Mulan
had to have been a blockbuster in China, the world's second largest market.
That, at least, Disney expected.
The story of a young woman who disguises herself as a man to go to war instead of her father, based on a very popular poem, had already triumphed here 22 years ago in its cartoon version.
And it apparently had many ingredients to repeat its success: a cast of top-notch Asian actors - Gong Li in the role of witch, Jet Li as emperor - modifications to adapt the script to local taste, and the blessings of the authorities.
And yet, after a series of problems, the collection in the first days after its premiere has been disappointing: just 20 million euros.
It was a sufficient figure to place this 170 million-euro-budget film in first place this weekend, lacking in revenue and with no other big premieres to rival.
But far below the great success of the Chinese billboard this month,
Los 800
, a war story of national production and patriotic overtones that achieved 70 million euros at its start at the end of August and that already exceeds 350. It is also about to behind, even,
Christopher Nolan's
Tenet
, which raised 28 million euros in its presentation, despite being aimed at a smaller audience.
Last year, another real-life remake of a Disney animated film,
The Lion King
, had grossed over $ 42 million on its release.
CRITICISM |
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Disney premieres 'Mulán' directly on its television platform in September
"The original poem encompasses many things, but as it stands, it is simply the story of an oriental woman according to the imagination of someone Westerner," says 32-year-old producer Zhang Laodong who has just seen the film directed by Niki Caro in a cinema in the center of Beijing.
His is one of the most common complaints among viewers, or among the criticisms circulating on social networks.
The original ballad is a poem that every Chinese knows and its protagonist is, according to the interpretations of each era, a model of women's equality, an example of filial devotion or a commendable patriot.
But in this version, in the eyes of her critics, Mulan is one more heroine of a Hollywood movie, moved by individual honor.
Lamentations about cultural gaffes also abound: the protagonist of the original ballad lives in northern China sometime between the 4th and 6th centuries, but in the film she lives in a tulou, a type of building with a plant similar to that of a bullring and that is only found in the southeast of the country, thousands of kilometers away.
And that it is much later - they date from a millennium later - to the era of Mulan.
(To put it in context, the slip would be equivalent to placing the Cid Campeador strolling through the Winter Palace of Catherine the Great in Saint Petersburg).
Similarly, Chinese viewers are perplexed by the use of the concept of
qi
, or spirit that animates any living being, but according to the film only male soldiers have.
Some lapses all the more striking because Disney spared no means to make the film as authentic as possible.
He hired consultants and although the bulk of the film was shot in New Zealand, it also shot in about twenty locations in China.
“In a film of this type, the dresses, the architecture and the physical characteristics are key elements, I cannot imagine how a company like Disney can be so wrong.
Didn't you do some research? ”Ning, architect, is amazed.
Other viewers miss the comic dragon Mushu, one of the key characters in the animated version and that the producer discarded in it for fear that it would be interpreted as a mockery of local culture.
"The original poem encompasses many things, but as it remains, it is simply the story of an oriental woman according to the imagination of someone western"
Zhang Laodong, producer
Even before the premiere the film faced difficulties.
Her departure in China, initially scheduled in March, was postponed due to the covid pandemic.
By the time it reached theaters in the country, a part of the audience had already seen it hacked.
In Hong Kong, pro-democracy activists called for a boycott, because of the support that the leading actress, Liu Yifei, had declared to the enclave police in her crackdown on the demonstrations last year.
And just days before its presentation at the box office, a new scandal broke out, after it came to light that part of the scenes had been shot in the Xinjiang region in 2018, in full campaign of internment in re-education camps for a good part of the Uyghur minority.
The Chinese authorities advised local media to do limited coverage of the premiere, something that helped disperse expectations.
Disney's CFO Christine McCarthy, quoted by the television network CNN, acknowledged in a conference last week that, although it is common practice to thank the authorities who allowed the filming in the credits of a film, thanking the local authorities in Xinjiang listed at the end of the film "has caused us a lot of trouble."
Not all reviews are bad.
"It's a good story for children," says Qi Yi, an administrator.
"She's not as lazy as some say, and Liu Yifei looks gorgeous."
On the entertainment portal Douban, Internet users give it a score of 4.9 out of 10, but on Maoyan, a movie ticket service, it receives a 7.5.
“Do not pay attention to what is read on the networks or demand historical fidelity.
As a story, this film is very entertaining, "says one of the comments.
