r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Morr4Seiya • 8d ago

Hated Tropes An adaptation completely botches the original theme and message

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Mulan(2020)-They give Mulan superpowers which is not only lame it goes against the message of the original about equality and struggle,plus they removes Shang because apparently having Mulan date her superior was "problematic" even though Shang genuienely respected Mulan and their rank was never brought up

I am Legend(2007)-You know why the story is called "I am legend"? SPOILER ALERT the protagonist is the actual monster,humanity is gone and the vampires have a actual society and the protagonist kills and terrorize them

Animal Farm(2026)-On the very slim chance that Andy Serkis ever sees this,here's the thing Andy,Animal Farm was not a children work it was not supposed to have a happy ending,you never heard of cautionary tales before?

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u/Win-level 8d ago

My theory is that Disney wanted Mulan to be seen as a personification of China and that meant they could not have her had any flaws, because that would mean that China has flaws and the Chinese government does not like that, so Disney then made a person that was always perfect, super powerful and that just needs to "believe in herself " to do anything that way they could do some pandering, but to the detriment of the story.

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u/Throwtheying 8d ago

Meanwhile China loved the fat bumbling panda with character growth

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u/First_Foundationeer 7d ago

They were mad that they made the best animated kung fu movie such that it spurred lots of new developments in their own entertainment industries. I mean, Kung Fu Panda 1-3 were insanely good so it was well deserved praise/envy!

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u/Stormfly 7d ago

Without Kung Fu Panda, we never would have had the masterpiece of Niu Lai...

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u/AGENTDB2 7d ago

Not just mad - they held a full on government inquiry!

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u/First_Foundationeer 7d ago

Well, that's how you knew they truly meant it. I would say that is even more than any of the awards Kung Fu Panda won because they launched a whole campaign to improve for Chinese animation and cinema!

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u/ZeroiaSD 8d ago

It seems like she was designed by a weird committee. It introduced weird sexism like the superpowers being gendred, witches being a thing (not really from Chinese stories, especially not Mulan!), etc..

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u/Throwtheying 8d ago

The same shit conservatives hate actually has a point when the suits make shitty corporate decisions

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u/npri0r 8d ago

In one of my favourite retellings she doesn’t have many flaws and it works great. She’s hard working, talented, disciplined and loyal. She does almost everything right. She steps in to save her father, goes off to war, rises through the ranks, leads the assault on the rebel general, bests him in single combat then quietly retires.

The live action version makes it a journey of self discovery, owning her femininity and claiming her destiny and screwing what anyone else thinks of her. But she’s a character defined by what other people think of her. She goes to war out of duty, and it is a sacrifice. She knows who she is, and has to endure it so eventually she’s allowed to retire and finally be herself.

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u/HyetalNight 7d ago

How do I find this retelling?

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u/npri0r 7d ago

Myths and legends podcast has at least 2. You want the earliest one (ep 4) as the other one I’ve listened to is depressing.

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u/Dum-comment 7d ago

Sounds like he movie was made for the Chinese government rather than the Chinese people. Fitting for Disney, tbh.

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u/fresh-dork 7d ago

but let's also use wrong architecture, cut the dragon out, add a fucking witch opponent, and film it next to a concentration camp. just to piss off everyone