirely true.

[@littlesongbird4566]

I agree with you and would like to add this little tip pointed. I find it personally ironic that they remove the only character in the original animated movie that was considered a Bisexual icon and replace him with a boring bland straight guy. Now even if you watch the original animated movie with the view of Shang is bisexual nothing inappropriate happens between them him and Mulan. The most that is really shared between the two that could be considered romantic while Mulan was in the army was a few share glances between them but it never develops any further until AFTER Mulan left the army. This doesn't tell me that they removed Shang from the movie because of the #MeToo movement but because Disney has a long-running issue with the LGBTQIA+ community and that they wanted to wash away any chances that their audience would see there characters as anything else but straight. However they also knew that if they just made Shang straight in the remake people would be outraged because so many people see him as a Bisexual icon. So they just replaced him.

[@joshuastruggs1307]

And also why didn't the director just make Shang an ordinary soldiers like Honghui was, thus, not be in a position of power?

[@Muffin-sj7yh]

This guy really knows his stuff.

[@taffyadam6031]

im stuff

[@Muffin-sj7yh]

@@taffyadam6031 Hi stuff

[@Nifirin]

I am by no means an expert or even that knowledgeable but I have read some Chinese cultivation stories. If she is born with strong Qi that makes her athletic, strong, and a natural warrior, then she most likely has a special physique. Probably the Body of Extreme Yang. This would actually make her highly prized with nobles, clans, sects, etc. all be trying to recruit her. The villagers shouldn't look down on her as the nature of her existence would make her their inherent better. The whole "do not use qi for destruction" thing would not be a universal rule. Qi cultivators usually don't attack towns and civilians for the simple reason that mortals are beneath them. Some may follow the no destruction thing but they wouldn't be surprised when others didn't. With a Body of Extreme Yang, Mulan's athleticism and fighting would be seen as more of a symptom and thus more acceptable. She would still need to adhere to woman's rules of decorum but given the necessary freedom to support a healthy mind. The bigger issue would be the amount of men that just want to use her for children, but I won't go any further on that plotline. However, NONE OF THIS BELONGS IN THE STORY OF MULAN!!! Once again, not an expert. I probably messed something up in that.

[@skygard49]

I have no knowledge about any of this but that was interesting to read

[@paulweston8408]

Mulan will always have a special place in my family not because of the movie, but the book. When my oldest daughter was in 3nd grade she was a winner in a young authors contest and as a prize meet Robert San Souci, the author of Mulan. After everyone else had left he visited with my family for almost Two hours. He actually took our address and mailed a set of books to us that his brother, who was an Illustrator, did hand drawn scenes in the books for her. We will never forget his kindness and words of encouragement! A true class act 100%.

[@optimisticauthor6575]

One point that you missed is that......... THATS NOT HOW CHI WORKS!!!!!! Even shonen b.s. chi is closer to real chi than Mulan 2020's chi.

[@GoodNeutralEvilChaos]

How *does* chi work? If you don't mind me asking?

[@Fernandanatac]

@@GoodNeutralEvilChaos I’m definitely not an expert, but for what I have heard it is like an energy system that flows through your body, like blood. Everyone has chi and it is the basis of acupuncture. Asian movies and animes usually exaggerate a lot when using it as plot device, but it’s always something you have to work on, like, “to channel your energy properly”. Somebody is not just like “born with a lot of chi”.

[@GoodNeutralEvilChaos]

@@Fernandanatac got it, thank you.

[@zeldamon4420]

@@GoodNeutralEvilChaos basically disney made chi into the force from star wars, which it isn't.

[@GoodNeutralEvilChaos]

@@zeldamon4420 well I got that, I was just wondering what real chi was. Thanks anyway 😄

[@josephsigala6631]

Fun fact Do you know the main actor who played mulan supported the hong kong police during The hong kong protest And Other fun fact The movie was film in xinjiang region Where it was film near construction Camp for Muslims minorities Where there no human rights And Disney thank the government who ran the camps in the end credits

[@littledeer551]

What was happening with the Hong Kong police?

