JUN YU IN MULAN MOVIE

While Li Shang is seen interested in Mulan after learning Mulan is a girl, Honghui isn’t. The interesting part is, Honghui is seen as more interested in getting to know Hua Jun.

JUN YU IN MULAN MOVIE

Their last interaction in the movie is just a half handshake, where we can neither see their faces nor their chemistry. We know that because, when the film ends, Honghui does not imply he ever loved Mulan. The 2020 film does not focus on Mulan’s romantic life. Yet, the interaction between Honghui and Hua Jun (Mulan’s undercover name) could even be interpreted as sexual exploration. The portrayal of the commandant and his soldier could be perceived as abuse of power. If you wonder why the 2020 version does not make Mulan fall in love with commander Li Shang, it’s because of the #MeToo movement. To what extent can women own their powers and earn their positions? How would women receive their consequences when they know the masculine culture calls them witches when they learn how strong women are? Their dynamics attempt to explore that question. These two characters are blatant juxtapositions on how women are often positioned amid the patriarchy. Xianniang too possesses strong chi, but when the people notice she’s a woman, she’s exiled and lived as a lone warrior whom people call as a witch. The legendary Gong Li’s character serves as the antithesis of Mulan. Her character’s journey is accepting the fact that she has the potential and accepts herself as she is. Since its first scene of the 2020 version, Mulan already possesses strong chi. She often wins her battle by her mind, not her muscle. The animation version described Mulan as a smart soldier. Unlike the animated version, Mulan is portrayed as a strong woman whose chi (mysterious energy described as a secret power warriors possess) is powerful. The other one is Honghui (Yoson An), Mulan's compatriot, who’s also her love interest. Among many characters, aside from Mulan herself, the most impactful changes are made to Xianniang the Witch (Gong Li), who possesses the shapeshifting abilities and works alongside the main antagonist, Bori Khan. Just like its live action predecessors, Mulan iterates the characters and its plot. The live-action film portrays strong women and the sexual exploration that subtly talks to the mainstream audience - and this provides more realness than the 1998 version. So, what does the 2020 version have that doesn’t occur in the animated version? And how would they provide realness? Many found the 2020 version less enjoyable than the animated version, which is understandable, because an adaptation is often compared to its source material. Clearly, a talking dragon, like Mushu, and musical sequences will make the film lack realness. The aforementioned examples also justify what kind of films Caro wants to direct.

In the live-action of Aladdin, during the “A Whole New World” musical sequence, as opposed to traveling the whole world by using the magic carpet, Aladdin and Jasmine fly around Agrabah, because practically it’s not realistic to travel around the world in one night on a magic carpet. In the dancing scene of the 2017 Beauty and the Beast, Belle and the Beast show intimacy by looking deeply at each other’s eyes. Understandable because the comical expression is more suitable in cartoons, and when real people portray comical expressions, they tend to be less realistic. The most contrasting treatment every live action has is probably the absence of comical humor in the characters. Aladdin (2019) gives Jasmine more depth and creates a character arc by making her a princess aspiring to be the sultan rather than just a rebellious girl who wants to run away from the palace.

In the live-action of Beauty and The Beast (2017), the character of Belle becomes the inventor and the Beast can read, in contrast to the animated version. In doing so, iterations toward the characters, the plots and the treatments are essential to attract both of the target audiences. Just like any other of Disney’s live-action films, their main objective in retelling these stories is to attract both older audiences who watched the animation and new, younger viewers who are not familiar with the film.

Jun yu in mulan