It was a combination of factors, which can be summed up to three points: collateral damage for Kundun, the limited release, and the foreign-looking story.

Why did the Chinese not like Mulan?

Wáng Xiāo 王骁, an agitator from the nationalist website Guancha.cn, suggested on Weibo (in Chinese) that Disney had usurped China's “discursive power,” or “the power to interpret our own culture.” This resonated with many viewers, who were angered by the movie's presentation of “a Western understanding of Chinese ...

Why was Mulan so controversial?

The film also drew ire for filming in Xinjiang, a region of China where Uighur Muslims have been detained in mass internment camps. The film has also been accused of being too white behind the camera.

Why did Mulan get boycotted?

The boycott centers on two Chinese issues: The treatment of Uyghur Muslims in China's Xinjiang region -- where some of the film was shot -- and China's crackdown of freedoms in Hong Kong.

Why did the Chinese hate Mushu?

USC professor Stanley Rosen said the character was seen as trivializing Chinese culture by Chinese moviegoers. "Mushu was very popular in the U.S., but the Chinese hated it," they said. "This kind of miniature dragon trivialized their culture."

Chinese People HATE Mulan... and it's Hilarious!

Why did Disney remove Mushu from Mulan?

Though the director shared that Mushu was removed to allow Mulan to better enhance her relationships with her fellow soldiers, his absence may have also been more about not offending viewers, who found Mushu to be insensitive in the 1998 animated feature.

How does China feel about Mulan?

Chinese critics, both at home and abroad, said they were disappointed with the film's inaccurate and stereotypical portrayals of Chinese history and the main character, infused with nationalist tropes. Others were not as bothered.

What is the new Mulan controversy?

And this month, keen-eyed critics noticed that part of the movie was filmed in the Chinese region of Xinjiang. Disney thanked Xinjiang authorities in the credits. The Chinese government is accused of persecuting Muslims in Xinjiang in the name of fighting terrorism. Calls for a boycott of "Mulan" have grown.

What is the controversy with Mulan on Disney plus?

Some viewers who paid to stream the movie on Disney+ last weekend found something troubling in the credits: Disney thanked eight government bodies in Xinjiang, a western province in China where around 2 million Uighur Muslims have been forced into concentration camps by the Chinese government.

What is the controversy with Mulan and Hong Kong?

Based on a Chinese folk story, the film has provoked a backlash in the Chinese-ruled city and elsewhere over its star's comments of support for Hong Kong police during protests last year and for being partly filmed in the Xinjiang region.

Is Mulan allowed in China?

China, where Disney+ is not available, is one of the few significant markets where “Mulan” will screen in movie theaters.

Why did Mulan 2 get negative reviews?

The biggest issue is this film features way less action than it's predecessor and way less Mulan (she practically disappears in the middle of the film). Mulan's bickering with Shang is also very badly written. Yet, minor complaints. Overall a decent film.

Why did Mulan flop live-action?

“…it seemed really unfinished and like the producers didn't '“try'” to make it look good… the filming seemed very cheap and unfinished. It seemed like they went with their own story instead of taking it from the classic animated Mulan. As if they went a whole other direction…,” said Addison Lake, freshman.

Is Mulan 1998 culturally accurate?

Mulan (1998)

The film is speckled with minor historical infractions. For instance, the Chinese characters Mulan writes on her arm at the beginning of the film are a form of writing which didn't exist in the fifth century, the time period in which “Mulan” takes place.

What is the controversy with Mulan and China?

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.

Why did they change Mulan's last name?

Though Mulan did not have a surname in the original ballad, Hua Mulan eventually became her most commonly known name. According to Vulture, the '98 movie renamed her to Fa Mulan—a Cantonese rendering more closely related to the “Fa Mu Lan” of Chinese-American Maxine Hong Kingston's memoir, The Woman Warrior.

What is the controversy with Mulan 1998?

While "Mulan" is only loosely based on the mythical tale of Hua Mulan, China's official Xinhua news agency said she was too "foreign-looking" in her Disney incarnation and "her complexion, disposition, and manner of behaviour were different from an [authentic] Chinese character," the BBC reported in 1999.

Is Mulan Based on a true story?

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.

Why did they add a witch to Mulan?

Mulan could be a force of nature. But the Witch exists to show Mulan and the audience that these two women are also limited by same inevitable constraint: their gender. Because they are women, neither one is respected by their peers or their enemies. The Witch represents the endpoint of Mulan's journey.

Is Mulan 1998 allowed in China?

Reception in China

Finally, after a year's delay, the Chinese government did allow the film a limited Chinese release, but only after the Chinese New Year, so as to ensure that local films dominated the more lucrative holiday market.

Did China like the Mulan remake?

Even though Disney bent over backwards to create a live-action “Mulan” that would appeal to China, disgruntled Chinese viewers have dubbed it “the worst 'Mulan' in history,” saying that it feels “wooden” and offensively inauthentic.

Was Mulan a hit or flop?

So while Mulan didn't turn out to be the blockbuster hit Disney anticipated, and while the VOD results aren't as strong as the studio hoped, I'd argue that for a film with so much baggage it'll wind up making enough on theatrical and VOD to help cover its costs and enjoy some additional merchandising boost.

Why didn't they add the dragon in Mulan?

As you might suspect, the reasonings for removing Mushu very much hinged on the fact that this version of Mulan was attempting to be more realistic (after all, it is a live-action movie!).