[@Ajay-pj2hv]

Those things should not matter in a movie. As long as movie does it's job of telling a story well

[@erichvondonitz5325]

@@Ajay-pj2hv which it failed to do

[@Ajay-pj2hv]

Yep

[@Ajay-pj2hv]

@@SCP_Wandsman13_13 you are taking it into a different direction now The essence of what I said was related more to - separate the art from artist This is not a movie written by her/directed by her/ produced by her. Her only job here is to act. She does what director tells her to do That's why in my opinion there should not be any place for what she does in her personal life in a a movie review/discussion. Because a movie is made possible by efforts of hundreds of people. People who make sets, sound design, costumes, cgi and many more. Are all those people bad because they didn't just quit movie because of her professed support for the authority? Does that mean all of them think same as her? If they are working with her they support her thinking and then completely agree with it? Obviously not. They worked with her even while knowing that, you know why? Because a movie isn't a representation of an individual's thinking/ideology. THE PEOPLE that are working in a movie, work towards representing the movie and it's elements. Biggest three influencers of which are writer, Producer and director. The main actress is a small part of it. Do you understand now? I'll repeat it for you A movie isn't someone's personal perspective/ideology. A movie is product of a whole (containing several hundred people) working towards a same goal (which in this case is depicting a classic story in a live action movie format) Tell me in case you didn't understood. I'll try to give some examples.

[@chengfeiyu9687]

"In this movie, a girl chased a chicken. Monster!" I just died of laughter right there

[@GeraltofRivia22]

I've always wondered, would Mulan's father even fight? He's clearly old and cripple, putting him on the front line or even marching him with the army would be a liability. Militaries have plenty of non-combat roles that need to be fulfilled. He would probably be given some sort of administrative position.

[@katiehowell2537]

I've seen the theory before somewhere that he wasn't going to be on the front lines because of his injury, and he was going to help Shang train the new soldiers, but Mulan took his place

[@BumblebeeQueene64]

She can't have her actual love interest because of "me too" but they put in the creepy weird sniffing scene and made him her love interest ? Um D!sney which is worse having her love interest be a respectful man who falls for a woman, who happens to have a lower rank than him at first, and her reciprocating those feelings ending in them becoming happy together and most likely married. Or guy who creepily snifffs her being her love interest

[@shizachan8421]

People assume that they removed Shang less because off Me too and more due to the fact that people noticed the implications of him obviously starting to have a crush on Mulan back when he assumed she is a woman and started to call him a bisexual icon. Imagine a world where Disney willfully includes a bisexual man as the lead love interest.

[@BumblebeeQueene64]

@@shizachan8421 I really hope that's not why but it probably is 😩

[@shizachan8421]

@@BumblebeeQueene64 I would say both possible reasons are equally bad. Either Disney is willfully decissions or they are so fucking dumb that they don't notice that the character was considered a well beloved lgbtiq+ icon as well as a clearly desired piece of representation by the very people they tried to pander to.

[@stansman5461]

Sniffing someone is completely okay. I mean, the President has been seen doing it. I don't see why that would be wrong.

[@needle1025]

@@shizachan8421 He wasn't he still is

[@boulderingperson6663]

For me, if the movie was just a stand alone movie, not adapted from anything, I would like it more, But even me, who doesn't know much about Chinese culture, knows it's inaccurate to the ballad.

[@X-SPONGED]

I love how in The Original Movie, Mulan got offered to be a Part of The Emperor's Advisor for saving him. But in The Remake, She is literally asked to be a measly Palace Guard. Not even a fucking War General... [21:43]

[@cr0-okedglasses814]

Mulan countless times has been adapted in many different styles of movies. Ranging from slow, heartfelt moments about friends and family, to scary, ptsd inducing weak warrior stories.

[@lessismore8533]

Lol EVERYONE uses the Mushu line!

[@casparjackson4075]

THE MUSHU LINE IS SO ICONIC XD

[@TheLordofAnime_]

DISHONOR! DISHONOR ON YOU! DISHONOR ON YOUR COW!

[@dreliq981]

"I'm your worst nightmare"

[@staytuned2L337]

@@TheLordofAnime_ on your WHOLE FAMILY

[@G.F.SF55]

Your review is so much funnier and somehow more pleasant to listen to than the ones I saw before. Great work! XD

[@TheMythologyGuy1]

Thank you! That's awesome to hear!

