Mulan (1998)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Directors:

Tony Bancroft
Barry Cook

Writers:

Robert D. San Souci (story)
Rita Hsiao (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

19 June 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Drama | Family

Tagline:

The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all.

Plot:

To save her father from death in the army, a Chinese maiden secretly goes in his place and becomes one of China's greatest heroes in the process.

Plot Keywords:

China | Dragon | Mountain | Matchmaker | Luck

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 14 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Miguel Ferrer	...	Shan-Yu (voice)
Harvey Fierstein	...	Yao (voice)
Freda Foh Shen	...	Fa Li (voice)
June Foray	...	Grandmother Fa (voice)
James Hong	...	Chi Fu (voice)
Miriam Margolyes	...	The Matchmaker (voice)
Pat Morita	...	The Emperor (voice)
Eddie Murphy	...	Mushu (voice)
Marni Nixon	...	Grandmother Fa (singing voice)
Soon-Tek Oh	...	Fa Zhou (voice)
Donny Osmond	...	Shang (singing voice)
Lea Salonga	...	Mulan (singing voice)
James Shigeta	...	General Li (voice)
George Takei	...	First Ancestor (voice)
Jerry Tondo	...	Chien-Po (voice) (as Jerry S. Tondo)

Also Known As:

China Doll (USA) (working title)
The Legend of Mulan (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

88 min | Philippines:85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

Mandarin | English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Philippines:G | Denmark:7 (DVD rating) | Iceland:L | USA:G (certificate #36035) | UK:U (cut) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Belgium:KT | Brazil:Livre | Canada:G | Chile:TE | Finland:K-8/5 | France:U | Germany:o.Al. (bw) | Hong Kong:I | Mexico:A | Netherlands:AL | Peru:PT | Singapore:G | South Korea:All | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud)

Company:

Walt Disney Feature Animation

Trivia:

Both Mulan and her father were animated by the same team - supervised by Mark Henn - as this helped make them seem related to each other.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Several times, Chien-Po demonstrates super-strength in this episode by lifting about seven soldiers at a time while rescuing Mulan, Li Shang, Mushu, Crick-E, and Khan from falling over the edge of the mountain and also by holding Ling and Yao with one hand while searching for Mulan in the avalanche. Provided he is human with no connection to any supernatural ancestors, Chien-Po has defied the laws of physics in this episode.

Quotes:

Fa Zhou: Honorable ancestors, please help Mulan impress the matchmaker today.
[Little Brother runs by dragging a sack of feed; chickens start pecking the grain left behind]
Fa Zhou: Please. *Please* help her.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in George of the Jungle 2 (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

True to Your Heart

Disney comes through with yet another animated masterpiece, and this one goes by the name Mulan.

Mulan is a young girl in ancient China. When the Huns start attacking the country, the Emperor orders one member of every family to join the Chinese Army and defend the country. The one member must be a man, but in Mulan's family, the only male is her injured father. Not wanting to allow her father to die, Mulan dresses like a man, and escapes into the night to join the war. To protect her, the ancient elders of her family ask the great Stone Dragon to watch over her. Unfortunately, the great Stone Dragon is destroyed by the little tiny dragon Mushu (Eddie Murphy). So with Mushu and a small cricket by her side, Mulan heads off to help destroy the Huns.

I think we can all guess what happens. Mulan, although a woman, manages to save the day. The plot line isn't really a surprise when you break it down. And the animation is, by now, expected to be great, and Mulan certainly lives up to the great Disney tradition. It's the story and the feeling you get that makes this movie so wonderful. Disney went through a lot to make sure it's depiction of ancient China was accurate. From the decorations on the walls, to the matchmakers, to the great honor in family, Disney manages to show what the country of China was like, and in many ways, still is today. Following the Disney tradition, there is a strong female character, this time taking lead. There are the over the top bad guys, and of course, the comic relief. Eddie Murphy was just down right hilarious in this movie. I wish they had showed more of him. The songs were sort of a change of pace, with Matthew Wilder and Jerry Goldsmith doing the honors, and not the venerable Alan Menken. The music was good, but the lyrics in some of the songs were weak.

The reason I feel Mulan was better than recent Disney fare like Hercules and The Hunchback of Notre Dame is because it had a much more lively feel to it. Hercules was very dark, animation-wise. Everything was centered on the color blue, so it didn't feel alive. And The Hunchback of Notre Dame was a more adult story, and some of the scenes were very dark and broody. Mulan took a simple plot, put it in ancient China, and made it very colorful and fun to watch. It was light, and "Disney" enough for kids to enjoy, while still being adult enough for the parents to enjoy.

Overall, I'd say Mulan is definitely one to watch. Disney animation has done it again.