I’m a 90’s baby, so each time Disney has announced a live action remake, I’m interested to see what they will do. However, I also wait with baited breath to see what changes they will make to my favorite beloved childhood films. For me, the live action Disney movies have largely missed the mark. Mulan, directed by Niki Caro, was no different.

When the coronavirus hit, Disney made the switch from releasing the film in theaters across the country to releasing it on their streaming platform, Disney+. It didn’t come without a cost, though. Viewers had to pay $30 in addition to their monthly subscription rate of $6.99. Unlike a typical pay-per-view movie though, once you pay the $30, you have access to the movie as long as you continue to subscribe to Disney+.

Normally I’d be adamantly against paying that much for a single movie. However, when you think about how much you’d be paying to take your family to the movies - it’s not that bad of a deal. My family and I watched the movie together, so we each chipped in to cover the cost, making it cheaper than it would have been to see the movie in theaters.

Disney was clear from the start of its production: Mulan would not be a musical. While it was a disappointment - I got it, you can’t always have people dancing around saving the day. Disney held onto their promise, there was no singing…. at all. Sure, there was a score and subtle music playing while she rode away from home in the middle of the darkness and again when she rode into battle. However, the only two songs that had any lyrics were featured during the credits. One was an updated version of “Reflection” by Christina Aguilera, who also sang the iconic Mulan song from the original animated film. The other was “Loyal Brave True,” also by Christina Aguilera, nothing super memorable.

The score had a chance to be memorable, but there was no dancing during training to the beat of the music, no horse hooves matching the beat of the war drum as she ran to save the dynasty and no epic battle music while she defeated the enemy.

All that I could have overlooked, had the movie been good. While the actors were a group I wasn’t really familiar with, my qualms weren’t with them. Yifei Liu portrayed Mulan just as you’d expect, as a strong woman with pride and love for her country and family. The film also features Donnie Yen as Commander Tung, Li Gong as Xianniang, Jet Li as the Emperor and Jason Scott Lee as Böri Khan. All are seasoned actors, and it showed.

The film has styles that clash consistently throughout the movie. I felt like it was trying to be a kung fu movie with slow deliberate action shots and slowed time, while trying to remain westernized with the classic Disney flair and magic. Additionally, instead of Mulan developing skills, strength and power from within as she prepares to battle Khan, Mulan is born with ‘qi’ (pronounced chee, like cheese without the s). The ‘qi’ gives her an almost superhero-like ability. In my opinion, in the animated film Mulan’s character development takes place during her training and battle as she develops both her mental and physical strength. Taking away the mental and physical struggles Mulan endures takes away her reason for maturing and growing.

One of the most interesting (and disappointing) decisions made by Disney was the addition of two characters: Mulan’s sister and Gong’s character, Xianniang. Let me be clear, my disappointment wasn’t the addition of the characters, but their lack of development. Mulan’s sister, Hua Xiu (Xana Tang), is with her through her childhood, when they go to the matchmaker and when Mulan returns to her family at the end of the film, but offers no more than moral and emotional support. This made me question why creators added the character at all, was it just to be different than the original?

The addition of Xianniang was an interesting one, as her character works together with Khan to try to bring down the dynasty. I was genuinely excited at the prospect of a new, unique female character. However, this character fell flat for me as she seemed to act as the devil on Mulan’s shoulder for the majority of the film, and then changed her beliefs with little to no explanation at the end.

All in all, I would say this film just isn’t worth the money. If you already have Disney+, it might be worth a watch when it’s released for general viewing on Dec. 4. I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch it a second time or get a subscription just for Mulan. I would get it just for Hamilton, but that’s a whole different review.