[@NopeNaw]

The scene where she's catching the teacups and stuff. What possible in-world reasoning was there for her to catch them with her hairpins? It arguably makes it harder to catch them, plus more likely to break them anyway. It's absolute nonsense what she does. Of course we know that the real reason for her using the hairpins was to explain why her hair got loose, causing the pratfall for some easy slapstick. But you could've accomplished that anyway. Just have her fuss with the hair and clothes she's not comfortable wearing, splicing in some shots of the hairpins implying they're loose now. There, you can have the stupid slap stick without the nonsense. ... Of course, there's the rest of the film as well so...

[@shotaaizawa1206]

Disney: Making culturely accurate reboot Also Disney: Somehow even less acurate than th original

[@elsalisemby9402]

It's not even for the metoo movement. Bc it basicly says women can be as strong as men .... if they're magical w shi

[@onelonelypotato7204]

Chi isn’t even something magical. Chi is an “energy force.” Chi is basically like blood or oxygen (at least from what I’ve heard)

[@acsound]

@@onelonelypotato7204 They could've fixed that flub by noting that: "Mulan, we all have chi, and different and proper ways to use it. Men cultivate their chi for fighting and war: to be warriors, while women cultivate their chi towards 'women's duties'--that should be your path, my daughter. Control your chi; use it to become a bride and mother..." or other such boilerplate. Has the same tenor as the original Mulan 2020 scene, but corrects the chi flub so that this movie doesn't seem worse than DRAGON BALL EVOLUTION re: chi. Stupid shit w/chi produced by Americans in Hollywood in the 1990s? Forgivable. In 2020...? Not so much.

[@Eric-py8yy]

@@acsound man, the guys who did this movie were ignorant

[@jeffreygao3956]

@@onelonelypotato7204 It would be weird to have a Deborah Sampson movie where she has superpowers because of high blood pressure.

[@onelonelypotato7204]

@@jeffreygao3956 The only positive thing that comes from diabetes: Awesome superpowers! Also, that sounds like something that would come from a fanfic or something.

[@Zack-xv2yc]

"THIS IS STUPID!" -The Mythology Guy

[@Zack-xv2yc]

.

[@anshsharma4131]

@@Zack-xv2yc The whole Disney summed up after 2010 in one sentence

[@bruhtnt4258]

@@anshsharma4131 Do these people even know what chi is? Because it is NOT magic.

[@justahobbiest]

The Ballad of Mulan 2008 is a beautiful, incredible movie. It also diverges from the original ballad but is truly, brilliant.

[@0axis771]

This is what happens when you ignore all the messages and themes of the story and instead pay attention only to the fact that it was a successful story with a female protag.

[@katharsis8458]

I really didn't realize how stupid this movie was when I first watched it. My brain must've just shut off and been like "cool scenery and fight scenes go brr"

[@romariohenry400]

That's how my family watches movie.

[@kevinsaviro2708]

Thats how everyone watches live action disney movies. Its all PRETTY but many people don’t realize how much it sucks.

[@ichmeiner4531]

@Kevin Saviro I wish Disney would go back to whatever they did differently in the 90's (edit to add:and before). Whoever thought it was the best idea ever to concentrate 95% of resources and work into cashing in on nostalgia instead of good storytelling hopefully steps on a Lego every day at least once for the rest of their lives. Sure, the remakes are technically good, like you said, they look pretty with nice effects and shit, but lack everything else that made the original ones so outstanding. And yes, Disney almost never came up with their stories by themselves, they just took existing myths, tales or legends, took out gore and death and made them cute, but their version still had the original core moral message and spread those old fairy tales to a huge mainstream audience. But it's not about making a shit ton of money with good and morally righteous stories, effort and love anymore, it's just about making a shit ton of money the easiest way possible, no matter how low they have to stoop.

[@mateocoglianio1965]

@@ichmeiner4531 plus there's plenty of other short stories they can turn into animated movies, so many from a diverse choosing.

[@ichmeiner4531]

@@mateocoglianio1965 but those new stories aren't a guaranteed cash cow like the umpteenth remake of a brothers Grimm tale. They would need to do research to portray it right, paying people who are knowledgeable about the tale, its origin, that time period, the culture, the language, the civilization it came from. Done wrong or too sloppy, a shitstorm would break loose (highly likely deserved, we all know how Disney is). It's sadly too much of a risk, sticking to tales that they know people already like, is the safest way to line their pockets with tons of money.

