Lauren 2020 01 31~2.mp4
Mulan is a 2020 American fantasy action drama film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Niki Caro from a screenplay by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Lauren Hynek, and Elizabeth Martin, it is a live-action adaptation of Disney's 1998 animated film of the same name, itself based on the Chinese folklore story Ballad of Mulan. The film stars Yifei Liu in the title role, alongside Donnie Yen, Tzi Ma, Jason Scott Lee, Yoson An, Ron Yuan, Gong Li, and Jet Li in supporting roles. In the film, Hua Mulan, the eldest daughter of an honored warrior, masquerades as a man to take her ailing father's place during a general conscription to counter the Rouran army in Imperial China.
Lauren 2020 01 31~2.mp4
Mulan held its world premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on March 9, 2020. The film was originally scheduled for a wide theatrical release later that month, but was cancelled in the United States after being delayed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequently, the film was released on September 4, 2020 by Disney+ for a premium fee known as Premier Access in countries where the service had launched.[6] The film had a traditional theatrical release in countries without Disney+ where theaters had re-opened.
On March 30, 2015, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Disney had restarted development of the live-action adaptation with Chris Bender and J. C. Spink producing, while Elizabeth Martin and Lauren Hynek would be writing the screenplay.[27] On October 4, 2016, it was announced that Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver would rewrite the script, combining the Chinese ballad and the 1998 animated film, while Jason T. Reed would be producing the film along with Bender and Jake Weiner.[28] On February 27, 2020, Reed said that Mulan's sidekick from the original film, Mushu, was removed due to the character's negative reception in China.[12] Reed also said, aside from both the original ballad and the animated film, the filmmakers drew inspiration from different Chinese adaptations of the ballad while writing the film. He stated that, since "[t]he traditional Disney audience and the diaspora Asian audience viewed the movie in one way, and the traditional Chinese in China audience viewed a slightly different way," the filmmakers "dug in to try and make sure that [they are] addressing both of those audiences in a thoughtful way."[12]
Christina Aguilera, who previously performed an end-credits version of "Reflection" for the original film,[43] confirmed during a performance in The Xperience that she had recorded a new version of "Reflection," as well as new material for the remake's soundtrack.[44][45] She also recorded an original single titled "Loyal Brave True".[46] The song was written by Jamie Hartman, Harry Gregson-Williams, Rosi Golan and Billy Crabtree, and produced by Jamie Hartman. The song was also released in Spanish, as "El Mejor Guerrero." A Mandarin-version of the song, titled "自己" ("Zìjǐ"), performed by Yifei Liu was also featured in the soundtrack album.[47] The soundtrack album was released by Walt Disney Records on September 4, 2020.
On July 7, 2019, the official teaser trailer and the official teaser poster were released during the broadcast of the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup Final.[19] The teaser trailer was viewed 175.1 million times in its first 24 hours, including 52 million from China, making it the seventh most viewed trailer in that time period.[48] On September 30, an exclusive photo featuring Liu as a soldier in the Imperial Army was released on Empire's upcoming Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker issue.[49] On October 24, a prequel novel written by writer Grace Lin was announced along with a preview being made available online. Entitled Mulan: Before the Sword, the novel was released on February 11, 2020.[50] On November 4, a video clip filmed during a Toho cinema preview was leaked online, featuring new shots of Mulan as a warrior battling fiercely and taking off her hair band.[51] On November 6, Liu was featured as one of the 25 stars of Next Gen Talent 2019 nominated by The Hollywood Reporter with two new studio stills released concurrently.[52] As a result of delaying its original March 2020 release, film executives estimated that each time the film was delayed it cost Disney between $200,000 and $400,000 in marketing fees, a figure that could reach $5 million if it was moved out of the summer season altogether.[53] Variety estimated that Disney spent around $50 million on global advertisement for the film, with Deadline Hollywood attributing $35 million of the marketing budget to TV ads.[54][55]
Mulan's world premiere was held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on March 9, 2020.[57] The film was originally scheduled for a November 2, 2018 theatrical release, but was delayed, with The Nutcracker and the Four Realms taking its slot.[29] It was rescheduled for March 27, 2020[58][59] before being removed from the release calendar due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[60] The film later rescheduled for July 24, 2020, taking the former slot of Jungle Cruise,[61] and then was delayed again to August 21, 2020.[62] On July 23, the film was removed from the release calendar once again.[63][64][65]
