The Mulan Doll Scene & Its Echoes: A Trans Reading of Mulan (2020)
For many, memories of Disney’s animated Mulan are tied to specific moments or merchandise – perhaps even a Mulan Doll Scene recreated in playtime, a tangible piece of a beloved story. For the author of the original piece this article draws from, receiving a Mulan doll for a ninth birthday marked an early connection. Later, the iconic song “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” became a personal anthem during transition, resonating with many trans men who found comic relief in its campy portrayal of masculinity amidst the real-life challenges of asserting their identities. When news of the live-action adaptation emerged, it promised a new look at the legend, but its departure from the original’s tone created a complex landscape for trans viewers, replacing whimsical takes on passing with a starker look at the associated anxieties and pains, moving far beyond childhood memories of a simple doll.
From Playful Passing to Painful Reality
The most noticeable shift in the 2020 Mulan remake is its near-total absence of the campiness that defined the 1998 animated classic. This change triggers a cascade of differences, significantly altering how trans audiences might connect with the narrative. The original’s lighthearted, almost whimsical approach to Mulan “passing” as a man offered a relatable, if simplified, reflection for trans men navigating their own social transitions, particularly those living “stealth.” While the remake retains moments of awkwardness – Mulan remembering to inject humor after a heartfelt admission, echoing the original’s playful irony about masculinity – they are less frequent. The overall seriousness strips away much of the original’s poking fun at gender norms, removing a layer of catharsis that held particular appeal for viewers grappling with gender identity. What emerges is a more mature, but perhaps less comforting, depiction of assuming a male identity.
Iron statue of Mulan with her father in Xinxiang, China, symbolizing the cultural figure at the heart of the film's interpretations
The Physicality of Passing: Binding, Bathing, and Anxiety
Where the live-action remake resonates more viscerally, albeit uncomfortably, with certain trans male experiences is its intensified focus on the physical realities and burdens of passing. The film dedicates significantly more attention to Mulan’s struggle with bathing alongside her male cohort. While the original featured a brief scene of her attempting to bathe alone, the remake emphasizes her prolonged avoidance and the growing necessity before she finally manages it. This echoes the meticulous, often stressful planning required by trans individuals in similar situations, such as navigating communal facilities without disclosing their gender history. Furthermore, the remake expands on the brief glimpse of Mulan’s chest binding seen in the original. It highlights the physical discomfort, the careful timing required (binding before others wake, even after night watch duty), and the constant risk of discovery. Presented without the comedic relief of a sidekick like Mushu, the film offers a more realistic, and consequently more isolating and demanding, portrayal of the sheer effort and pain—both physical and emotional—that can accompany the act of passing.
The “Imposter” Narrative: Qi, Deception, and Transphobic Echoes
Despite these moments of resonance, the 2020 Mulan firmly establishes its protagonist as not trans. Her deception, undertaken for noble reasons, is depicted as weakening her Qi – presented here as a life force typically exclusive to men (a portrayal criticized as distorting Chinese culture). Crucially, the condemnation Mulan faces upon discovery is far more pronounced than in the animated version. Characters from her cohort, her enemies, and even her family label her an imposter and a fraud with greater intensity. This narrative choice carries heavy implications in a contemporary context where transgender rights are fiercely debated. Viewers already inclined to see trans people as deceptive or fraudulent could easily interpret the film as validating their prejudice. While the film’s ending, with Mulan triumphantly accepted as a woman, is intended as empowering for women and girls, it can feel like a blow to trans men, mirroring accusations of dishonesty or delusion they may face for transitioning. The film subtly contrasts Mulan’s “selflessness” with the perceived “selfishness” often wrongly attributed to trans individuals, creating another potential foothold for transphobic interpretations – a danger far more potent now, given increased trans visibility compared to 1998.
Beyond the Mulan Doll Scene: Intent vs. Impact
This analysis isn’t suggesting Mulan should have been depicted as a trans man, nor that a cisgender female Mulan is inherently transphobic. The concern lies in the remake’s flat portrayal of passing as a shameful, desperate act, without any nuance or counterpoint that might mitigate harmful interpretations. There were potential avenues to avoid this. Director Niki Caro had hinted at the possibility of other characters assigned female at birth (AFAB) passing as men within the army ranks. Including such characters could have implicitly affirmed diverse reasons for passing, including gender identity, without altering Mulan’s own story. When this possibility seemingly failed to materialize in the final film, it felt like a missed opportunity, leaving the door open for the narrative’s negative framing of deception to be weaponized against the trans community. Given the heightened awareness of transgender issues in 2020, it’s difficult to believe the filmmakers were entirely unaware of how focusing on binding and bathing might resonate with, or potentially alienate, trans audiences. Whether the potential for transphobic readings was unintentional (due to ignorance or indifference) or deliberate remains unclear, but its presence is palpable for trans viewers.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the 2020 Mulan remake presents a paradox for some trans viewers. It delves into aspects of the passing experience – the physical discomfort, the social anxiety, the isolation – with a realism absent in the original, reflecting struggles familiar to many trans men and nonbinary people. The film seems built, in part, upon the very experiences trans voices have brought to light in the decades since 1998. Yet, the narrative explicitly rejects a trans identity for its hero and frames her temporary adoption of a male role in ways that could reinforce harmful stereotypes about deception and authenticity. Watching it can induce a sense of “psychic disequilibrium,” like looking into a mirror that reflects fragmented pieces of one’s experience but fails to show the whole person. It highlights that authentic, nuanced representation for the trans community within mainstream entertainment like Disney often remains a distant hope, something still waiting in line, much like guests anticipating a theme park ride.
