Why the original co-director of 'Mulan' is OK with the change to her romantic interest in the live-action movie
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Kirsten Acuna
Sep 5, 2020, 00:04 IST
Mulan becomes interested in one of her army comrades in the live-action "Mulan." It could have been that way in the animated movie, too.Walt Disney Studios
Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Disney's live-action "Mulan."
The new film introduces us to Honghui (Yoson An), a comrade and love interest of Mulan's.
Fans were initially upset, thinking Li Shang or a version of him wouldn't appear in the movie.
Tony Bancroft, codirector of the animated film, told Insider they originally considered putting Li Shang in the army while introducing another character as the general.
Bancroft said General Bao Gung was cut from the animated movie and Shang was promoted to general.
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Li Shang may not appear in Disney's live-action "Mulan," but the film does give us a new romantic interest for the heroine with Honghui (Yoson An).
Initially, fans were upset to learn the fan favorite, who appeared as both a direct boss and love interest to Mulan in the animated film, wouldn't appear in the live-action movie. But that's not exactly the case.
The new "Mulan" splits the role of Li Shang into two parts. Donnie Yen plays Mulan's commander and mentor, Commander Tung. It then left room for Li Shang to become Mulan's comrade in war and her peer, Honghui.
If you're still upset by the change, there's more reason to like the update.
The original "Mulan" co-director, Tony Bancroft, told Insider they considered separate characters for the general and Li Shang in the animated movie. Bancroft said he was satisfied to see the change on-screen.
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"We actually had that in our original one, too," Bancroft told Insider at the film's world premiere in March. "Shang was one of the troops in her army, just like Ling, Chien Po, and Yao."
"It was interesting for me to see them do that [in the live-action film] because I don't know that they knew that," Bancroft said of the live-action "Mulan" crew. "I don't think they stole that from an old idea that we had. I think it was just an original conception."
In February, producer Jason Reed told Collider they made the change to Li Shang because they didn't think it would be appropriate for Mulan to engage in a relationship with her direct superior.
"I think particularly in the time of the #MeToo movement, having a commanding officer that is also the sexual love interest was very uncomfortable and we didn't think it was appropriate," said Reed.
Though it never came to fruition, Bancroft said they had a fleshed out the idea for the general in the animated movie.
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"We had another character named Bao Gung who was the sergeant and then Shang was in the army," said Bancroft of the cut "Mulan" character. "It was very similar. We went in a different direction and they went for it all the way. It's still very satisfying. It still works."
Bancroft described Gung as a traitorous spy who would have been the film's original villain. Here's an early design for the character shared by supervising animator Aaron Blaise on how the cut character would have looked.
When the character was cut and Shan Yu became the film's main villain, Li Shang's role evolved.
"It's more that he was promoted," Bancroft said. "We moved him from the character that was just a soldier and when Bao Gung went he became more of a Lieutenant."
"This, to me, is what all these Disney remakes should be," said Tony Bancroft of "Mulan" being reminiscent of the animated picture, but being original enough to stand on its own.
"Mulan" is now available to stream on Disney Plus. In the US, the film costs an extra $29.99 for subscribers. In locations where Disney Plus is not available, "Mulan" is playing in theaters.
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