The content of this post originally appeared in the “JNL” section of the Janesville Gazette daily newspaper in the mid-1990s.
“Mulan,” Disney’s latest animated feature — that’s “cartoon” in layman’s terms — maintains its standard of excellence.
“Mulan” has the elements of most Disney movies: a brave hero or heroine, a goofy animal sidekick, and a good story line.
The story of Mulan comes from an ancient Chinese legend, which is as well-known in China as the story of Paul Bunyan is here. It is the story of a young girt who takes her injured father’s place in the Chinese army when the Huns attack China. Mulan (voice by Ming-na Wen), disguised as a boy named Ping, runs off in the night and meets her fellow soldiers at the camp, but not before meeting someone else, Mushu.
Mushu is brought into the story by how the movie shows the Chinese tradition of praying to ancestors for help. When the ancestors are awakened, they decide to summon the great stone dragon to bring back Mulan, but the only creature that can do this is a dragon named Mushu. An interesting fact that you may not know it that in China, mushu is the name of a taco-like food.
But back to the movie. Mushu, whose voice is by Eddie Murphy (“The Nutty Professor”), messes up and breaks the great stone dragon, so he goes to retrieve Mulan himself. He ends up egging her on in fighting. He is a source of much of the comedy in the movie.
Also accompanying Mulan is Crick-ee, a cricket, which in Chinese culture is thought to be good luck.
The army captain Shang (voice by BD Wong) is tough but fair and demands nothing but the best. His character is the one that helps reveal one of many morals In the story: Strength and discipline should be used to achieve your goals and shouldn’t be burdens.
Mulan goes on to help save the army, but it is found out that she is a girl when she is Injured in a battle against the Huns. Shang does not kill her, which would be the usual punishment. He spares her life because she had saved his.
She saves the entire army from a surprise attack by the Huns, showing the eternal rule that girls can do any thing boys can do and vice-versa The emperor (voiced by Pat Morita) awards her the highest honor possible by giving his Imperial medal to her. Mulan runs home to her father who has realized that he didn’t truly appreciate Mulan until the was gone.
One of the best things about this movie was the music. The music set the mood for the scene such as when Mulan is readying herself for war in the temple of the ancestors. The characters also sing songs, such as Mulan’s “Who I Am” or Shang’s “Make a Man Out of You” (with singing voice by Donny Osmond).
I don’t know what I could criticize this movie for, except because it’s a little predictable. But that’s standard in cartoons, and it also has events you never would have expected
This is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. It is a refreshing break from daily life and can be enjoyed by kids and adults alike. I had been worried that when I went to see it that it would be hard to hear because of all of the kids, but the loudest were all of the adults laughing.
I applaud Mark Henn, supervising animator for the character of Mulan, and all other animators who worked on this great film and I anxiously await their next film.