WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Mulan, available now through Premier Access on Disney+.
Since its release in 1998, the animated version of Disney’s Mulan has been recognized by many fans as a queer allegory. In addition, many consider Mulan’s love interest and commanding officer in the film, Li Shang, Disney’s first bisexual character because of the attraction he displays for Mulan before he discovers she’s a woman. As a result, fans were dismayed to learn Li Shang would not be a part of the new live-action Mulan. Instead, the character was split in two. Commander Tung is now Mulan’s mentor and commanding officer, while Chen Honghui is a fellow recruit who fills the role of Mulan’s love interest.
The production’s decision to replace Li Shang with Commander Tung and Chen Honghui was at least partially due to the #MeToo movement. Given Honghui is Mulan’s equal, the new movie avoids a problematic romance between Mulan and her commanding officer. Yet, while Honghui may not be Li Shang, that doesn’t stop the new Mulan from having plenty of homoerotic subtext -- if anything, the homoeroticism inherent in the interaction may be even more obvious in live-action.
In many movies that feature a character of one gender masquerading as another, attempts at homosocial bonding and the homoerotic overtones that come with it are often played for laughs. That happens a few times after Mulan joins the Imperial Army. When she first enters the tent of her regiment, the men’s unguarded half-dressed state is clearly shocking to Mulan, and her quick agreement to take guard duty instead of showering with the men is comical. As is the moment when her comrade, asleep beside her, unconsciously reaches for someone to cuddle with as he slumbers, and ends up holding another soldier after Mulan avoids him.
However, those are mere precursors to the more overtly homoerotic moments shared between Mulan and Honghui. The first hint of their attraction occurs during a conversation between them and other soldiers about what they look for in a woman. While the others hope for good looks and the ability to cook, Mulan’s take is inevitably different. Yet while the others laugh at her, amazed that a man could want a woman who’s smart and brave, Honghui looks at her meaningfully in the first hint that he may feel something deeper.
Soon afterward, he finds Mulan in their tent to tell her not to worry about the other men’s attitude toward her. He lies on the bed next to her as they comfortably converse. Honghui claims Mulan is lucky she (or, rather, "he") hasn’t been matched, and wonders how to talk to a woman. Although he’s unaware he’s speaking to a woman, his meaning is clear: Talking to the supposedly male Mulan is easy because they understand each other in a way a woman couldn't. Honghui then sits up and leans close to Mulan in a moment she seems to find sexually charged; however, that's undercut when Honghui sniffs her collar and declares she stinks.
Mulan appears to acknowledge the chemistry between them in the next scene, when Honghui disarms her during a sparring session and Mulan finally unleashes the full force of her fighting abilities. It may be a fight scene, but in addition to establishing Mulan’s impressive skills, it also serves as a homoerotic moment between the two where their combat serves as a metaphor for a sexual interaction. That's made especially clear by Honghui's delighted reaction when Mulan advances on him with her weapon.
Soon after, Mulan sneaks away to bathe in a nearby lake, a moment that parallels a similar scene from the 1998 animated classic. Yet this time, instead of being joined by several of the other soldiers, only Honghui finds her there. He strips off his clothes and wades into the water, getting close behind her. And he might have gotten closer still if Mulan hadn’t rebuffed his request for friendship out of fear he'd discover her secret.
Throughout the remainder of the movie, Honghui continues to admiringly and meaningfully glance at Mulan, both when he thinks she’s a man and after he learns she’s a woman. In fact, her gender seems to make no difference to him. Honghui od enamored with Mulan as a person, indicating, like Li Shang, the character can be read as bisexual -- and the movie offers plenty of homoerotic subtext between him and Mulan disguised as a man to drive that point home.
Directed by Niki Caro, Disney's live-action Mulan stars Yifei Liu as Mulan, Donnie Yen as Commander Tung, Jason Scott Lee as Böri Khan and Yoson An as Chen Honghui, with Gong Li as Xianniang and Jet Li as the Emperor. The film is now available through Premier Access on Disney+.