Mulan

Every Disney movie is always advertised as "a masterpiece", but Mulan is one of the few that REALLY fit the bill. The animation itself is simple and flowing, reminiscent of ancient Chinese art. But the animation for this is really something else. In fact, this is the best thing since The Lion King.

Mulan is a young girl who does her best to bring honor to her family. Then, when the Hun army invades China, one man from every household must serve in the Imperial Army. Since Mulan has no older brothers, her crippled father must serve. And it's obvious, early on in the movie, that it's impossible for him to fight with a crippled leg. There's a great likelihood that this man is going to die in battle.

So, out of the sheer love for her father, Mulan disguises herself in his armor and takes his place in the army.

This movie isn't about some gal going off to war to prove herself, or break free from the caste system, like so many other Disney heroines. And it isn't about "finding your prince and living happily ever after". Mulan goes for the simple love of her father and because of the her dedication to her family. She risks losing everything to SAVE everything.

Mulan is a wonderful movie because the main character is realistic. She's not perfect, she has her faults, and we all identify with her because we all try out best to please our fathers. This is one of the few movies I watched with my dad that he really liked, and he isn't that fond of animated stuff. It's a great film.

And that's what makes a true masterpiece.

Ok... I've read through most of the posted comments posted before this about this movie; I find that some people love the music, but think the characters are thin; some hate Eddie Murphy's presence, and think the love story is stupid. Well, your experience with a film is individual, I guess.

That said, I'll follow the trail and state why I loved watching this movie not once, but several times:

First of all, I'm far from being a fan of animated Disney classics. I'm in that age between child and adult(currently 23), where everything is a rebelry. Most of my viewing pleasures is action or its like.

My original incentive for seeing this movie was to please a friend of mine, who has a long-life fascination for oriental culture (read: karate films!). When Mulan was released in Denmark, a single copy with the original voices track (usually all animated Disneys are dubbed into danish with good result) was shown in a local theater. Asking a couple of girls out, we went and saw it. Ok, I was blown away. Before I had left the cinema that day, I too was captured by chinese history and culture. The singing and music I was prepared for; I knew The Jungle Book and Aristocats from childhood. The songs didn't mean anything to me, other than that they were few - good for me. (Some of them do kling to the ear - irritating for me!) I quickly realised Eddie Murphy was on the voices cast. I started liking the movie right then. Some find him malplaced in a Disney epic, but fact is that the business of animating classics is profiting well these years in bringing in already established names to the animations; Tom Hanks in the Toy Stories, Mel Gibson in Pocahontas, Robin Williams in Aladdin, and who else I don't know of. These names sell the film before the film have a chance to sell itself. (The danish producers, by the way, have stolen this idea when dubbing the films, using local media stars for the voice cast.) Well...it did work for me. Eddie Murphy is not as funny in this production as he is in others, but what the heck...he can't exactly use too much harsh language, it IS a children's flick. But with the room he got, his speedy tongue made me laugh again and again. I have later seen Aladdin, and find Eddie Murphy's achievement as funny as Robin Williams'. That Eddie Murphy chose this project was an interesting and probably very clever career move. Later, when I studied the rest of the cast list, I noticed a lot of chinese names. That very much pleased me. Who other than Chinese people to tell a Chinese tale to Westerners? I found some old friends, Soon-Tek Oh and James Hong, people who had worked with Chick Norris in the 80's. Pat Morita as the emperor made me smile. B.D.Wong I remembered from Jurrasic Park, but Ming-Na was new to me (had to look her up in IMDB, was stunned not to have known her before (Ok, I went wow!)). Harvey Fierstein as a ploppy little soldier and Miguel Ferrer as the Hun leader I found the perfect voice-choice for their characters...other names rang also. Anyway, a lot of the above have only value after you've seen the film. When you are an Atlantic ocean from most of the sales pitch, the film had to sell itself. It did - for me, anyway. Before then, I knew little about China and her history apart from things here and there (read: karate films!). Meeting angient China like this totally threw me away. Wership of the ancestors, the power and position of the emperor, I found myself lost in the dream of a world long gone; I loved the image of a China with different traditions but still found myself attracted to the pro-Disney story about a girl standing up to a culture's sexist prejudice. (I do find the plot a bit silly, actually, but I let myself be taken away...it's just a Disney.) Agree, the characters lack a little bit, the love story of Mulan and Shang should perhaps have had a few more frames to play with. The project was a little bit tuned down from the Disney board of directors, but honor to all who worked with it: You people did a good job! The computer animation used for the Great Wall and the attack of the Huns startles me again and again; Not many live movies can do the job as good.

So that's what Mulan is for me...The dream of ancient China and Eddie Murphy's speedy tongue. I accept the term classic. I have the damn thing on video now (English language) and must prevent myself from seeing it too often, in fright of one day getting tired of it.

Now I must admit I wasn't sure about this one. MULAN seemed to break most of my preconceived rules on Disney movies. These included the fairytale element - a cross-dressing Chinese soldier doesn't have the same magical appeal as, say, the son of the Greek gods searching for his birthright, etc etc. Also, this verge towards realism meant that the bad guy would not be as appealing - Disney villains are camp, over-the-top thespians by rule - Jeremy Irons in THE LION KING for example. I was concerned about the absence of king-of-melody composer Alan Menken, whose wonderful songs encapsulate the charm of Disney.

However, that said, I thought this film was wonderful. The characters were well thought out and expertly drawn. Not enough songs were present for my liking, but those that were fit perfectly with the story, and the chance to hear the wonderful voice of Lea Salonga (Mulan's songs) is worth the price of this film alone. Eddie Murphy has managed to be as good, if not better, than Robin Williams as the comic sidekick. And the film's conclusion is as genuine and as heartfelt as any adaptation of this story. The mountain scene contains some of the best animation I have seen from Disney, and the rousing score from maestro Jerry Goldsmith accompanies the action superbly.

This may not turn out to be a classic in the same way as THE LION KING and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, but I enjoyed it immensely. Go see it now!!!

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.

I can't think of a single animated feature film done by Disney that I don't like. For some reason they never bore me and they never feel the same. The classics like 'Snow White' and 'Cinderella' are great but I think I like the newer ones ('The Little Mermaid', 'Beauty and the Beast', 'The Lion King') even more. 'Mulan' definitely belongs to the best ones.

Mulan is a girl who doesn't do much right. For the honor of her family she joins the army instead of her father. She takes his gear and runs off. She pretends to be a man and does the training to go to war against the Huns who invaded China.

With some nice new songs, great music by Jerry Goldsmith and beautiful animations this is a real Disney. A little dragon called Mushu is helping her on the way. He is send by the ancestors. The voice of Mushu is from Eddie Murphy and he does a very great job. With a quick and good story and a lot of funny moments this is a great movie.