History Film / Mulan2020

* AdaptationalJerkass: Unlike in the original film, where the Matchmaker had plenty of valid reasons to be angry at Mulan, here the whole debacle starts because the Matchmaker kicks the table over in a panic due to a spider. Mulan manages to grab all of the items, but she falls and they break anyway. Instead of admitting it was her fault, the Matchmaker throws the entire blame for the debacle on Mulan.

* DecompositeCharacter: Captain Li Shang has been split into Commander Tung and Chen Honghui in this version.

* AdaptationalJerkass: Unlike in the origian film, where the Matchmaker had plenty of vaild reasons to be angry at Mulan, here the whole debacle starts because the Matchmaker kicks the table over in a panic due to a spider. Mulan manages to grab all of the items, but she falls and they break anyway. Instead of admitting it was her fault, the Matchmaker throws the entire blame for the debacle on Mulan.

* MisplacedVegetation: Apples did not exist in China during the Northern Wei era.

** Xian Lang as a 'Witch.' Witches don't really figure into Chinese history and myth, as human women who practised magic would be highly respected rather than ostracised; even if a woman ''was'' punished for using magic to hurt someone, there was no persecution geared towards being female and doing magic in general. Xian Lang is closer to a demon or an evil spirit like Dai Ji the fox.

** Xian Lang as a 'Witch.' Witches don't really figure into Chinese history and myth, as human women who practised magic would be highly respected rather than ostracised; even if a woman ''was'' punished for using magic to hurt someone, there was no persecution specifically for being female and doing magic in general. Xian Lang is closer to a demon or an evil spirit like Dai Ji the fox.

** Xian Lang as a 'Witch.' Witches don't really figure into Chinese history and myth, as human women who practised magic would be highly respected rather than ostracised; even if a woman ''was'' criminalised for using magic to hurt someone, there was no persecution specifically for being female and doing magic in general. Xian Lang is closer to a demon or an evil spirit like Dai Ji the fox.

The film had a world premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 9, 2020. It was originally scheduled for wide release in the United States on March 27, 2020, but due to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic, it was postponed several times. The film would ultimately be released on September 4 through a premium, experimental Creator/DisneyPlus model while receiving a more traditional theatrical rollout in areas where theaters were open.

** Xian Lang as a 'Witch.' Witches don't really figure into Chinese history and myth, as human women who practised magic would be highly respected rather than ostracised; even if a woman ''was'' criminalised for using magic to hurt someone, there was no persecution specifically for being female and using magic in general. Xian Lang is closer to a demon or an evil spirit like Dai Ji the fox.

** Xian Lang as a 'Witch.' Witches don't really figure into Chinese history and myth, as women who practised magic would be highly respected rather than ostracised; if a woman ''did'' use her magic to hurt someone, her crime would be trying to harm that person rather than doing magic in general. Xian Lang is closer to a demon or an evil spirit like Dai Ji the fox.

* BrokenAesop: [[DownplayedTrope Downlplayed]]. While Mulan in the animated film and the original ballad has to struggle and work hard to prove herself, this version has a natural talent thanks to her chi and is immediately a master in everything. That said, the movie makes it quite clear that those same traits would be praised in a man, whereas they are scorned in women like Mulan and Xian Lang, an attitude that is justly presented as a bad thing.

** Xian Lang as a 'Witch.' Witches don't really figure into Chinese history and myth, as women who practised magic would be highly respected rather than ostracised; if she ''did'' use her magic to hurt someone, her crime would be trying to harm that person rather than doing magic in general. Xian Lang is closer to a demon or an evil spirit like Dai Ji the fox.

** The concept of Chi is misused enormously. Mulan's abilities come from it, but it's described as only for boys and warriors. Chi is in ''everyone'' as it's a concept of LifeEnergy, and in folklore anyone can learn to use it ''in time and with training;'' it's not some magic superpower you have from childhood.
** Xian Lang as a 'Witch.' Witches don't really figure into Chinese history and myth; Xian Lang is closer to a demon or an evil spirit like Dai Ji the fox.