[@yami-131]

This was a wonderful review. The one critique I'd give is that this movie also doesn't really work for the "spirit" of the me too movement either. As both the ballad and the animated original carry a far more empowering message. But aside from that it was perfect! Thank you

[@shadowwolf12398]

So Mulan was able to throw a spear into the air, kick it and accurately hit an enemy but during the 10-20 seconds that the arrow is travelling towards mulan, she can’t move 1 metre to the side

[@Jessie_Helms]

When Captain Marvel has a stronger female empowerment message than your movie you know you’ve done something wrong.

[@atocanboi409]

"the sets look like china" yes, it looks exactly like a place near the concentration camp... because it was filmed right there... and they thanked the camp guards in the credits....

[@lulufan100]

The movie was ruined because of this before it even started

[@couchpotato7909]

That and the main actress supports the Police that beat up and killed citizens because China broke the deal about Hong Kong being independent for awhile

[@atocanboi409]

@Reghan bruh I'm Swiss

[@atocanboi409]

@Reghan also I'm not saying china should do exactly what we do, I'm just saying genocide is bad actually, and that doesn't mean that the US didn't do anything wrong, because they did, but that doesn't make china right.

[@simj202]

@Reghan 做得好 +500 social credit.

[@FunFilmFare]

@11:47-@12:00 By that logic, was Princess Anna/Kristoff's relationship inappropriate b/c Anna is in a higher position of power? (Also 2020 remake Mulan: "I'm Not Like the Other Girls...")

[@TheMythologyGuy1]

Good point

[@alexanderchippel]

No because her being a women balanced it out.

[@shizachan8421]

Also the people Disney tried to pander towards considered Shang a bisexual icon and actually loved their love relationship. And its more likely than not that Disney removed him primarily because the meme of him being a bisexual icon really took off.

[@user-wn3wv5bx5e]

@@shizachan8421 Well, it is a movie that was supposed to pander to the Chinese, and they love their censorship.

[@_somerandomguyontheinternet_]

The #MeToo movement is about preventing abuse of power, not preventing two people from having a mutually consensual romantic relationship. Honestly, the “We can’t write a woman dating her boss” reads to me as “Well every time *I* try to date my subordinate, I get accused of abusing my power, so I guess we can’t include that in a movie.”

[@hmast5370]

It's bizarre to me that somehow Disney managed to make a live action adaptation of Mulan that was more culturally insensitive, less empowering to women, and less accurate to the source material than the animated movie made 25 years ago

[@avaria4279]

The one good thing about this movie was mulans dad, dudes acting was amazing.

[@jeffreygao3956]

And it inspired Xiran Jay Zhao.

[@kiwitokiwigaya4560]

There's a reason this has no dislikes

[@calebwiseheart1282]

Some sick fuck changed that

[@calebmcpherson7417]

@@calebwiseheart1282 hi my name Caleb too

[@falah6398]

There's two now

[@GoodNeutralEvilChaos]

That didn't age well.

[@classiest]

now it's cuz KZbin removed them

[@jeffreygao3956]

23:30 It's for experts in Chinese history to grill like you and Xiran Jay Zhao! Also, the emperor has to be either super confident in his own abilities or desperate to end the war quickly to duel the enemy commander. Which was never a thing in Chinese history.

[@AidanWR]

Disney: "We are making the new Mulan more realistic and following the story." Also Disney: *Gives magical powers to almost everyone*

[@me2552]

In disney Everyone has magic

[@bruhtnt4258]

@@me2552 Chi is not magic! It’s a force or a flow inside your body. When you take a deep breath and concentrate hard it enhances your strength. For example Demon Slayers use breathing to enhance body strength. That is the work of chi.

[@me2552]

@@bruhtnt4258 "In disney Everyone has things that others don't and people can cry about it"

[@brittaneosborne]

every time he calls them morons I can't help but laugh. this hole video I can't help but laugh. I love your videos man.

[@TheMythologyGuy1]

That’s so rewarding to hear! Thank you!

[@brittaneosborne]

@@TheMythologyGuy1 your welcome, also keep up with the good work, all your videos bring a smile to my face.

