Mulan (1998)

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.

Directors:

Tony Bancroft, Barry Cook

Writers:

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

Stars:

Miguel Ferrer, Eddie Murphy, Ming-Na Wen

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 14 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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)

Storyline

This retelling of the old Chinese folktale is about the story of a young Chinese maiden who learns that her weakened and lame father is to be called up into the army in order to fight the invading Huns. Knowing that he would never survive the rigours of war in his state, she decides to disguise herself and join in his place. Unknown to her, her ancestors are aware of this and to prevent it, they order a tiny disgraced dragon, Mushu to join her in order to force her to abandon her plan. He agrees, but when he meets Mulan, he learns that she cannot be dissuaded and so decides to help her in the perilous times ahead.

---

Plot Keywords:

china | dragon | the huns | training | luck | 

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Musical

---

Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Offical Disney Site Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English Mandarin

Release Date:

19 June 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

China Doll

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£111,949 (UK) (9 October 1998)

Gross:

£9,454,609 (UK) (13 August 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Feature Animation, Walt Disney Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Donny Osmond - who sings several songs on the soundtrack - noted that his children only ever really thought that he had made it in show business when he worked on a Disney film.

---

Goofs

Chien-Po is a normal human who demonstrates anti-law-of-physics super-strength by lifting seven soldiers from the cliff and also by holding Ling and Yao with one hand while searching for Mulan in the snow. This absurd personage is a classic stock character in ancient-war genre movies.

---

Quotes

Yao: My girl will think I have no faults...
Chien-Po: That I'm a major find.
Mulan: Uh... How about a girl who's got a brain, who always speaks her mind?
Yao, Chien-Po, Ling: Nah!

---

Crazy Credits

Thank you to the Walt Disney Feature Animation Support Staff and our families. Your patience and dedication bring honor to us all.

---

Connections

Featured in Dreams Come True: A Celebration of Disney Animation (2009)

---

Soundtracks

"I'll Make a Man Out of You"
Music by Matthew Wilder
Lyrics by David Zippel
Performed by Donny Osmond and Chorus

User Reviews

Despite a few weak songs this is a great cartoon

Mulan is a tomboy of sorts - not something that is looked for in a Chinese wife, and she causes constant worry and dishonour to her family. When the Huns attack China, the Emperor commands each family to put one man forward to fight. With Mulan's aged father the only man of the family it looks like he must fight, but Mulan dresses as a man and takes his place. With the help of dragon Mushu, Mulan overcomes her status as a woman to help take on the Hun.

I wasn't sure I would like this film as I have grown a little tired of the Disney formula of `songs, romance and smartassed comedy sidekicks', which Mulan sticks to pretty well, however I did really enjoy this film. I think it was mainly because of the sweep of the story, the big battles and the majestic feel to the movie. The plot moves swiftly and felt like it was all over too quickly. It has the usual mix of laughs for parents and kids as well as having quite a good story behind it all.

The only major weakness is the songs. I didn't exactly start tapping my feet at any of them and, while they are not bad per se, they aren't great and after a few lines I was wanting to skip past them (but couldn't - it was showing on TV). Asides from these the film is funny and quite dramatic and is good fun to watch. The cast are good. Ming-Na is a good Mulan while Murphy rehearses for Shrek with his smart mouthed dragon that gets plenty of good laughs. DB Wong is a good actor but has a `straight' role and doesn't distinguish himself. I was worried at first by the presence of Harvey Fierstein, but he did good work and wasn't half as irritating as he usually is.

With colourful animation that is good without being Pixar, this is a good cartoon that is fun, funny and, at times, dramatic. I'm not a big fan of Disney over the last few years but I did really enjoy this film and would watch it again.