** The concept of Chi is misused enormously. Mulan's abilities come from it, but it's described as only for boys and warriors. Chi is in everyone, not some magic superpower.
** Xian Lang as a 'Witch.' Witches don't really figure into Chinese history and myth; Xian Lang is closer to an evil spirit like Dai Ji the fox.

* BloodlessCarnage: Although the film is arguably the darkest and the most violent Disney remake to release with tons of onscreen deaths and portrayal of WarIsHell, ''not'' a single drop of blood is showed across the battles beside Xian Lang's wounded hand.
* BrokenAesop: While Mulan in the animated film and the original ballad has to struggle and work hard to prove herself, this version has a natural talent thanks to her qi and is immediately a master in everything, implying that only extremely talented women are worthy of respect and breaking the girl-empowering message the movie intends to deliver.

** Mulan's original voice actress, Creator/MingNaWen, appears as the guest who introduces Mulan at the victory celebration. She even wears an outfit that evokes the classic Mulan design.

* SparedByTheAdaptation: A large number of Rourans manage to survive the mountain battle and ensuing avalanche, in stark contrast to the animated film where only Shan Yu and his four elite generals survived.

* SquishyWizard: [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-zagged]]. Xian Lang is a powerful witch who can clearly fight, as her battles alongside Bori Khan and her duel against Mulan showed. On the other hand, all it takes is [[spoiler: a single arrow (at the chest) from Bori Khan to end her life... just like that]].

* YouAreNotAlone: When Mulan returns claiming that the Rourans have taken the Imperial City, a vast majority of the unit immediately volunteers to go with her.

** While the family war horse Khan is not in this version, Mulan is assisted by a war horse which strongly resembles him in the ridge battle (it even answers her whistle).

* BrokenAesop: More like "Altered Aesop". While Mulan in the animated film has to struggle and work hard to prove herself, this version has a natural talent. That said, it's made clear that her ''particular'' natural talents would be praised in a man, but are shunned in a woman, thus still exhibiting the sexism that the movie shuns.

** Mulan's enemies are the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rouran_Khaganate Rouran Khaganate]], who existed long before the Tang dynasty's founding. They were the likely antagonists of the original Mulan poem, but Mulan would've been an inhabitant of the bordering Northern Wei Empire, thus Xianbei rather than Han Chinese. The correct Northern neighbors to use for a film set in the Tang dynasty would have been the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uyghur_Khaganate Uyghur Khaganate]].

* AnachronismStew: All over the place, to the point that all in all, it doesn't know 'when' it wants to be.[[note]]In fairness, the original animated classic also contained quite a bit of this trope and didn't know 'when' it wanted to be either.[[/note]] To wit...
** The Tulou structures were built from the 12th century onward, while the ''Ballad of Mulan'' which is the ultimate source material, is set between the 4th to 6th centuries. On top of that, [[ArtisticLicenseGeography these structures only exist in the Fujian province of South-Eastern China, which is as far removed from the North as one can imagine]], yet the Huns are somehow close by. The Tulou were also inhabited by the Hakka which Mulan is not.[[note]]The last time a Nomadic army marched down south, they did so with an actual Chinese army, on foot, because cavalry is unsuitable in Southern China. Unless Mulan is drafted North, but that's difficult to believe since China was divided between North & South during that time.[[/note]]
** One scene features Mulan getting done up in what looks like Tang Dynasty makeup, but said dynasty existed from the 7th to 10th century.

** Mulan training with swords with her father when she was younger, and clearly having more combat experience than the rest of the recruits, is straight out of the original ballad which stated that Mulan's father had trained her to fight with weapons and martial arts.

* TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers: During Mulan's first day at camp,

* BrokenAesop: Mulan being naturally gifted actually takes away from the film's intended feminist themes. While Mulan in the animated film has to struggle and work hard to prove herself, this version seems to be naturally great at everything, giving the impression that "only ''special'' women are worthy of respect". [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZccG-wtt5FA Accented Cinema goes into more detail in this essay.]]