Partially masculinized white woman, partially feminized Asian man

Anna = the bearer of Western rationality, knowledge and authority
King Mongkut = representative of ignorance, emotionalism and earthy sensuality.

The King dies, and Anna is left as the sole adult authority to helm the ship of state.

Tellingly, the remake could not preserve these polarities. In the 1999 version, King Mongkut is dignified and mature and he doesn't need to die. He presides over his nation's transformation into a modern state.

We've come a long way. Asian masculinity is now recognized and celebrated in ways that were inconceivable just a few decades ago.