Hua Mulan, Disney’s recreation of the legendary figure who took her dad’s place to fight in the war through bravery and perseverance, saved her nation; however, the actress who plays Hua Mulan has become controversial as of late because of her expressing support for police violence. 

Disney poured $200 million into the 2020 live action remake of the 1998 classic “Mulan.” However, the film sparked crowds of backlash from the “Mulan” star Yifei Liu’s support of Hong Kong police, the filming in Xinjiang and white-washing complaints. 

In 2019, Liu posted an image saying, “I support Hong Kong’s police. You can all beat me up now,” as the Hong Kong police were accused of using violence on pro-democracy protesters. 

Liu’s comments turned off many fans of the 1998 animation as #BoycottMulan trended on Twitter a year prior to the film’s release. 

“The star tweeting support for the Hong Kong police who, in all intents and purposes seem to be suppressing Democratic expressions and advocacy in terms of civil rights and civil liberty … and that’s problematic,” said Novotny Lawrence, associate professor in the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication. 

He also said viewers should keep in mind that they’re watching actors play characters, and their political standpoint might not always align with the characters they’re portraying. 

For many people, the controversies regarding “Mulan” haven’t soured their taste. 

“It’s just a person’s political standpoint, just like some people [are] pro-Democrat and some people are pro-Republican,” Yanglong Wang, junior in philosophy, said in response to Liu’s statement on Hong Kong. 

There was another controversy in which Disney also received criticism for filming in Xinjiang near internment camps hosting Chinese Muslims. Disney also credited authorities in Xinjiang linked to those camps. 

“These global entities, like Disney, you always have to do your homework to make sure. … You’re not even inadvertently supporting the oppression of other people,” Lawrence said. 

He continued to say that Disney paid to film in Xinjiang and has acknowledged the religious persecution there. 

“That’s the problem with big corporations, you have to be mindful of that and you have to be a part of the solution, not the problem,” Lawrence said. 

On the other hand, many people, including Lawrence, have acknowledged Disney’s priority is to profit. 

“Disney can film and credit whomever they want,” Wang said. “They’re a company; their goal is to make money.” 

Apart from the political controversies, Disney has also been slammed for their predominantly white production team in charge of “Mulan” and the inaccurate portrayal of history.  

Tao Wang, a Chinese history professor, said he isn’t offended by the white production team but questioned the authenticity of Disney’s “Mulan.”

“People believe her family name is Hua, it’s not true,” Tao Wang said. “… Her family name is Mulan, and also, she should be an ethnic minority, she’s not Han Chinese.” 

Producer Jason Reed said the changes made to the 2020 live action film are meant to respect Chinese culture and accurately portray history. One change switched the Mongols’ role as the antagonists in the 1998 animation to the Rourans in the 2020 remake. 

“Mongols did not exist back then, but Rouran was remotely related to them,” Tao Wang said. “… You can see the effort to be accurate to history.”

Despite the changes, the 2020 live action was not well received by Chinese people. They were displeased at the film’s modification into American Chinese culture, he said. 

“I don’t think it’s going to represent Mulan in history,” Yanglong Wang said. “I think that was Disney’s intention, but I don’t think they did a successful job. … I’m just going to regard it as a completely new movie.”

Lawrence said in order to recount the story correctly, there has to be the influence of East Asians involved and leading the film, allowing them to tell the story. 

“You have to have the people that you’re making the movie about be involved,” Lawrence said.