10 Movies That Caused A Public Backlash
4. Mulan (2020)
When Disney released Mulan in 1998, it was largely based on the folk tale of Hua Mulan, a female who disguises herself as a man in order to serve in the army in the place of her father. While there is debate on whether she existed in reality or is just a legend, the original stuck close to the folklore interpretation while adding in additional elements (such as Eddie Murphy voicing a dragon named Mushu).
In 2020, Mulan became the latest cartoon memory of a certain generation to undergo the live-action reimagining that Disney seems so keen on recently and it brought a number of controversies in its wake. From the lead actress voicing problematic opinions regarding the Hong Kong protests to the removal of characters from the original for reasons that were deemed a little odd, it seemed to attract heat from all angles.
The lack of ethnic diversity in the production team came under fire as well as accusations that it pandered to Chinese audiences too much. In addition, it used a shot of an area that holds a concentration camp of over a million Muslims in the Xinjiang region.
It bombed at the box office, losing more than $130 million.