I decided to watch Disney's Mulan animated version, sicen the live version is not available unless you have Disney Plus Prime. Based on the preview, I can tell they have made changes from the 1998n animated version, Mulan is one of two daughters, no love interest Lee Shang and now a witch is fighting on the Huns' side.
I believe the animated version is more appropriate to be shown to Middle school students, it contains historical content and some comedy as they learned about the Hun's invasion of China. Hua Mulan is a young girl who doesn't fit in the traditional Chinese role for women, she is expected to honor her family by being feminine, poise, and finding a husband. When the Imperial army representative arrives at Mulan's village to recruit men, her father steps out, but she is afraid his fragile health wouldn't let him survive the war. Mulan decides to bring honor to her family by replacing her father in the army, cuts her hair, takes his armour and runs away from home to join the army. At first he struggles to fit in the army, but soon she is able to impress the soldiers and the general Li Shang with the help of Mushu, a small dragon and a cricket ends up saving the Emperor and brings honor to her family after all. I think these two characters would attract the students attention while learning about Ancient China as they watch the movie.
As a teacher, I could use this film to review and compare the actual historical events with the animated film. Students will complete a film analysis worksheet in which they will add historical facts and details that aren't in the movie. Also, they could use their critical thinking skills to review the accuracy of the film.
.