Disney Responds to Criticism Regarding the Filming Location of the Live-Action 'Mulan' Movie

Disney has recently received criticism regarding the filming location of the live-action Mulan movie.

©Disney

Disney received authorization to film Mulan in the Xinjiang province of China, an area where Uighur Muslims have been detained in mass internment camps. In the film’s credits, Disney acknowledges a Chinese government agency. Disney has been accused of indirectly favoring the oppression of Uighur Muslims in China, and CFO Christine McCarthy has now responded to the criticisms.

As reported by Deadline, Disney has faced criticisms from a number of parties and some have called for the movie to be pulled from theaters and streaming services. Mulan was released this past weekend China, and McCarthy was recently asked whether the backlash would hurt the film’s commercial potential in China.

McCarthy responded, “I’m not a box-office prognosticator, but it has generated a lot of publicity. Let me just put something into context. The real facts are that ‘Mulan’ was primarily shot — almost in entirety — in New Zealand. In an effort to accurately depict some of the unique landscape and geography of the country of China for this period drama, we filmed scenery in 20 different locations in China. It’s common knowledge that, in order to film in China, you have to be granted permission. That permission comes from the central government.”

She also commented that it is a common practice, “to acknowledge in a film’s credits the national and local governments that allowed you to film there. So, in our credits, it recognized both China and locations in New Zealand. I would just leave it at that, but it has generated a lot of issues for us.”

Mulan Theatre

McCarthy also touched on the future of the film studio’s release strategy and said that more “premier access” experiments like Mulan are possible. However, she also clarified that theatrical releases remain a major component of distribution plans.