Disney Princess Review: Mulan

Mulan

After the not so big success of recent of films (the films weren’t bad but not great either), Disney revisited the Princess Line again, and this time it underwent a complete change. Mulan is that film. Based on the Chinese legend, Hua Mulan, this film is one of the most popular and features the first Disney Princess who isn’t a princess within the movie. While it is not a film I always want to watch, I usually enjoy it (unless I miss “I’ll Make a Man out of You”). From a cultural standpoint this film takes less heat than Hercules, which really watered down the mythology whereas the focus of Mulan was the gender roles in China and that stops early in the film. The idea of a girl pretending to be a boy is mostly used to make a positive girl power statement and by the time the movie came out that had almost been done to death. Disney has never really put their females in such a position as Mulan did, making the princess’s goal not a dream but rather self-identification and wanting to make her family proud. I never really viewed this film as some great crusade for women, in fact, I think saying that rather cheapens it and feels like you did not actually watch the movie.

The animation is brilliant, the use of Chinese brushwork and negative space really help create some amazing backgrounds. Some critics actually claimed that the songs were not memorable and I have to say that made me laugh a bit. I personally view “I’ll Make a Man out of You” (the film version and the one where Jackie Chan sings) as the new “Eye of the Tiger” and the rest of the songs are almost as good. Mulan is often considered to be the last great high point for Disney and looking at films that come after I’m kind of inclined to believe it. The music and animation both weave together to create an interesting story, none of it feels as if it is trying to just entertain you but to tell a story and match the themes it sets for itself.

There is a considerable amount of characters in this film that I like. I love how believable (to an extent) the father is, especially when he is praying to the ancestors and is one of those great and more realistic dads in Disney and I really do love the relationship between him and Mulan.  Yao, Chien Po, and Ling were I think where most of the comedic moments that Mushu did not have was. I liked them because not only were they funny, they seemed like people you might actually meet in an army. The tough guy, the relaxed guy, and even the cocky show off. Mushu was a nice comedic addition but I think he may not have been needed, I think Cri-kee was all that was needed as it would have kept it much more cultural with the idea with the cricket being lucky.

Shang is ok. The best thing about him is the fact that Law and Order S.V.U’s B.D. Wong provides the voice for him in the English version (with Donny Osmond singing) and Jackie Chan provides the voice for him in the Japanese and Cantonese versions. I think a lot of people agree that when he found out Ping was really a girl that there was a short look of relief on his face. As far as male characters in Disney that are supposed to be the handsome prince, he is definitely better thought out without being a Prince, it’s good that his goal is not to get a girl but rather try to be a good captain. I will not go over him too much but he really is a good character and I do not think Mulan 2 really helped him out; it just helped you laugh at him.

Shan Yu is an intimidating character and I love his motivation for what he is doing. The man is invading China because the Emperor wants to keep China from being invaded. However, he ultimately falls a bit flat as a villain, though if Scar were someone’s pet, Shan Yu would be his owner. He seems to try to be more of a scary villain as to being an effective villain, after his scene at the wall he mostly just talks and moves. He really lost points when he kept trying to get the Emperor (the guy who in my opinion wraps the movie up) to kneel before him and he keeps saying no without even batting an eye. He does serve as a foil for Mulan but not big enough to directly challenge Mulan. He represents self-worth through aggression and fear, what she doesn’t want. The two of them don’t even interact until the last parts of the movie.

There are some moments in this film that are just epic and they mostly involve just Shan Yu arriving and Mulan heading off to the camp. Big scenes like the battle at the mountain and simple scenes like the army marching through China do nothing but help make the film more enjoyable with the backgrounds. Though I do love the Emperor I personally lose interest in the film after “A Girl Worth Fighting For”, I guess I mostly love the music and the scenes for them. The resolution at the end is touching with Mulan and her father in a rare father daughter bonding moment. I mean really, how many Disney films can you think of that had a scene like this because usually our protagonists are either too busy being happy or their parents are dead.

Now to Mulan. There is always something unique about the women in this sub era of the Disney Renaissance. In terms of appearance, I would say she is at her best when she is not trying to look girly. Her attire in the last act of the movie is what I think works best for her, feminine but casual. It goes back to something we see in Brave, Merida wears dresses but doesn’t like ones that restrict her movement. Mulan is very real for a sixteen year old girl, I love the scene where she is writing down notes on her arm like some people apparently do (mostly students in popular media and I myself have known people who have done it) and a bit awkward at times, especially when she tries to rush. She isn’t as confident as her predecessors and she really breaks the mold completely, she is on a journey for self-discovery and at the end is ready to take on the world, confident that she likes who she is.

Like a lot of more popular characters in the Renaissance, Mulan has trouble fitting with the role that is expected of her and despite her best efforts; it is not her. She does it because she wants to bring honor to her family and she wants her father (which is her biggest relationship in my opinion) to be proud of her. The movie never really makes the role of women out to be a bad thing, but more shows that it is not for every girl out there. Looking deeper, we see what she wants is to really find a way to bring honor to her family and at the same time see that who she is on the inside is someone she likes. Despite her being a tomboy, she does show her more feminine side at moments comedic effect or the fact that she is still a girl. One scene that was pointed out to me was the scene when Ling holds out his hand to “Ping” and if you look at her hand, she holds it out as if she is expecting him to kiss it.

Mulan is often believed to be a symbol for feminism, and a voice against sexism, and I disagree. Mulan does not do anything she does to prove a point; she just wants to keep her father safe. The unspoken message could be interpreted as a statement to girl power. The few scenes that even really delve into gender roles are basically there to drive the plot. The only real part in my opinion is when Chi-Fu (where just about all the sexist comments come from) reveals her crime to the soldiers and points how it is a disgrace. The film does not try to say that women are inferior but instead puts the focus more on Mulan being a tomboy and joining the army to keep her father alive. The movie ends with her going home and back to the traditions and customs that she has known all her life, nothing changes in the minds of society and that’s fine.

Now the original draft has her leaving to join the army without a deeper motivation. A Disney character should rarely do something that is just to exemplify some societal message. What they want they talk about and some random girl talking about women’s rights and liberation comes off preachy and boring, making it hard to survive the test of time that all movies strive to. Ariel wants to see the surface world and her love for Eric serves as a representation of her love/desire of the surface and she has the deep passion, desire, and plot for it. Aladdin and Belle also have similar desires that are stated as best they can be; and their character shows that these desire mean more to them on an emotional and developmental level. It provides depth and makes them interesting by talking about something that does not need to make bold statements. 

So now on to the final verdict Mulan, is one of my favorite females in Disney. She is just very real and easy to like but at times could be hard to keep up with  I could actually see her taking martial arts in real life (cause that is always cool), best friend is ultimately her father and that is the relationship that she will often value the most. Army girl comes to mind when I look at her at the end of it all. I give her an A as her highest with B as her lowest. Mulan is a big deviation from the previous Princesses, she is innocent but at the same time hardcore, showing that Disney can still put out a good movie with good characters.