Mulan Fan Attacks Disney For Inaccurate Costume Change

“When will my reflection show who I am inside?” This is the question that plagued the mind of the Disney princess and Chinese warrior Mulan back in the day — and in the live-action adaptation that starred Liu Yifei — but apparently, Mulan’s reflection is still inaccurate if you’re glimpsing her in Disneyland.

One Asian-American Disney fan has just written an extensive letter to Disney, pointing out that Mulan (who has gone through a makeover) is now wearing a disappointing costume that the Disneyland visitor views as a betrayal. You can read the full complaint here, complete with photos and a detailed analysis of the costume changes that have apparently “lost the…aspects that make it Mulan”!

As “one of the few Asian role models [she] had while growing up,” the Disneyland Guest placed high importance on Mulan. But when she met Mulan recently, the Mulan fan apparently wasn’t even sure if she could “immediately recognize her”!

“Her new costume design and look betray the character in many different aspects,” the unhappy Disney princess fan wrote. Many incongruities were pointed out by the Disneyland visitor, ranging from changes in costume color schemes to changes in makeup.

According to the Disneyland Guest, Mulan should have been sporting a more natural makeup look, like the one that we provided a tutorial for here.

“When she wipes the makeup off revealing her true self, it is one of the most iconic scenes from the movie. At the end of the movie when she has grown confident and comfortable in who she is, she is wearing a more natural look,” the discontented Disney Guest explained.

The makeup that Mulan wears these days seems to be indicative of her time with the matchmaker from the beginning of the 1998 animated movie, which was a time when Mulan was uncomfortable and repressed (not to mention facing the prospect of an unwanted marriage and trying not to absorb many less-than-feminist messages from her community).

“To me, Mulan wearing the matchmaker makeup in the parks betrays the growth and development she goes through in the movie and diminishes her to only being a princess rather than the warrior she is,” the Mulan fan declared.

The letter’s writer ended the six-page complaint with the following entreaty: “please, Disney, change Mulan’s look in the parks. Have her looks reflect, respect, and honor who she was and who she continues to be.” Disney did change the costumes for Ariel and Princess Jasmine — which was reportedly done “to dissuade sexual harassment from parkgoers” — so perhaps this Disneyland visitor’s letter will indeed lead to a change!

Have you noticed this strange discrepancy when meeting Mulan at the Disney Parks in Disneyland Resort or Walt Disney World Resort? Did these differences in her costume bother you, or did you brush them off?