10 Film & TV Locations That Attracted The WRONG Sort Of Attention

Whereas the original Mulan was shunned by Chinese audiences for its inauthentic, westernised telling of an Eastern folk story, the 2020 live-action remake was controversial for much darker reasons. And we’re not talking about the lack of a wise-cracking dragon.

Filming in the Xinjiang province of China, the multi-million-dollar Disney production thanked several local organisations in the closing credits. Nothing out of the ordinary there, happens all the time. The problem with the organisations credited was that they are directly involved with the forced labour camps and ‘re-programming’ facilities in the province.

The story behind these camps and facilities is too long and shocking to relay here, but fundamentally Disney turned a blind eye to the litany of human rights abuses against Uighur Muslims the Chinese State has been accused of committing in the interests of ‘national security’.

The decision to film in the province and thank the various state bodies that assisted the production led to an outcry on social media and a #BoycottMulan campaign.

The release of the film was subsequently delayed due to the Coronavirus pandemic and became the first of Disney’s ‘Premier Access’ titles on their Disney+ streaming service. It was hailed as a success in both streaming and in cinemas, but the decisions made still left a bitter taste in the mouth for many.