[@dogssports]

This video is so underrated, it's making me mad 😑

[@TheMythologyGuy1]

Lol. I'm very glad you like it. It was a lot of work

[@taffyadam6031]

@@TheMythologyGuy1 yeah it's super fuckin good

[@lordhades8025]

This review is the closest I'll ever be to the remake. And I am thankful for that. The biggest thing for me was that they cut Mushu and replaced him with a phoenix. And I can clearly see that the grandmother and her lucky cricket are no where to be see.

[@mediumlemon6320]

I love this guy. He is slowly falling into madness with inaccuracies and pulling us with him. It's very entertaining

[@thatoneguy6142]

Yeah, in the legend and the animated movie shows that whatever or whoever you are,you can accomplish anything but in the remake you can only do anything if you're a "chosen one"

[@lunerblade13]

14:50 you can even continue with the fact that she motivated everyone else to improve alongside her. This isn’t some one sided affair that made the army a joke, in the animated army no one was dead weight.

[@PedroBenolielBonito]

The matchmaker part was done much better in the film, where it IS Mulan's fault (albeit indirectly, since Cri-kee is jumping around inside her clothes) that everything goes pear-shaped. She deserves the matchmaker's remonstration there (well, from an outsider's perspective at least.) Here, it just seems like unfortunate happenstance.

[@kevlarbasin7501]

Just found out you do these full reviews after watching a bunch of shorts. Love it!

[@doomslayer2930]

I don't care if a live action dragon voiced by Eddie Murphy doesn't fit well. He's the one that made the film funnier. The animated film was a comedy. Why they couldn't do that with a few tweaks was beyond me.

[@cwpsooks]

BRUH THEY TOOK MUSHU HE WAS MY FAVORITE!!!!!!!!!

[@dougymoney379]

It was better that he wasn't in this dumpster fire of a movie.

[@avian_feathered3203]

@@dougymoney379 Thank goodness

[@shadowthoughts7959]

Here's a small, easily researchable and (to me) obvious bit to show the carelessness of Disney on this one: That's such a shitty representation of running rabbits. Have the animators never seen rabbits...ever? They don't run. They stand still in sight of a potential threat, lumberingly stretch and contract their body lengthwise or mini-hop to move around small distances when feeding, or leap with fully outstretched bodies faster than you can see without such heavy motion blur IRL that you can't tell which feet are listed or touching the ground at any time, also zig-zagging to avoid chase and use the advantage of cover. Even when chasing for mating, same idea. Even in tall grass this works because when they move straight away, you see them pushing grass over; when they move parallel you see a tilt of grass alongside you; when it zig-zags it only bends where the rabbit lands, lightly flexing in-between as the body passes between straws, and the diagonal movements leaving a parallel side of grass concealment, no motion straight away from you showing their rears, and the pattern from above in zig-zag looks like a random assortment of close dots moving in a general direction. Let's not even start with the grass seeming to be taller than a rabbit would be, yet the rabbits were not only hopping over it by far (rabbits hop as if a forward lunge/leap, not a vertical pop when running), but even seemed to land with their legs vertically down rather than ahead of their starting positions (horses bring their hooves roughly below them even in gallop, slight angle excused. Rabbits, and most quadrupeds made for dashing rather than distance running, reach far ahead with front legs to grab ground away from them, dragging it forward as their hind legs reach to or past their fronts, doing the same except springing off the ground when full extending thanks to the digitigrade nature of the hind limbs). Basically, no one in Disney has ever even watched a video of how rabbits move, or what would cause such a movement. Mulan startling them with her horse would cause the running, and they could end up side-by-side for a few seconds, switching sides in zig-zag before splitting off and heading for cover to wait out until they calm down. Mulan would see this, the two next to each other, them switching sides (still next to each other but adding a ball-&-cups level to the confusion to the myth), and gone home. ^^^ TL;DR - The rabbits look fake, and it takes a walk outside in June to get this detail right.

[@godzillakingofthemonsters54]

I think the morans were able to run up the wall with physics. They were moving at a speed on the horses, the when they got off, they were still moving at a constant speed. The morans simply used their feet to change direction, but the momentum they built up on the horses was still there, so that's how they ran up the walls. SCIENCE!

[@aBanana998]

Thank you for this movie review. I died from laughter!!! 😂😂

[@ozzywalker609]

It would've been better if they made Mulan fight Genghis Khan. Not 100% accurate, but neither was the original movie. Oh, and don't leave Mushu out if you try to go again, Disney. He's as much a part of the movie as Mulan. Also, notice that Mulan's father in this adaptation looks like Xi Jinping?

