In Disney’s 2020 live-action film Mulan, the shape-shifting witch who can transform into a bird is named Xianniang.
Xianniang is played by Gong Li and serves the invading leader Bori Khan. Her supernatural ability allows her to change her appearance, including taking the form of a falcon. The character is one of the major additions made for the live-action adaptation.
Xianniang is not a direct equivalent of Mushu from the 1998 animated film. She is an antagonist whose relationship with Mulan becomes more complicated as the story progresses. The film uses her to explore themes of exclusion, power, identity, and the consequences of being treated as an outsider.
Bori Khan, played by Jason Scott Lee, leads the invasion, while Commander Tung, played by Donnie Yen, trains Mulan’s unit. These names are easy to confuse because all three characters are central to the live-action plot, but only Xianniang is the shape-shifting witch.