My favorite animated movie, the only Disney film that has ever brought
tears to my eyes, isn't, unfortunately, the sort of film that sells look-alike
Barbie dolls or cuddly stuffed souvenirs. It's the least-marketed Disney
film of the modern era -- one of very few not to spawn a made-for-video sequel
or Saturday morning cartoon. As a result, this film has sunk into obscurity
more quickly than its more heavily-marketed peers. This is a real shame,
because the lush visuals, elegant soundtrack and, above all, the story
set is far superior to most studio fare.
Mulan, the daughter of a military hero now crippled from old wounds,
has been told all her life that a woman's honor depends on her role as a
dutiful, modest daughter and wife. But on the day of her disastrous visit to the local
matchmaker, who declares that she will never make a respectable bride, Mulan's
family receives a summons from the Emperor to help fight the Huns. Stealing
her father's armor, she travels to boot camp disguised as a man, accompanied
by an (un)lucky cricket and a disgraced dragon guardian named Mushu. There,
amidst orders to "be a man" and fellows who dream about "a girl worth fighting
for," she discovers her own strength and intelligence.
Mulan's commander Shang has a lot to live up to as well, being the
son of the general. When their unprepared battalion is forced to take on
the Huns, Mulan's scheming makes heroes of them all but, in the aftermath,
she inadvertently gives away her secret. After Shang and the others ride
off to glory before the Emperor, she makes a fateful discovery and must figure
out how to make herself seen and heard -- as a woman -- before the Huns destroy
China.
After a somewhat slow beginning, enlivened by the slapstick comedy
of Mulan's meeting with the matchmaker, the film becomes a dazzling action-adventure
that even Donny Osmond's singing can't drag down. The corniness of having
soldiers burst into song is offset by witty, fast paced scenes of unfit bums
trying to become lean, mean fighting machines. A battle in the Himalayas
offers breathtaking vistas as well as a gripping battle that may be too intense
for the young audiences Disney usually targets. The ending maneuvers between
witty costume ploys and hair-raising chases, culminating in a fight on a
rooftop amidst paper lanterns and decorative streamers.
Mulan has fewer songs than a typical Disney film, which works
to its advantage. In "Reflection," the title character wonders why her image
in a pond doesn't look like the person she wants to be, a sentiment that would
sound hopelessly corny spoken aloud yet seems sweetly appropriate accompanied
by watercolor-type images of Chinese spring flowers. "A Girl Worth
Fighting For" pokes fun at the expectations of the buffoons drafted into
the army. "Be A Man," the anthem to masculine strength and honor, gets
flipped on its head when the soldiers must dress as concubines to infiltrate
the palace ("You must be swift as a coursing river...mysterious as the dark
side of the moon").
After sitting through The Little Mermaid, in which Ariel wants to
transform her body so she can win the prince, and Beauty and the Beast,
in which it's suggested that all an abusive man really needs is the love
of a good woman to tame him, the power of Mulan really moves me. It's not
what she accomplishes disguised as a man so much as what she achieves as
a woman in a world where women are supposed to be beautiful, silent and still.
In the end, she uses specifically feminine accessories like a scarf and a
fan to defeat a hulking enemy who calls her "little girl." As in most Disney
films, the hero ends up falling for her, but not because of any wiles on
her part; it takes a kick from the Emperor for Shang to understand that
you don't meet a girl like Mulan every dynasty, but once he catches on, he
realizes (like Avigdor in Yentl) that the qualities that make her behavior
scandalous are precisely the things he admires about her.
Moreover, Mulan achieves everything on her own, without depending on
mice who can design clothes or gargoyles who can rearrange precipices. Mushu,
a walking disaster voiced by the hilarious Eddie Murphy, destroys Shang's
battalion's store of armaments, and the cricket accidentally sabotages Mulan's
meeting with the matchmaker. Ultimately they do become her partners in altering
the status quo...but even that is an improvement over sidekicks in many Disney
films who happily accept subservient roles and put up with being treated
as inferior beings even when they demonstrate skills greater than those of
the heroes. Mushu, who takes the place of the great family guardian dragon
after a calamitous accident, provides Mulan with self-confidence and companionship,
but he's no fairy godmother.
Striking animation inspired by Chinese brush paintings draw subtle
parallels between Mulan and "the flower that blooms in adversity" to which
she is compared, first by her father, then the Emperor. Don't look for similar
depth of characterization in the villains. Head Hun Shan-Yu makes war because
he enjoys it, and his men kill entire families. Similarly, the Emperor is
a fairly one-dimensional kindly old ruler; we're supposed to accept his unquestioned
authority because his forces keep China safe from those nasty Huns.
Mulan is far more complex -- the most complex of the Disney heroines;
she has personal flaws, like outspokenness and hubris, which could not only
cost her life but the honor and future of her family, given the restraints
of her culture. Yet despite Mulan's rebellion against gender constraints,
traditional Chinese views of honor and the eternal life of ancestors are treated
with great respect -- much better than Native American culture in Pocahontas and Arab culture in Aladdin. This is a great film to watch
with children, particularly girls in need of role models, but adults will
find much to enjoy as well in this finest of Disney films.
Green Man Reviews
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