Summary
Based on a Chinese legend, about a young girl whom disguises herself as a man to take her ailing father’s place in the army, and in doing so becomes one of China’s greatest heroes.
My Thoughts:
“Mulan” came out when I was eight, and it was incredibly prevalent in my childhood. Even as I watched this film again yesterday, for what must have been the first time in more than ten years, I still could remember most of the words for the songs, I still thought Eddie Murphy (“Shrek”) made a great sidekick, and I still got chills during some of the more epic moments. Barring the technicalities that Mulan isn’t actually a princess, “Mulan” is easily my favorite of all the Disney princess films (though I do love “Tangled”). I find this movie to be far more thrilling than some of the other Disney classics like “The Little Mermaid” and “Pocahontas”, and its also one of the more empowering Disney films.
“We must be swift as a coursing river/ with all the force of a great typhoon/ with all the strength as a raging fire/ mysterious as the dark side of the moon.”
After the ruthless Shan Yu (Miguel Ferrer, “Robocop”) leads his Huns over the Great Wall and threatens to take over China, the Emperor (Pat Morita, “The Karate Kid”) orders a draft, requiring one man from each household. In a small village, a girl named Mulan (Ming-Na Wen, “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within”) decides to disguise herself as a man in order to take her ailing father Fa Zhou’s (Soon-tek Oh, “The Man with the Golden Gun”) place. After the ancestors hear Mulan’s prayers for help, they send her Mushu the dragon (Eddie Murphy) to assist on her quest. As Mulan joins the army, she is instructed by Captain Li Shang (B.D. Wong, “Jurassic Park”). Can Mulan avoid detection and help the army defend China, or will the Empire fall?
I feel like this was one of the last huge 2D films we received before the influx of computer generated animated films. However, what makes this film’s animation style unique is the blending of CG and 2D animation. There are some set pieces that use the CG animation more than others, like, for example, the battle in the mountain pass uses a heavy amount of CG animation, and it is one of the best parts of the film. The massive number of Huns charging down the hill towards our small coterie of heroes is one of the most epic shots in all of Disney animated films, and even thinking about it I still get chills. That shot would’ve been impossible to animate without CG tech, and the blending is seamless. What’s more, I loved the fact that this film incorporated Chinese artwork styles into many of the designs- and not just the buildings or characters, but the way water, smoke and fire is depicted.
I think the story of Mulan is actually quite fascinating. The idea that a woman would disguise herself as a man in order to take her father’s place in battle speaks a lot to her character. Mulan is an easy character to like, and while she carries many of the same traits of other Disney princesses, she feels very different than the rest of them. Part of the reason Mulan’s story feels so different is just the world in which her story is set, but her character is also far more strong willed and determined, and her quest has far more at stake than many other Disney princess movies (What’s Ariel’s goal in “The Little Mermaid”? To get to shore. Why? Because… she wants to know what it’s like…?). Mulan is a far stronger character than many of Disney’s female characters, and her story comes with a great message for young girls.
I love the music in this film. “I’ll Make a Man out of You” was probably the Disney song I’ve sung the most in my life. I still remember being in High School Marching Band and all of the guys singing that song at the top of our lungs before a performance (let me tell you, a hundred and fifty high schoolers all singing “BE A MAN” in unison certainly pumped us up). But while that song has a special place in my heart, the rest of the songs in this movie are quite enjoyable as well. Beyond that, the actual soundtrack (not just the singing) is wonderful too; in fact the score earned an Oscar nomination.
I actually really love how well this film balances tone too. Shan Yu is a pretty brutal villain for a G-rated Disney film, and I personally love it. While no one actually dies onscreen, Shan Yu’s evil is felt through his implied actions and the design of his character. The villain’s darkness really helps the film to feel more intense, and of course it bumps the stakes up that much higher. This film might’ve been too intense for younger viewers were it not for Eddie Murphy’s presence as Mushu. As I was watching this movie again, laughing at Murphy’s voice work, I couldn’t help but wonder if the directors of this film just let Murphy riff for a while during some of the scenes. Some of the jokes he provides are clearly there to get a few laughs from the adult audience, while the more physical humor will pander to the kids.
Honestly, when looking at Disney films there are a few ways to review them. You could take them at face value, and if I were to do that, this film would probably drop a half star in rating, or you can attempt to look at them through the eyes of a child, because, after all, that’s who these films were made for. I try to forgive little things in the writing, little jokes that seem clichéd or historical inaccuracies, because in the end, this movie was made for kids. As I mentioned above, I was eight when I first saw this, and eight year old me was totally blown away by what I saw; now, two decades later, this film still brings a huge long-lasting smile to my face; I still get chills when Mulan collapses the mountain pass; I still want to cheer when Mulan reveals herself to Shan Yu as the soldier from the mountains; and Eddie Murphy still gets a few chuckles out of me as Mushu.
Verdict:
Mulan rocks.
I was nervous that going back to one of my childhood favorites would lesson this movie for me, but it did just the opposite; it solidified it in my mind as a great film. I think this film is an empowering, exciting adventure that the whole family can enjoy, and I’m honestly really looking forward to the live action remake, which we should see next year.
Look for my review of “Mulan (2020)” in a year-and-a-half or so.
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