[@GeraltofRivia22]

Thought I was the only one who noticed the resemblance.

[@jeffreygao3956]

He resembles said Paramount Leader even more than Winnie the Pooh.

[@christophermonteith2774]

Yup

[@justagamer9648]

I love how the little info bubble in the right top corner appeared when the training scene that he showed just...loved that

[@PeanutStrawberry]

12:27 funny how it was technically accepted for men to have male lovers. According to one study, for some time after the fall of the Han Dynasty, homosexuality was widely accepted in China (Hinsch, Bret (1990). Passions of the cut sleeve: the male homosexual tradition in China. University of California Press.) but this has been disputed. Several early Chinese emperors are speculated to have had homosexual relationships accompanied by heterosexual ones.

[@jellybean547]

I really want to see a crossover with this guy and the nostalgia critic.

[@TheMythologyGuy1]

Goals

[@DaniTheBunni]

Was just gonna say that this has big nostalgia critic vibes

[@ringobingo9573]

Mulan: sees a mountain of snow come down, takes zero damage Morons: entire troop gets instantly wiped out

[@oliverchen4855]

"In THIS movie, a girl chases a chicken. MONSTER." I laughed.

[@eddthehead123]

I love how the original Mulan rarely, if ever, exhibits actual brute force. Most of the time it is clever thinking and precise, skillful control to overcome the fact she doesn't have the same raw grunt force as her comrades.

[@oldman5247]

There is more accurate action packed version of the story. It came out in 2008 and Hua Mulan Rise of a Warrior. Another smaller KZbinr reccomended it, and I thought it was pretty good.

[@joanski786]

Please do more reviews. This was awesome!

[@leaaronsanchez]

I seen it once. I agree this movie will fade into obscurity just like Disney thoughts 1977 Star wars would. In the Mulan Ballard, her father told her Kung Fu and how to use a sword & bow. And she wasn't the only woman disguised as a man, the general's daughter was also there and the two of them because bonded sister's keeping each of her secret from everyone. Women and military wasn't completely uncommon, there has been nine stories of women who served in the army, including 2 of king Wu Ding wives. Fu Jing & Fu Hao who was also high priestess in military general. In the Ballard Mulan is referred to as Hua Mulan. She was a cavalry soldier fighting the Rouran, a proto-mongelian tribe that later became the Tatars & the Avars. While it was originally 4th AD Wei dynasty, both 5th AD Chen dynasty & 6th AD Tang dynasty explain the ending differently. In the original she didn't sneak off her father knew about it and gave her his Blessing, she served 12 years including the great Wall, turn down an role of high office for a camel to go back home. The ballot ends with her mentioning the different between a male and female rabbit but you can't tell the difference when they're running alongside each other. Also in the original story Milan isn't entirely Chinese. Wei dynasty controlled southern Mongolia at the time, and she is mentioned to be Xianbei. Like the Rouran are a proto-mongelian people. Plus her home, that Tuloi is in the wrong region, that's south china, not north. The Hakka people lived in a Tuloi. No one in Wei lived in those.

[@fingerpickertheturd]

crazy to think when you made this vid you were at 1,000 now youre almost at 1,000,000 subs! Keep the mythology boat sailing!

[@annamarie1914]

Ok, so this video along with the video (going over all the internet) going over all the culturally wrong aspects. Just fully shows how amazing this whole movie, is! The fact that this movies was promoting its self as being culturally accurate and following the Mulan Ballad but had over a 30 min video of myth inaccuracies and another 30 min video on the culturally inaccuracies makes it the most terrible movie ever. Seriously, how was the animation movie from the 1900s more myth and culturally accurate than this one.

[@obi-wankenobi7041]

There*

[@Justo-ru5tf]

This is fantastic, i would love to see more reviews! Plus i love all your content anyway

[@valterfara5027]

I remember watching the movie from 2009 where Mulan changes her reason to fight during the war till she no longer fights for the sake of her father, but because of her sense of duty, responsibility, and for herself. A good movie.

