On the opposite end of things, you have the men in the military that are made to be as realistic as possible. "Throughout Chinese culture, men at that particular period did not cut their hair because that was seen as disrespectful to one's ancestors and the symbolism of power," said Kum. "That meant that every single person had to have a wig because not very many men have long hair now. We tried to make them all look incredibly natural and real."
In order to help Mulan blend in as one of the men, Kum made each of the soldiers look slightly unique. "I had to make some of them a lot more feminine and some of them look more comedic — for lack of a better description, it's like the Seven Dwarfs," she said. "They all have their own exigencies and quirks and personalities, so there's variation within a strict uniform."