Mulan

## Watch on Disney+

***Mulan*** is a 2020 film on Disney+. It was released on the service and in theatres at the same time. It is a live action adaptation of the 1998 film of the same name also *The Ballad of Mulan*. A sequel is possible.

## Plot

In Imperial China, Hua Mulan is an adventurous and active girl, to the disappointment of her parents Zhou and Li, who hope that one day she will be wed to a good husband. As a young woman, Mulan is arranged to meet with a matchmaker to demonstrate her fitness as a future wife. Mulan, flustered, attempts to pour tea in front of the matchmaker, but a spider scares the former's younger sister Xiu, accidentally causing a mishap that destroys the teapot, leading the matchmaker to call her a disgrace in front of her family.

To the north, an imperial outpost is invaded by Rouran warriors, under the leadership of Böri Khan. They are assisted by the witch Xianniang, who uses her magic to pose as a surviving soldier and report the attack to the Emperor of China; he then issues a conscription decree ordering every family to contribute one man to fight Khan's forces.

Imperial soldiers arrive in Mulan's village to enlist recruits and Zhou is forced to pledge his service as he has no sons, immediately falling over in front of the soldiers due to his crippled leg. Realizing that her father has no chance of survival, Mulan flees with his armor, horse, and sword to join in his place. Mulan arrives at the training camp, which is run by Commander Tung, an old comrade of Zhou. Alongside dozens of other inexperienced recruits, she ultimately becomes a trained soldier under his tutelage without exposing her true identity.

The Khan's army continues to advance, forcing Tung to end training early and send his battalion to fight. Mulan chases some troops on her own, but is confronted by Xianniang, who mocks her for pretending to be a man. She attempts to kill Mulan, but her attacks are stopped by the leather with which Mulan's chest had been bound to hide her identity. Mulan removes her male disguise, returning to the battle just as the Rourans begin attacking her fellow troops with a trebuchet. Mulan uses discarded helmets and her archery skills to maneuver the trebuchet into firing on a snowy mountain, triggering an avalanche that buries the Rourans.

Mulan rides back to camp and rescues Chen Honghui, a soldier she befriended in camp. Unable to hide her true gender any longer, she is expelled from the army and begins her return home. On her way, she is confronted by Xianniang, who reveals that she was also shunned by her people and fights for Böri Khan only because he treats her as an equal and that no one else does. Additionally, she reveals that the attacks on the outposts have been a diversion, as Khan's true plan is to capture and execute the Emperor for having his father killed. Risking execution, Mulan returns to her battalion to warn them of the impending capture. The soldiers she befriended stand up for her, and Tung decides to believe her, and allows her to lead a unit to the Emperor's palace.

Xianniang uses her magic to be in the image of the Imperial Chancellor and persuades the Emperor to accept Böri Khan's challenge to single combat, while removing the city guards from their posts. The guards are murdered, and the Rourans prepare to burn the Emperor alive. Mulan's unit distracts the Rourans while Mulan goes to save the Emperor. Khan tries to snipe her with an arrow, but Xianniang, sympathetic to Mulan and disenchanted from Khan, transforms into an hawk and sacrifices herself by intercepting the arrow. Mulan kills Khan, but not before he disarms her and destroys her father's sword. She frees the Emperor, who offers to let her join his personal guard. She declines the offer and returns to her village.

Mulan is reunited with her family. An emissary from the Emperor, under the leadership of Commander Tung, arrives to present Mulan with a new sword, while making a personal request that she join the Imperial Army as an officer.

## Cast

* Yifei Liu as Mulan
* Donnie Yen as Commander Tung
* Li Gong as Xianniang
* Jet Li as Emperor
* Jason Scott Lee as Böri Khan
* Yoson An as Honghui
* Tzi Ma as Zhou
* Rosalind Chao as Li
* Pei-Pei Cheng as Matchmaker
* Xana Tang as Xiu
* Ron Yuan as Sergeant Qiang
* Jun Yu as Cricket
* Chen Tang as Yao
* Doua Moua as Po
* Jimmy Wong as Ling
* Nelson Lee as Chancellor
* Hoon Lee as Village Magistrate
* Crystal Rao as Young Mulan
* Elena Askin as Young Xiu
* Vincent Feng as Longwei
* R.J. O'Young as Young Soldier (as RJ O'Young)
* Roger Yuan as Duba Tegin
* Jenson Cheng as Tulugui Tegin
* Arka Das as Red Fez
* Ming-Na Wen as Esteemed Guest
* Jen Sung as Kilifu Tegin (as Jen Kuo Sung)
* King Lau as Bati Tegin
* Zhaidarbek Kunguzhinov as Stallion Tegin
* Gary Young as Garrison Commander
* Wolf Chen as Garrison Scout
* Owen Kwong as Senior Officer
* Jo Lo as Fong Lin
* Heidi Chen as Frightened Girl
* Michael Chun Long Yip as Garrison Guard #1
* Peter Qi as Garrison Guard #2
* Jia Yang as Scout #1
* Dante Pang as Imperial Gate Guard #1
* Young-H. Lee as Imperial Gate Guard #2 (as Young-H Lee)
* Utkarsh Ambudkar as Skatch
* Chum Ehelepola as Ramtish
* Mary Wong as Old Village Woman
* Audrey Chan as Anxious Mother
* Jasmine Zhou as Young Mother
* Elizabeth Quan Shang as Laundry Woman
* K.Y. Chan as Village Rice Man #1
* David T. Lim as Village Rice Man #2

### Uncredited

* Mohammad Al-Ghrabi as Merchant
* Maynard Bagang as Emperor's Servant
* Jackie Cheng as Commander Tung's Soldier / Rouran Fighter
* Vo Cheng as Throne Room General
* Timothy Chi as Imperial Eunuch
* Cindy Choi as Tulou Villager
* Uhyoung Choi as Extra
* Daniel Joseph Cruz as Imperial Guard / Rouran Warrior / Tung's Battalion
* Kenneth De Abrew as Inn Keeper
* Adrian Dev as Red Fire Rouran
* Alia Devanshi as Child
* Ziya Devanshi as Child
* Stephen Grey as Rouran Warrior
* Sam Liew as Soldier
* Shalesh Maharaj as Extra
* Fonofaaiu Mati as Rouran Warrior
* Jay Neal as Young Rouran Warrior
* Lively Nili as Soldier
* Maxie Ouyang as Chinese Villager
* Anton Rufino as Rouran Warrior
* Manish Sethi as Merchant
* Prince Singh as Oasis Tavern Patron
* Vic Singh as Extra
* Amrit Soma as Rouran Warrior
* Wilson Sze as Emperor's Guard
* Ione Tseng as City Child
* Nicholas Walker as Rouran Warrior
* Paul Yen as Imperial Minister
* Jessie Yiyang Yu as Imperial Lady
* Romeo Yusupov as Soldier
* Barbara Zhang as Tulou Villager
* Lisa Zhang as Tulou Villager
* Anastasia Zhao as Villager Child
* Chun Kiu Zhao as Child