WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Mulan, available now through Premier Access on Disney+.
Mulan (1998) is the story of a girl from China who rises to the occasion in the face of evil by reaching a level of greatness that was thought to be impossible. While the 2020 remake brings new life to the classic film, with the inclusion of Mulan being gifted from a young age, there is another beloved heroine who also dares to defy societal expectations for the greater good. The 2006 Disney Channel Original Movie Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior is a better Mulan than the remake with Wendy showing more character growth than 2020's Mulan.
The two films do share similarities, with both Mulan and Wendy being born natural warriors. In Mulan, she exhibits great martial prowess through her chi from a young age, and when her father is summoned to serve in the Chinese army, Mulan decides to fight in his place. She transcends what people tell her she should be and learns to be her true self. In the end, she accomplishes what she wanted from the start, which is to fight for her family and the emperor.
It cannot be discounted that Mulan attains the greatness after which she aspires, but Wendy has greatness thrust upon her, where Mulan choses to be a warrior when the moment presents itself. Wendy never wanted anything more than to defeat her high school rival, Jessica, in the race to be homecoming queen. She is even introduced in class sketching a doodle of herself in a tiara, showing a lack of interest in anything but this personal goal.
This opening glimpse into Wendy lays the foundation for her long path to redemption and being a true hero since she eventually sacrifices her want for the greater good. Meanwhile, Mulan's want is the same as what's best for everyone at large.
Furthermore, Mulan and Wendy are given a chance to either go with what is accepted by society for a more comfortable life or risk it all for the better. In the end, neither of these women take the easy road and sacrifice their comfort for the better of the people. With that in mind, 2020 Mulan doesn't fit into the role society gave her off the back, so seeing her defy it is less climatic than Wendy's defiance, since Wendy actively wants to uphold her role in the beginning of the movie.
Wendy's sacrifice shows more growth since it goes against her initial desires to be homecoming queen. After a lot of training, Wendy’s mentor, Shen, reveals their battle for the fate of the world is the same night as homecoming. At first, Wendy refuses to participate, saying she’s going to homecoming to claim her crown. However, after a conversation with her grandmother and the Kung Fu masters in the bodies of her high school teachers, Wendy knows what she must do, even if it costs her the crown.
Where Mulan has the titular character not diverting from the righteous path, even after being kicked out of the army, Wendy initially chose to let Shen fight the evil spirit Yan-lo by himself, so she can get what she want. It's when she decides to abandon this desire for the greater good that she redeems herself and becomes a real hero, showing just how much she's grown since the start of the movie.
This climactic fight further shows how far Wendy has come when she discovers Yan-lo possessed Jessica. After defeating Yan-lo, Jessica wonders how she got here and why Wendy isn't at homecoming to get the crown. Wendy has a second chance to uphold her societal role and obtain her initial goal. However, she's moved past this and knows this means more to Jessica, so she lets her claim it.
Where this Wendy is different from who she was in the beginning, Mulan's climatic fight does not see this sort of growth, with the warrior maintaining the same position she's had from the start of the film. While Mulan also turns down a socitally celebrated position as a member of the Emperor's Guard, this is more so about her returning to her family than it is about her choosing a role different from the one she initially had.
While Mulan fighting Xianning and Böri Khan can be inspiring, she had her mind made up about what she'd do from the moment she put on the armor. However, Wendy's journey of self discovery is a more relatable struggle between who she wants to be and who she knows she should be.
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+.