Mulan (1999, VHS)

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Review of Mulan

During the past few months, we have watched numerous Disney movies at our house. We have done so for several reasons. We had a ton of hot hot HOT days this past summer when we couldn t even go out during the evening; it is necessary to distract a 3 year old in any way possible in this kind of situation! We are also planning to take Alex to Disney World soon, and we wanted to introduce him to some of the characters that he might "meet" there. Finally Disney movies are often a delight for the whole family. Mulan quickly became one of the family favorites, and we check it out of the public library every week or two.

Based on an ancient Chinese legend (at least according to the blurb on the back of the video), Mulan is the story of a young girl who doesn t fit in with the expectations of Chinese society. She fails to impress the match maker at the beginning of the movie, and in fact horrifies her. Upon returning home, Mulan discovers that her ailing father has been conscripted into the Imperial army. A man from every household must help to fight the Huns, and Mulan has no brothers who can fight in her father s stead. Mulan, seeing how difficult this task would be for her father, disguises herself as a boy and secretly goes off to war in his stead.

From there, the movie is mostly dedicated to Mulan s hilarious adventures as a soldier. It is difficult to pretend to be a man, but she catches on with the help of some Disney animal sidekicks, a "guardian dragon" named Mushu, a lucky cricket, and a horse. Mushu s sharp-witted running commentary about Mulan s "drag show" is priceless; that alone would make the movie worth viewing. Of course, Mulan also turns out to be an heroic warrior

Believe it or not, there is a ton of serious social commentary underneath this animated story. The question of society s expectations is addressed and the message the movie winds up promoting is actually feminist. (Contrast this with The Little Mermaid or any of a dozen other earlier Disney movies). An implied romance is included in the film, but more important in terms of relationships is the father/child story. Mulan s father may not always approve of what she does, but he affirms Mulan s actions more often than Chinese society would conventionally allow. The movie can serve as a bit of an introduction to traditional Chinese cultural expectations and the concept of honoring one's family above ones' own wants or desires. Mulan manages to reconcile these two seemingly incompatible tasks.

I was also surprised to note how much I enjoyed the music in this Disney film. It is perhaps not up to the level of Aladdin or The Lion King, but it is miles better than Pocohantas, and it often underlines the positive themes in the movie. I ve found myself singing along with the characters even while I m not actively watching the film and my son Alex always likes to dance during the credits, which feature an upbeat, happy piece of music. The soundtrack will be going on my ever growing wish-list.

For me, the standout performance in this movie is Eddie Murphy as the voice of Mushu. The scripting of this character is hysterically funny, and Murphy is as funny as I remember him being in Beverly Hills Cop. Fans of NBC's ER might be surprised to discover that Ming-Na is the voice of Mulan. Who knew that she could act and sing?!

I have enjoyed Disney movies since I first saw Snow White and the Seven Dwarves when I was two years old. This past summer I have had the opportunity to view and re-view many of the animated features. Mulan has become a favorite; I will definitely want to add this to my own video or DVD collection.


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