Mulan
Disney hasn't been very consistent lately. They went from their worst Disney film, Pocahontas, to one of their best, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Then, they went back to mediocrity with Hercules (which was rather funny but not up to par). Now, they give us MULAN and I, for one, wasn't very excited. From the ads, it looked like another Pocahontas and it frightened me. While Disney films have almost always been entertaining (except their one bad film), they haven't been quite the same since Aladdin. Perhaps that is due to the death of Howard Ashman who wrote the lyrics for the music. Ashman's lyrics made the music from Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin memorable and singable. After he died, there was something that was changed forever.
However, they found lyricist Stephen Schwartz and hit another high with Hunchback. The songs were adult, meaningful to the plot, and quite simply Disney's best. However, Beauty and the Beast is still Disney's best animated feature and it doesn't look to be beaten anytime soon. Of course, that doesn't mean they can't try, right?
MULAN is one of Disney's best films. While it can't quite reach Beauty or Hunchback's excellence, it does a great job of providing entertainment with a wonderful story. The story is one of Disney's more adult ones but those darn animators made sure to include enough humor to entertain the kids. One thing MULAN does right if mix the story and humor more successfully than Disney's last few films. There are three main characters that provide the comedy: Mushu (Eddie Murphy), the cricket, and Grandmother Fa (June Foray; singing voice by Marni Nixon). The cricket is reminiscent of Pocahontas which contained three non-speaking animals that were funnier than anything else in the film. However, the cricket here has an attitude and is extremely funny to watch. Mushu is a small dragon who used to be a guardian but was demoted to gong-boy. Grandmother Fa provides many hilarious lines, and together they add just enough humor to entertain the little ones (even though some of the humor is more geared towards adults). Of course, all this is secondary to the strong plot.
MULAN is the semi-remake of Hua Mu Lan (although I really have no idea what that film was about). The story centers around Mulan Fa (Ming-Na Wen; singing voice by Lea Salonga), a young girl who can't find her place in life. She wants to make her parents proud, but whenever she tries to bring them honor by getting married, she screws up. During all of this, a war is breaking out between China and the Huns. An army of Huns is led by the evil Shan-Yu (Miguel Ferrer) and as a result, the Emperor (Pat Morita) orders that one man from every house serve in the army. However, Mulan's father is the only male figure in her family, and he has a bum leg. Yet he feels it is his duty to go, and he accepts the call. Mulan, dishonoring her father repeatedly, is afraid that her father will be killed, and so she decides to go in his place. She cuts her hair and takes her father's armor and horse. Here is where Mushu comes in. Mushu is asked by the guardians to wake the Great Stone Dragon, but he accidently breaks the statue. In a rush of confusion and panic, he takes his place and goes to help Mulan fight in the army. The cricket, believing that he is good luck, wants to go with (and we all know those darn crickets just won't take no for an answer).
Mushu teaches Mulan everything he knows about human men (it only takes about two minutes) and they proceed into the army training camp. Captain Li Shang (B.D. Wong; singing voice by Donny Osmond... yes, THAT Donny Osmond) is in charge of training, and all he sees is a group of reckless men. Mulan has a tough time with the strength exercises, but she is agile and quick which helps in dodging and running away. Smartly, the film doesn't go the way of G.I. Jane (which was a good movie) and glorify the training without doing anything else. Mulan is finally accepted by Shang when she retrieves an arrow from atop a huge pole. But other things stand in her way of bringing honor to her family. Finally, she is able to go to war (thanks to the help of Mushu and the cricket). The rest of the film peaks in near perfection and I will not explain any further of the plot.
Disney has been the best company for providing animated films, and this one merely adds to that reputation. The art is completely realistic and sometimes almost too realistic. At times, I thought that it couldn't be animated. One scene, in particular, is worth the price of a ticket alone. It involves an army of Huns racing down a snow-covered mountainside. It's quite awe-inspiring and better than any similar scene you might see in Braveheart. Sometimes, it seems that scenes have been copied from To Live, which contains another impressive charging army down a mountainside. The characters are fully rendered, although watching Mulan herself made me realize that she must have been a very simple character to draw, considering that her face is mostly just made of egg-shapes (almost a little stereotypical). Mushu is a lively and fun character to just watch, while watching both the cricket and horse's expression are pure delight. Watching Anastasia may be good, but nothing in that film is near the quality of this one.
Disney has a strict formula which it has followed ever since the huge success of The Little Mermaid but here it actually veers from that formula. It's not a drastic change, but there are differences, and you can tell. There is no damsel in distress as in Hercules and the villain is not a complete fool (as in Pocahontas). Here, the villain is mainly left in the background and it's one of the only things wrong with the film. Flying by at about an hour and a half, I was left wanting to know the villain more. Hunchback (the most underrated Disney film to date) had the best villain ever for a Disney film, and that's because we got to know him. Here, Shan-Yu is a stereotypical villain (glowering eyes, dark complexion, etc.) that I never really cared whether or not Mulan won. However, what I did care about was whether or not she would bring honor to her family. That was pretty much guaranteed, but getting there is half the fun. And the touching ending is rather unexpected, before it is corrupted by the other thing that is wrong with the film. The ending has this preposterous and idiotic moment that completely ruins the tone of the film. Had they not included this, it would have been much better.
Musically, MULAN is mixed. The songs are forgettable, and yet for some reason, they seem a little unnecessary. In every other Disney animated feature, I felt songs were necessary. Here, they seem obligatory, as if Disney sat around after writing the script, looking for places to include songs. Now, don't get me wrong, the songs aren't distracting, but the most powerful moments of the film occur without music. But this is Disney, and kids are expecting it. As for the original score, Jerry Goldsmith does a fantastic job. It's much better than Hercules' and almost matches Hunchback's haunting score. The music is tinged with a Chinese sound, and it makes it all that much more pleasing to hear. During the barrage of arrows and the charge down the mountain, the music is tense and surprisingly affected me in a way that I didn't expect. I was actually rather nervous. It's amazing what music can do when done properly.
The rest of the film lies in the vocal talents. Ming-Na Wen gives Mulan character and humor, while Lea Salonga provides her with a gorgeous voice. Most of the controvery lies on Eddie Murphy's casting, since he adds most of the humor. Murphy is in top-notch form here, and he isn't quite as distracting as Robin Williams in Aladdin. The humor comes from Murphy's wry delivery and characterizations. In fact, I would say that Murphy's Mushu is a dead-even match with the Williams' genie. B.D. Wong gives a nice, strong voice to Shang, but the biggest surprise is to see Donny Osmond as the singing voice (Mr. Osmond is a native Utahn... as am I). While the song he sings is rather tepid, it's made bearable by Osmond's good voice. Pat Morita (from Karate Kid) is good, as is Miriam Margolyes as the Matchmaker. Miguel Ferrer provides a scary voice for the villain and does a good job of making the character more fleshed out (or is it, "crayoned" out?). Special note to June Foray for her great comic delivery as Grandmother Fa... listen for her best line towards the end of the film regarding Shang. I must admit that at first, I was rather annoyed that this Chinese tale was told in English, but soon that was forgotten as I was absorbed into the story.
MULAN is rated G but does contain some violent scenes. It's nothing harsh, but it may frighten some children. As Disney films come, this is one of their best achievements. Directors Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook do a great job of maintaining a fast pace. The time flies by, but I was left wanting more. Most of Disney's best work does this to the viewer, and I think it's safe to say that this could easily become a classic. The adult story is kept light which makes it much more pleasurable for kids. Adults will find the humor just as funny, and they may laugh even more than their children. It's been quite a while since a pure family film has come around, and I'm sure people will enjoy it while it's here.