Disney has released a new live-action adaptation of their 1998 animated film ‘Mulan’. The film is one of the first big releases since the coronavirus pandemic brought the industry to a standstill.
However, the film is now facing calls for a boycott by Hong Kong protesters and their sympathizers. Liu Yifei, who plays Mulan, has been reported to have made comments supporting Hong Kong police. The police have been accused of violent behavior towards protesters in Hong Kong.
Demonstrations occurred last year in Hong Kong against a law that would allow extradition from Hong Kong to China. Yifei, at this time of unrest, shared a post from a government-run Chinese newspaper. It read, “I support the Hong Kong police. You can all attack me now. What a shame for Hong Kong.”
The film is based on the Chinese Folklore ‘The Ballad of Mulan’. Mulan is a girl who pretends to be a man and joins the army to stop her elderly father from going to war. The 1998 animated version was especially popular with it’s hit musical numbers ‘Reflection’ and ‘I’ll Make a Man Out of You.’
The live-action ‘Mulan’ was released on Disney+ with premier access priced at £19.99. Mulan will be available to all Disney+ subscribers on 4th December 2020.