Here's How to Watch 'Mulan' on Disney+

Disney's live-action Mulan was supposed to be a really big deal. In recent years, the company has had much success at the box office mining old, beloved properties for new versions, sequels, and imaginative retellings -- some of them wonderful (see Christopher Robin) and some of them not as wonderful (like The Lion King). Disney's epic, updated, non-musical version of its 1998 animated favorite Mulan was similarly poised for a big theatrical release.

Originally scheduled to come out in March, director Niki Caro's film about a young woman (played by Yifei Liu) who disguises herself as a man to join the army in order to protect her father, got shuffled around like many other movies due to the coronavirus pandemic. Disney kept delaying the movie, hoping for months it would eventually get a theatrical release, but in late July the studio announced a new release plan: Mulan will be available to Disney+ subscribers starting Friday, September 4, but for an additional rental fee. (Read our review here.)

So, how exactly do you watch it? First of all, you'll need a Disney+ subscription. If you don't already have one, you can sign up here for $6.99 a month, or $69.99 for a year. Once you're signed up and logged in, you'll then need to fork over an additional $29.99 in order to rent the movie, which you can do here. It'll be that way if you want to watch the movie anytime between now and December 4, which is when it'll then drop its "Premier Access" fee and just become a part of Disney+'s collection, aka available for subscribers to watch at no extra cost.

While many other movies that were supposed to appear in the theaters this year have turned to VOD, like Bill & Ted Face the Music, or have been released on streaming services, as The Lovebirds did with Netflix, Mulan's release is the first of its kind. Meaning, it's not yet part of the streaming service's regular catalogue available to subscribers, and it's not a typical VOD release, which require a rental fee but not a subscription to view.

The rental fee may seem like a hefty price tag, although other popular, family VOD releases this year like Trolls: World Tour weren't much cheaper and ended up being huge digital hits. It's just the price you'll have to pay (literally) if you're eager for family movie night or just going to let your nostalgia get the best of you.

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