Mulan Li Shang
Li Shang was a popular character, but was cut from the live-action remake.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Buena Vista Pictures

 

The highly-publicized “de-Disneyfying” decisions made for the live-action remake of “Mulan” — such as scrapping the iconic songs and talking dragon (Mushu) — contributed to a certain nervousness around the release of the new movie.

The change from the 1998 animated original that disappointed fans like me most, however, was the omission of Captain Li Shang — Mulan’s love interest.

Many LGBTQ Disney fans consider Li Shang to be a bisexual icon. 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 was a huge missed opportunity for Disney to up its representation game.

Let’s get this out of the way — the ‘Mulan’ remake is good

Before I go on, it needs to be said that the live-action remake of “Mulan” is good. The animated original will always have a special place in my heart, but this is a worthy remake, one that wisely doesn’t retread its original beat for beat. In fact, as Kirsten Acuna said in Insider’s review of the movie, it’s probably Disney’s best live-action remake.

While I don't think it has the power or pure emotion of the animated original, Niki Caro's new movie is a cinematic spectacle. Undoubtedly, it will be better on a theater screen, but the cinematography (Mandy Walker), costume design (Bina Daigeler), and production design (Grant Major) all are excellent. 

However, that doesn't mean it didn't make one giant mistake with its storyline.

Li Shang Mulan
BD Wong voiced Li Shang, while Donny Osmond provided the singing voice.
Buena Vista Pictures

Li Shang is a bisexual legend for LGBTQ Disney fans

Li Shang, who was voiced by BD Wong with Donny Osmond providing the singing voice, was one of the most popular characters in the original animated "Mulan." As the captain goes through his own personal journey, the complexity of his character was a departure from the more mundane, hollow love interests past Disney princesses had fallen for. 

He was far more interesting, for instance, than any of the interchangable princes in "Cinderella" (Prince Charming), "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (who is not even given a name and just referred to as The Prince), "Sleeping Beauty" (Prince Phillip), and "The Little Mermaid" (Prince Eric). 

"Mulan" dared to be different with Li Shang, a fully fleshed-out character with his own desires and difficulties.

What really made his character stand out, though, was the fact that he was clearly bisexual.

It may not be overtly stated, but his relationship with Mulan strongly suggests he is. Li Shang doesn't fall for Mulan after she reveals herself to be a woman. Instead, he is drawn to Mulan while she is still in disguise as Ping, the male soldier.

 

Throughout the time that Mulan is presenting as Ping, their relationship suggests intimacy and desire rather than soldierly respect or male comradery. In fact, you can actually pinpoint the moment when Li Shang seems to realize he is into Ping (shown in the clip below):

Yes, he is smiling because Ping has gone from a clumsy soldier to a incredible warrior, but any Disney fan will recognize that look — it's the same sort of moment that happens in "Beauty and the Beast," when Belle and Beast begin to like each other and sing "Something There." Both sets of characters come to an understanding that is strongly suggested to be more than friendship.

In "Mulan," any traditional romantic relationships are pushed to the side, presenting her as a fiercely independent heroine with her own agency and story. This was hugely inspirational to many young girls and Asian people, and still is — but so, too, was the sub-plot of Li Shang's bisexuality.

It meant a lot to LGBTQ viewers, particularly kids growing up at that time feeling alienated and alone, to see themselves represented in a major Disney movie in such a natural way, even if it wasn't explicitly stated.

 

It's a shame, then, that the decision was made to cut Li Shang this time around.

Cutting Li Shang was the wrong decision made with the right intentions

In a February Slash Film article, live-action "Mulan" producer Jason Reed acknowledged that Li Shang "became sort of an LGBTQ icon." However, Reed then went on to explain why the iconic character was removed from the live-action version in a February Collider article.

"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," Reed said.

At first glance, this seems like a noble reason to cut Li Shang. However, as Linda Maleh explained in her 2020 Forbes essay: "This conveys a fundamental misunderstanding of #MeToo and of 'Mulan.'"

Maleh argues that the actual romantic relationship between Mulan and Li Shang only begins after the war is over, and nothing inappropriate ever happens between the two characters. Their relationship is, Maleh said, first and foremost based upon mutual respect.

The argument is also made, by Maleh and other fans, that Disney used the #MeToo movement as a smokescreen for getting rid of a character many interpreted to bisexual.