On August 4, 2020, Disney announced that it was cancelling the film's theatrical release in the United States, and would instead premiere the film on Disney+ with Premier Access for a premium fee on September 4, 2020.[66] Mulan was available for the purchase until November 2, 2020, and was made available for free to all subscribers on December 4.[67] The film was not offered in France as a premium offering, instead releasing to Disney+ subscribers in the country for free at a later date.[68] Speaking about the US$29.99 price point for the film in the United States, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said, "We're trying to establish a new premiere access window to capture [the] investment we got [in the film]... From our research under a premiere access offering, not only does it get us revenue from our original transaction of PVOD, but it's a fairly large stimulus to sign up for Disney+."[66] The premium fee was approximately US$26.00 in other countries when considering conversion rates for their native currencies.[68] Unlike other premium VOD releases that feature a 48-hour viewing window, Mulan remains available to renters for as long as they stay subscribed to Disney+.[69]
In September 2020, 135 British MPs signed a letter condemning China's human rights abuses, addressed to Liu Xiaoming, Chinese ambassador to the U.K. The petition was written in response of a BBC video detailing the production of Mulan.[84][85] On October 7, 2020, British politician Iain Duncan Smith sent an email to Disney, criticizing the filming in Xinjiang, with Disney defending it, saying, "it is standard practice across the film industry worldwide to acknowledge in a film's credits the cooperation, approvals, and assistance provided by various entities and individuals over the course of a film's production." Smith responded by saying, "Disney's corporate policy does not appear to care about the human rights issues," on Twitter.[86]
In a February 27, 2020 interview, film producer Jason T. Reed said that Mulan's love interest from the original film, Captain Li Shang, was dropped in response to the MeToo movement. In his statement, he explained that "having a commanding officer that is also the sexual love interest was very uncomfortable and we didn't think it was appropriate".[90] The reasoning behind the removal was met with social media backlash from fans of the original film and members of the LGBTQ community, who deemed Shang's relationship with Mulan's male alter ego Ping to be bisexual.[91][92] Reed was initially surprised by criticism of Shang's removal, but acknowledged that the character had become an "LGBTQ icon",[93] and clarified that Shang's role would be served by two new characters, Commander Tung and Chen Honghui.[91][93]
In September 2020, Cynthia Vinney of CBR wrote that Honghui's interactions with Mulan were "more homoerotic" than Li Shang's in the animated version and likewise "can be read as bisexual".[94] Lauren Puckett of Harper's Bazaar wrote "Some fans understood and agreed with the #MeToo argument. Others found it offensive, arguing that Shang would never use his commanding position to coerce a woman into romance. He waited until after she was no longer under his command to pursue any sort of romantic relationship. And anyway, it was Mulan who had the crush on him! [...] Despite [Honghui's] attraction, he hardly has the same respect for her that brave and beautiful Li Shang did."[95]
In its first weekend of being available on other digital platforms, Mulan was the top-rented film on FandangoNow, and third on both Apple TV and Google Play.[107] In its second weekend in the open market, the film placed second at Fandango, fourth on Google Play, and fifth at Apple TV.[108] In October 2020, The Hollywood Reporter said the film was the most popular PVOD title amid the COVID-19 pandemic,[109] and the following month Variety reported the film was the sixth-most watched straight-to-streaming title of 2020 up to that point.[110]
Mulan grossed $5.9 million from nine countries in its international opening weekend, including $1.2 million in Thailand and $700,000 in Singapore, both of which were the highest debuts of 2020 in the respective countries. It also made $800,000 in both the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.[111][112] In its second weekend the film made $29.1 million from 17 countries, including $1.8 million in Russia and finishing first in Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia, and South Africa.[113] Through three weekends the film had grossed $57 million internationally.[114]
Mulan was poorly received by Chinese critics and audiences. The film scored 4.7 out of 10 on the rating site Douban after its debut.[130] Reviewers on Douban contended that the film had flat characters and a bland story with details that did not make sense. Many people also appeared unsatisfied with how the film handles certain Chinese cultural elements. One of the more common complaints about the film is its treatment of qi. Qi is a traditional idea in martial arts and Chinese medicine concerning a person's energy flow. But in Mulan, qi becomes a magical power that the eponymous heroine possesses. That power is limited by dishonesty, keeping Mulan from realizing her full potential until she strips away her disguise as a man. Other Chinese viewers complained about some of the characters' make-up, saying that it reflects Western stereotypes of China, rather than being a reflection of actual Chinese culture.[131][132] As of December 2020[update], it scored 5.0.[133] 041b061a72