Sometime later, Mulan and Shang officially marry in Mulan's village, and Mushu accepts the loss of his position; however, Shang combines the family temples, enabling Mushu to continue being a guardian spirit. While celebrating, Mushu accidentally reveals himself to Shang and Mulan.
In the film, Li Shang falls in love with Mulan after she enters the army disguised as a male soldier named Ping. Queer fans have always claimed Li Shang as one of their own because of his close, loving relationship with both Ping and Mulan, even though Disney has never commented on the Chinese army general's sexuality.
Li Shang was a popular character in the original "Mulan," and many people considered him bisexual since he was clearly drawn to Mulan while she presented as a male soldier named Ping. However, the character was cut from Disney's live-action remake. The producer Jason Reed cited the #MeToo movement as the reason.
Mulan and Shang get married, and later combines both families' temples so that Mushu can remain as Mulan's guardian. In Chinese naming convention, personal names in Chinese, unlike Western names, present the family/clan name first.
Realizing that making Mulan break up with Shang only made her miserable, a guilt-ridden Mushu is forced to confess to Mulan of his actions. Learning of the misunderstanding and furious at Mushu for what he had done, Mulan, loses trust in him and is motivated to clear up the matter with Shang.
Mulan is devastated to discover her father has long died and her mother has remarried. According to the novel, Mulan's mother was surnamed Yuan (袁) and remarried a man named Wei (魏). Even worse, the Khan has summoned her to the palace to become his concubine. Rather than to suffer this fate, she commits suicide.
Shang turns up alive and meets up with Yao, Ling, Chien-Po and the princesses, and heads to Qui Gong. Shang interrupts the wedding and admits that Mulan was right about following her heart.
Mulan returned in Once Upon A Time's third season and the episode “Quite A Common Fairy” revealed something fans of the show had long suspected – that Mulan was in love with Aurora. Just as Mulan was about to confess her feelings, however, the princess revealed she was pregnant with Prince Phillip's baby.
"Using it as a silly sidekick didn't play very well with the traditional Chinese audience." But perhaps the most significant reason why the new Mulan film features a phoenix instead is due to the symbolism of the mythical bird for Chinese women in particular — or at least according to Caro's vision.
China blocked the release of Disney's animated “Mulan” for eight months in the late 1990s after the company backed Martin Scorsese's “Kundun,” a film seen as sympathetic to the Dalai Lama. The animated “Mulan” bombed in China as a result.
Mulan is a fictional folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century AD) of Chinese history. According to the legend, Mulan takes her aged father's place in the conscription for the army by disguising herself as a man.
Throughout the narrative, Honghui is unaware that Mulan is a female. Honghui, unaware that Mulan is a girl, inquires about her ideal woman. Mulan says that her ideal lady is bold, has a nice sense of humor, and is intelligent. Mulan confessed her true identity after coming home.
Fans of Disney's classic 1998 film Mulan know that the cartoon is arguably one of the studio's queerest works — even if that queerness is not explicitly stated. Actor BD Wong, who voices Captain Li Shang, the film's love interest, is now adding his two cents to the discourse.
Shang survives the accident and arrives in time to stop the wedding but ultimately Mulan is saved by Mushu who, posing as the mighty Golden Dragon of Unity, frees the three princesses from their vows, and marries Mulan and Li Shang himself causing Mulan to forgive him for his actions.
What is the controversy with the new Mulan actress?
In the lead up to its release, Disney's live-action Mulan has generated a surprising amount of political controversy. First, in 2019, star Liu Yifei spoke out in support of Hong Kong police despite law enforcement's brutal treatment of pro-democracy protesters.
For instance, a specific discrepancy in the original film is regarding Mulan's family name. It was changed from what it is commonly known as “Hua” in Chinese households to “Fa” in the film to create a character more comfortable for American audiences.
Early in the new film, the village matchmaker tells 16-year-old Mulan (Liu Yifei) a good wife is “composed, graceful, polite” and “when a wife serves her husband, she must be silent, invisible.” Mulan fails to embody these long-held virtues of an ideal Chinese girl, and her father exhorts Mulan to hide her special qi.
Many even believe Shang was attracted to Mulan when she was presenting as Ping. For Honghui, that could have been the case, but we don't really get to see his attraction to Jun or Mulan flourish before the credits roll. So is the live-action film better off without Mulan's true love? Not exactly.
While the original poem doesn't describe her father as old or ailing, as later versions did, it says that there were no adult sons in the household to take his place. After 12 years of war, Mulan returns to her hometown along with her comrades, who are shocked to learn that she is a woman.
See, Mulan comes from the Fa family, thus making her full (fake) name "Fa Ping," which means "flower vase." But the term is also used to describe a woman whose only real skill is to stand there, look nice, and "Don't you worry your pretty little head 'bout it none," just like an actual flower vase.
Unfortunately for fans of this princess, Mulan II did terribly. Critics regarded the film as a huge disrespect to the original Mulan. This discouraged Disney from pursuing her story any further, so Mulan III was shelved and Ana Ming never made it anywhere.
“We split Li Shang into two characters,” Reed explained. “One became Commander Tung (Donnie Yen) who serves as her surrogate father and mentor in the course of the movie. The other is Honghui (Yoson An) who is [Mulan's] equal in the squad.” But why would they change such a popular, iconic character?
In II, she literally is just this girl who teaches younger girls how to fight, not as a job but just because they beg her to. The whole plot is to get girls to marry princes, and the "happy ending" is Mulan marries Shang.
