Her sword shines in the light as her feet pound. She never stops running, her face dripping in sweat. She knows she must fight for her family. She is Mulan.

“Here’s this young girl that had to pretend she was a young boy just to help [her family],” Health Science teacher Mrs. Ballard said. 

The original Mulan movie was an award winning movie that was loved by many. It’s recent live-action recreation produced by Niki Caro, has received mixed responses.  Some say the movie did no justice for the main character, Mulan, while others say that it was better than the original. The discussion has been ongoing since its release on Disney+  on  September 4, 2020.

“The cartoon, although not entirely accurate, had a better plot, story, and was almost more progressive than the new Mulan movie, which is surprising because of how much older it is,” sophomore Chris Ruiz said. 

The original Mulan was a cartoon movie, filmed in 1998, about an Asian woman who was tired of being limited to the roles of women in Asian society and broke those rules trying to help her family. From then to now, many original Disney movies have been recreated with real life actors. When 12 students were asked if they liked the movie 50% voted yes and 50% voted no. 

“It was unaccurate, and I just don’t like its format,” sophomore Idris Davis said. “I never watched a movie that felt like it was going both so fast and so slow.” 

Both movies shared the theme of women empowerment. And even though many critics have said Mulan lacked character and personality, over 58% of students polled said that Mulan was the best character in the movie. 

“She was very courageous and showed that she was going to risk it all for her teammates,” freshman Fatou Cisse said. 

Although the original won many awards, movie experts said the new movie lacked the feeling and romance the other had.

“To me, it didn’t seem to have enough emotion to actually move me, it was more serious the whole time and there was barely any comedic relief to balance the seriousness of the movie,” Ruiz said.

             However several individuals rated the movie a 4 out of a 1 to 5 scale. 

“I think I liked it so much, I almost want a part 2,” Ballard said. “I just want to see what happens later.”

The movie, produced on a $200 million budget, costs $30 to watch on Disney+, and has yet to be released in movie theaters.

“It was a great movie,” sophomore Eliana Washington said. “Of course I would see it again. Not for $30 though.”

Although there were some setbacks in the movie, over 58% of students and teachers polled said they would definitely rewatch the movie. 

“It made my heart happy,” Ballard said. “It was a feel good story.”