Mulan Live-Action vs. Animated: Which Disney Movie Version Is Better
Disney's live-action remake of Mulan might be closer to the poem it's based on, but it's very different from the 1998 Disney animated classic. While both movies tell Mulan's story as she impersonates a man to join the Imperial Army, the 1998 film was an animated, musical comedy packed with jokes and memorable songs. The 2020 remake takes a very different approach, treating Mulan as a serious, gritty war movie with stunning combat sequences, but only a passing resemblance to the original film. Both movies attempt to tell Mulan's story as a woman finding her place in Imperial China, but only one film succeeded.
The 1998 animated Mulan was part of the Disney Renaissance, signaling the studio's return to making critically and mostly commercially successful films based on well-known stories. Mulan followed the critically acclaimed but commercial failure Hercules. Mulan was praised for its original songs, which pack significant exposition into just a few minutes, and are irresistibly joyful. It was also praised for the wide cast of colorful, supporting characters that surrounded Mulan and her commander, Li Shang. However, Mulan was significantly different from its source material, the poem "The Ballad of Mulan," and was heavily criticized for its inaccurate portrayal of Chinese culture.
The 2020 live-action remake Mulan is much closer to "The Ballad of Mulan", but sacrifices the things that made the 1998 Mulan so beloved, including the songs and almost every supporting character. Shot in the style of the Chinese film genre wuxia - stylized martial arts movies set in ancient China - this Mulan follows its protagonist as she again joins the Imperial Army to defend the Emperor. The live-action Mulan has a talented, all-Chinese cast, and made significant strides towards accurate portraying Chinese culture. Although both Mulan's have their strengths and weaknesses, only one Mulan is a truly great movie.
There are major differences in both movies, even with Mulan herself. The animated Mulan, voiced by Ming-Na Wen, is a normal girl who is not prepared for the life picked out for her and is the only daughter of her parents. She faces significant pressure to get married and bring honor to her family. When Mulan joins the army, she becomes a better warrior alongside the rest of the soldiers - but it's her cleverness and savvy that make Mulan stand out. The live-action Mulan, however, is supernaturally gifted and ostracized for her powers. She is close to her sister and misunderstood by her parents. Both versions of Mulan face a world where they don't fit it, but the live-action Mulan is actively feared by her village for being a witch.
Unlike the animated Mulan, who is an active force in shaping her own destiny, the live-action Mulan joins the Imperial Army and the rest of the plot simply happens to her. In the animated film, Mulan comes up with the plan to trigger an avalanche and take out the Hun army, proving her worth as a soldier and becoming China's hero. Mulan 2020 takes away some of her agency and the animated Mulan is undoubtedly the better character, and she drives every part of the story.
One of the casualties in the live-action Mulan was the colorful cast of supporting characters, who are reduced to almost nothing. While some characters are cut outright, such as Eddie Murphu's dragon guardian Mushu and Li Shang, almost all of Mulan's fellow soldiers have a significantly smaller part as well. In the animated film, her relationships with them are well-developed - mostly in the songs "I'll Make A Man Out Of You" and "A Girl Worth Fighting For" - and they appear in the entire movie. In the live-action Mulan, almost none of the soldiers get any meaningful development, except for a few moments with Mulan's new love interest Chen Honghui. On the other hand, Mulan 2020 had a much better villain in the witch Xianniang, who identifies with Mulan's reputation as a witch but reacts very differently to how Mulan does. However, even Xianniang suffers from under-development and her ending comes out of nowhere at break-neck speed. Overall, the animated Mulan had a much more compelling cast of supporting characters.
Mulan 2020 and the animated Mulan tell very different versions of the same story, based on the Chinese poem "The Ballad of Mulan." While the live-action remake is more faithful to the source material, the animated Mulan ultimately tells a better story. Mulan succinctly sets up the premise of the film in the first few minutes and economically introduces the supporting cast. It frames Mulan's journey as a woman not cut out for her life finding a way to live a new one, not as a supernatural warrior trying to be accepted. The animated Mulan tells its story without putting down the experiences of the other women with the matchmaker and is sympathetic to all of their experiences. Additionally, it gives a satisfying arc to all the wide characters, and it accomplishes everything in under 90 minutes.
Unfortunately, the live-action Mulan turns her story into a supernatural one as opposed to a human one, while cutting down the backstory of every other character. The live-action movie is also a full half-hour longer but doesn't take advantage of the extra time to tell a better story. Instead, the movie drags and sags in the middle. While Mulan 2020 might have introduced a better villain with Xianniang, neglecting the rest of the characters and changing Mulan's arc made the story weaker.
Disney's animated Mulan not only has better music than Mulan 2020, it has some of the best original songs of all Disney movies. The animated Mulan is full of gorgeous orchestration composed by Jerry Goldsmith, but the standouts are the vocal performances in "Honor To Us All," "Reflection," "I'll Make A Man Out Of You," and "A Girl Worth Fighting For." Not only are Mulan's songs great, but each one manages to pack in both character moments and exposition, propelling the story forward while entertaining at the same time. Fans were disappointed when Mulan 2020 got rid of the songs to preserve to the live-action remake's realistic style, although it did ultimately incorporate instrumental versions of some of the songs. Mulan 2020's primarily moody score was composed by Harry Gregson-Williams, but the songs didn't live up to the excellent soundtrack from the animated Mulan. While the score was better for the gritty atmosphere in Mulan 2020, it lacked the narrative importance that the animated Mulan's songs ultimately had.
If there's one category where Mulan 2020 is undoubtedly better, it's the action scenes. The epic battles are elegantly choreographed, following Mulan as she moves between the soldiers like a wraith. When the avalanche is triggered, the camera masterfully portrays both armies - the Imperial Army and the Rourans - as they abandon their battles to try and escape the onslaught of snow while Mulan rescues love interest Chen Honghui. However, the animated film shows very little action for a movie about war, mostly showing the aftermath of the Hun's ransacking China, building up to the final battle with Shan Yu at the end. Even there, Mulan's final battle in Mulan 2020 with Bori Khan is tense and stunningly shut, overshadowing the final battle in the animated film, and ending with his death by her supernatural hands.
Ultimately, the animated Mulan is a better movie. Mulan is a stronger and more relatable protagonist, the movie is packed with a cast of supporting characters that all have well-developed arcs, and the music makes up one of Disney's best soundtracks. It's a stellar example of the Disney Renaissance era and tells a better and more fulfilling story than the live-action Mulan. Mulan 2020 did a better job with the action sequences, had a more compelling villain with Xianniang, and was far closer to the source material - but it was too long, and turned Mulan into a one-dimensional character. Mulan 2020 tried to make up for the whitewashing of the animated Mulan with a talented, all-Chinese cast and a more considered approach to Chinese culture, but the weak screenplay wasted that potential. Fans can find something in Mulan 2020 to appreciate, but ultimately it's the 1998 animated Mulan that is the better movie.