24. But With One Glaring Inconsistency
There are a few ways that the Disney movie deviated from the original story. The most glaring inconsistency is that in Disney’s Mulan, the title character faced certain death if anyone discovered that she was discovered actually to be female.
But in ancient China, sometimes women actually could be drafted into the army, especially in situations as dire as the one in the movie. A woman who lived at the time that “The Ballad of Mulan” was first recorded probably would not have been killed for doing what its heroine did. However, in the original story, Mulan was not drafted; she chose to serve in her father’s place secretly.