Mulan gay

The highly publicized "de-Disneyfying" decisions in the live-action remake of "Mulan" — such as scrapping the iconic songs and the talking dragon Mushu — contributed to a certain nervousness around the release of the movie. The change from the animated original that disappointed fans like me the most, however, was the omission of Captain Li Shang, Mulan's love interest. The removal of this character meant the removal of a complex love interest with an LGBTQ theme that fit so naturally into the story of Mulan, and it was a huge missed opportunity for Disney to up its representation game. Before I go on, it needs to be said that the live-action remake of "Mulan" is good.

Read our spoiler-free review here. More than any of the previous six Disney live-action remakes, Mulan requires the greatest narrative leap from fans of the animated original: The remake has done away with the iconic musical numbers, wisecracking dragon Mushu, and fan favorite Captain Li Shang, who is considered by many to be a bisexual icon for his clear attraction to both Ping Mulan, pretending to be a man and Mulan. At various points in the film, both love interest Honghui and antagonist Xianniang Gong Li engage Mulan based on what is perceived as her same-sex identity: the young soldier with his peer Hua Jun, and the warrior witch with potential ally Mulan. The decision to separate Li Shang into two roles was in direct response to the MeToo movement, as producer Jason Reed explained to Collider.

In June of , however, year-old me has little to no concept or understanding of any of these events. I am ascending to my own personal queer Valhalla; I am, as my newly converted Buddhist mom puts it, breaking free of the wheel of reincarnation and reaching a truer level of enlightenment. I am in a Singapore movie theater watching Mulan , the 36th animated Disney film and its first starring an East Asian heroine. The cartoon, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this week, is also perhaps the most queer-friendly story that Disney has committed to celluloid—and it now serves as a cultural touchstone for a whole generation of Asian LGBTQ people around the world.

Read our spoiler-free review here. More than any of the previous six Disney live-action remakes, Mulan requires the greatest narrative leap from fans of the animated original: The remake has done away with the iconic musical numbers, wisecracking dragon Mushu, and fan favorite Captain Li Shang, who is considered by many to be a bisexual icon for his clear attraction to both Ping Mulan, pretending to be a man and Mulan. At various points in the film, both love interest Honghui and antagonist Xianniang Gong Li engage Mulan based on what is perceived as her same-sex identity: the young soldier with his peer Hua Jun, and the warrior witch with potential ally Mulan. The decision to separate Li Shang into two roles was in direct response to the MeToo movement, as producer Jason Reed explained to Collider.