FAQ

Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, many theaters worldwide closed down as they were a non-essential business. Also, many restrictions for theaters when they reopened would have put the movie at a loss.

Mulan is based on a character from Chinese folklore. Her story has appeared in a number of works dating back to 4th century China. The first written record of Mulan comes from the folk song titled 'Ballad of Mulan'. Later a collected poem in a 12th-century anthology by author Guo Maoqian. Mulan also appeared in a 15th century play known as "The Female Mulan". Mulan has had several family names attached to her, including Zhu, Wei, and Hua - although the original ballad gave her no family name. There is still a debate whether Mulan is a historical person or just a legend.

Yes and no. Yes, it was marketed as a remake and retains some of the visual style, costumes, plot themes and most of the characters from the 1998 version. That said, it could equally be considered a re-adaptation instead. Notably, it's live-action and its more cheerful moments have been toned-down. Characters from the 1998 version (particularly the comic relief characters like Mushu and Chi-Fu) are not featured in this version. This version is more sombre and mature in its atmosphere than the animated version, and appears to have been an effort to more closely follow the classic basis, "The Ballad of Mulan", an old story which has inspired multiple adaptations of Mulan, including both Disney versions. The 2020 version was also made in a very different era and has cut back a bit on the stereotypes of China and Chinese people that the animated film had (which may be partially responsible for the removal of Mushu, a talking Chinese dragon). Unlike the similar remake of The Lion King, which used CGI and new voice actors to recreate the 1990's 2D animated film shot for shot, line by line, the 2020 Mulan has taken a more liberal approach with adapting the 1998 film that helped inspire it, opting for less comedy and fantasy, and more action and thematic feminism. The 2020 version, unlike many of Disney's live-action remakes hasn't relied much on the nostalgia angle and has instead gone with less vibrant colours than the 1998 version; the scenery, costumes and overall tone is noticeably different. Fans of both films may differ in personal opinion on whether this counts as a remake or a re-adaptation.

According to director Niki Caro, speaking with USAToday, Mushu was intentionally left out for "storytelling purposes". Producer Jason Reed further added that Mushu, according to the film's traditional Chinese audience, was not considered a good portrayal of Chinese culture: "That the dragon is a sign of respect and of strength and power and sort of using it as a silly sidekick did not play well with a traditional Chinese audience." Shang was, according to Jason Reed, not included in the 2020 version as a response to the #MeToo movement. It is unclear why the character Chi-Fu was not included; this side-character (the stuffy advisor to Shang in the 1998 film) was, much like Mushu, a comic relief character with exaggerated features and a high-pitched voice similar to the character Kahn from the cartoon TV series King of the Hill. Many changes were made in the 2020 version of Mulan, and these characters not being included for reasons of political correctness had stirred up some controversy even before the film's release on Disney+. According to Jason Reed, Shang's removal was due to the negative connotations for women of having a "commanding officer as a sexual love interest", which left some fans debating whether or not it was ever implied in the original film that Shang was ever stated to have a "sexual" relationship with Mulan, or if their relationship in the 1998 film was actually an abuse of power or not.

Disney announced a sequel to the film in April 2020 before it's premiere delayed to September that year. As of 2025, no further updates about the sequel has been announced. Some speculate that it may have been quietly shelved by Disney, given the amount of controversy the 2020 film received.