When I first encounter Mulan it was with a bit of mild irritation, Grandparents had bought it as an incidental gift. “Oh I just saw it on the stand and thought that’d be nice, Molly would like that.” I wish I had Fifteen pounds to fritter away on a whim!! As it turned out Molly didn’t like it immediately, she watched the first twenty minutes and thought it was boring so turned it off in favour of Snow White (another grandparent purchase).
We later discovered Mulan when Snow White had been watched to death and I was pleasantly surprised. I expected another girl power message film along the lines of Pocanhontas (a truly awful Disney film). The story is based on a Chinese legend and goes a little like this..... The Huns invade China and everyone is expected to do their bit. This leads to every family in each village sending a man to war. Mulans father was injured in service many years before but honour dictates he must serve the Emperor. Mulan secretly steals his papers and masquerades as a man, to save her father and face the Huns. I’m not sure about the original story but I expect Disney doesn’t follow it to the letter, I’m almost certain the soldiers in the original film weren’t prone to bursting into song.
From the very beginning of the film the atmosphere is set, the titles are done as a painting in a minimalist oriental style, depicting the great wall of China, swathed in scrolling clouds. This then cuts to “real” life with superbly animated (computer I expect) flags waving in a dark night. A hawk harasses the watchman and the a hundred grappling irons rise from the darkness below heralding the Huns assault. This introduces the bad guy Shan-Yu, and what a bad guy, Shan-Yu is a hulking brute of a character dripping menace from every pore. This is one of the films strengths, in the same vein as Hercules before it (thanks there to Gerald Scarfe), Mulan’s characters are stylised, the Huns are the most extreme example of this. The same goes for the backdrop, smoke or clouds are always the scrolling type you see on tea-cups. The whole effect is very evocative of the orient without being patronising, none of the characters are stereotypically Chinese in the least (maybe with the exception of the Emperor (hard to avoid) and the clerk)
Mulan (voiced by Ming-Na Wen) comes across as powerful female, strong enough to survive the field of battle and strong enough to stand against the authority of her elders to do what she believes is right. The other standout performance for me was Eddy Murphy as Mushu, Mulans travel sized dragon side kick. This kind of sidekick, as in any Disney movie, has one job; to be cute. Murphy manages to pack so much attitude into his performance he steals the limelight on many occasions. I was surprised and refreshed to have Murphy being funny without swearing.
The films set pieces (although computer assisted) are spectacular, particularly the mountain scene. The animators have used the plot device of Shan-Yu’s hawk to great effect by adding birds eye views at many points in the film, giving an often stunning third dimension to what would otherwise be a pedestrian scene.
The other stand out feature of the movie is the music, it manages to be good while still retaining the character of the film. They are also eminently hummable, I must watch too many kids films because I always find myself humming these tunes at work.
I tend to judge kids films on two criteria; can I cope with watching it hundreds of times, Mulan scores a yes here, and how quiet does it keep the kids, what I call a zombification factor. Mulan scores about 9/10 here. All round I’d say it was one of the few modern Disney movies that deserves the title of Classic on the box.
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Production Year: 1993 - Family - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Michael Caine, The Muppets, Jerry Nelson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, David Rudman, Steve Whitmire
Good review (-:....................................Darko
pakalang 27.01.2001 02:47
Brilliant op! i enjoyed this movie and think that eddy murphy just excells himself as mushu(is this right) the dragon! cheers :)
clanmac4 21.01.2001 01:06
I think that the reason it is rated so highly, is that it is not mainstream Disney, thank goodness for something refreshing. Good op, liked the "menace bit" .
1998'sMulanis solid entertainment from a new group of Disney animators. The story source ... more
is a Chinese fab\ le about a young girl who disguises herself as a man to help her family and her country. When the Huns attack China, a cal\ l to arms goes out to...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
1998'sMulanis solid entertainment from a new group of Disney animators. The story source ... more
is a Chinese fab\ le about a young girl who disguises herself as a man to help her family and her country. When the Huns attack China, a cal\ l to arms goes out to...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
![Mulan [DVD]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/83386973.jpg "Mulan [DVD]")
![Mulan [DVD] [1998]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78494292.jpg "Mulan [DVD] [1998]")
Jan 20th, 2001
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