 

Disney missed a chance to help repair its poor LGBTQ representation record

The move seems to be yet another decision made in pattern of Disney giving the LGBTQ community the short straw when it comes to representation.

So far, the only proper LGBTQ couple we have had in a movie Disney has been involved in is Rahne (Maisie Williams) and Danielle (Blu Hunt) in Josh Boone's "The New Mutants," but that was originally a Fox movie, and the film has been in post-production hell for years.

We've also had two unnamed, background couples in "Zootopia" and Pixar's "Onwards," a brief moment featuring Josh Gad's LeFou dancing with a man in "Beauty and the Beast," a blink-and-you'll-miss-it kiss between two women in "The Rise of Skywalker" that was cut from Singapore cinemas, and, the pick of the bunch, a cameo from MCU director Joe Russo playing a gay man in a therapy scene in "Avengers: Endgame." 

The lack of LGBTQ representation in main characters is frustrating, and, as Boone said about the "Star Wars" kiss in an interview with Too Fab, is the "most embarassing" example of attempted queer representation.

The Rise of Skywalker gay kiss
The gay kiss in "The Rise of Skywalker" was a poor attempt at LGBTQ representation.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

The new "Mulan" was the ideal moment to finally give some much-needed representation to the LGBTQ community. The plotline of a male soldier finding himself drawn to a fellow male soldier, who actually happens to be a woman in disguise, is prime material for great drama, and the LGBTQ theme attached to this fits so naturally into Mulan's story.

Just imagine what could have been; The solider, conflicted with his feelings for a man, could have revealed how he felt, only for Mulan to then reveal that she has a secret of her own: she's a woman. 

This could have been a beautiful moment that gave "Mulan" even more meaning and depth than it already has, an explicit embrace of the subtextual queerness that would truly make a live-action remake feel fitting in 2020 — like it's actually made for the world we are currently living in, and for the people who are going to see Disney's movies.

A sequel could give Disney the chance to right its wrongs

Li Shang, cast aside, was instead split into two characters: Donnie Yen's Commander Tung, and Yosan An's Chen Honghui, a fellow soldier alongside Mulan. Both of these characters, as a result of being derived from one singular character, feel underdeveloped in the movie.

Still, in the Slash Film article, Jason Reed argued that between Mulan and Chen, "there is the same dynamic in the original movie that was with Li Shang which is, 'Hey I really respect you and why do I like this dude so much? And what does this say about me?'"

Reed said: "I actually think it plays in a more sophisticated way because he's trying to befriend this other soldier who is, like, he's ambitious, he wants to be the best student in class and all of the sudden this guys is sort of challenging him... it creates a lot of tension in the movie of him being drawn to her, her being drawn to him, but because she has this secret she constantly has to push him away. So we're playing with that as well. And I think we removed the icky-ness of the power differential."

Yoson An Yifei Liu Mulan
Jason Reed hinted that Yosan An's Chen Honghui could be bisexual, too.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

This makes it seem like Chen could also be bisexual, but the supposed "sophistication" in which this is brought to the screen has made any hint of it invisible. There is no moment when Chen seems into Mulan when she is male-presenting. In fact, in one of the few scenes the two characters have together, Chen asks Mulan how to talk to girls. He is very explicitly straight. It's not until Mulan has revealed herself to be a woman that Chen makes any approach that could be considered romantic; the opposite of Li Shang and Mulan.

There is some potential hope on the horizon, however, with rumors that a "Mulan" sequel is in the works at Disney with Reed returning as producer. Although the coronavirus may have disrupted any immediate plans, and has certainly hampered Disney's ability to judge the financial success of "Mulan" in any traditional way, the appetite for this character and this story is unwavering. "Mulan" is beloved, so it seems likely that Disney will take advantage of this at some point.

Whether it's Li Shang being introduced to a sequel or the sexuality of Chen, Commander Tung, or even Mulan herself being explored, I just hope that the queer community is finally given the voice that's been missing for so long.

Read more:

The producer of 'Mulan' is disappointed that audiences won't see one of the movie's epic battle scenes in theaters

20 details you might have missed in Disney's original 'Mulan'

All the ways Disney's live-action 'Mulan' is different from the animated movie

Read the original article on Insider