[@Jhowy-wu3mr]

The thing is I was actually looking forward to this one because I felt it had the most opportunity to be adapted well to live action. If nothing else than that I feel Milan was one of the most realistic and grounded classic films of the Renaissance era. The only real supernatural elements are Mushu and the ancestors with ancestors never really interacting with her except through Mushu who has very little impact on the story aside from a few moments and acting as a companion and confidant for Mulan. He forges a letter to get the army marching, he scares the guys out of the lake while she’s bathing, he sets off the rocket at the beginning of the mountain battle, serves as a spark for the last rocket, and directs the firework to finish off Shan Yu. That’s literally everything and most of that was him lighting rockets. Everything else was him just talking to Mulan, fixing her breakfast, cracking jokes, and comforting her. That’s ALL of the supernatural elements and intervention in the entire film and none of it was through real magic. The closest to magic is his fire breath to light light things. Everything else is Mushu just using things in the real world like ink, fireworks, and a match. So other than some things being done by a supernatural creature, that pretty much a human could do, there’s really no supernatural elements in the movie like transforming a mermaid into a human or a magical wish granting genie. Mulan gets to where she is by just working hard and being smart. Mushu didn’t think to light that rocket to take out the Huns on the mountain. He was complaining. Mulan was brave enough to charge the entire army herself and set up the rocket because she noticed the pile up of snow that she could easily break into an avalanche. She literally just used Mushu as a lighter but that was all her. When she shot the arrow to keep her and Shen from falling off the cliff that wasn’t a magic arrow or guided by her guardian spirit. Mushu was her guardian and he was panicking the whole time there. Mulan trained herself to be an excellent shot and was the sole reason that arrow landed in her friends hands. After that it was just pulling them up. You completely delete Mushu from almost the whole scene and it still works just fine. Mulan was a great film and was way more grounded then I feel many believed it would be. That destroyed village hits hard. It shows the dead Chinese army. It didn’t imply things may have happened it let kids know that good men, women, and CHILDREN had died. Mulan could relate to the little girl who owned that doll. A child could relate. I genuinely wouldn’t have changed a thing about it. I would have rather pay extra for a shot for shot live action remake then for this adaptation. If they said it wasn’t related to the original in ANY way then this works fine I’m not mad. But that’s clearly not the case when you can hear the instrumentals of the songs(also why just have instrumentals when you know people love the songs, why because a musical number isn’t realistic with your matrix Huns and shape shifting witches😂). It’s fine as it’s own thing but it’s poor as an adaptation to the animated film.

[@Kaddel]

Thank you for this review. So I know now for sure, that I didn't miss anything, for not watching it. And for sparing me just another awful Lovestory with no lasting impact and revalance for the Story.

[@LordHayabusa85]

I’m guessing the emperor has “chi powers” because of the “mandate of heaven” that all emperors are expected to live by and uphold.

[@Max14211]

A long way off that 1,000subs lol. Well done and certainly well earned

[@rodrigodelcidq]

I'm really glad i found you, i love your content

[@flyingteacup8369]

21:16 I love how in just a few seconds he goes on such an emotional rollercoaster 😂

[@weedpuncher036]

Mary Sue 2020.......there..... fixed the title edit: love youre vids by the way...

[@Nikku4211]

This really does feel like a review from over 10 years ago. You did a good job here.

[@greymonku]

Yes please give us more reviews of mythology based movies and shows. I really loved this and your Percy Jackson review

[@bobsandvegana]

This guy deserves more subs

[@drowningincats3921]

This was such a genuinely good review.

[@simonrief1013]

Everytime you summarize the original animated movie I get the nostalgic shivers XD

[@peterbarlow5709]

The thing that I found most baffling is that it’s established at the start that Chi is for men, and Mulan has to hide her Chi because women aren’t allowed to have it. But then once she disguised herself as a man, she still tries to cover it up because she thinks it will expose her. Even the main character doesn’t know what the rules of the movie are

[@NidotheKing]

Realistic people seeing superpowers: "That shits AWESOME" Mulan 2020: "A girl with powers? FOR SHAAAME"

[@Novitiate001]

Another thing is that, at the start, when she catches the pottery, that’s actually Celadon Pottery, which I’m pretty sure was actually from Korea, making it even less culturally accurate.

[@ryannewell607]

the marry poppins reference just tied it all into a nice little bow hahah

[@Julian_Ree_Kyrell]

21:13 I laughed sooooo hard. I'm sure Disney wanted to have Ming-Na Wen in a bigger role, but she turned down and at least came for a cameo.