Hey guys and welcome to my latest throwback review! Now a lot has been said about the live action remake of Mulan both good, and bad. Some are really excited to see a new take on the story, one that has no Mushu, or songs thrown into the mix and that plays like a grand action epic with mass battles, and a little bit of magic. But you also have those that are against any changes to the classic Disney flick and thus don’t like the idea of this remake (and there’s also the whole controversy surrounding the lead actress and the Hong Kong protest which is a whole other story). Personally out of all the Disney animated flicks, Mulan is the one that I feel most lends itself to a live action remake as I think there are certainly elements of the original that maybe a remake could expand upon and it could translate well to that medium. So with the movie going to Disney Plus (where you could pay $30 for it I believe) and in theaters where Disney Plus is not a factor, I might as well talk about the original 1998 Disney Renaissance flick whose audience has only grown throughout the years since it’s initial theatrical run and one that I find holds up quite well. So let’s get down to business (sorry couldn’t resist) and take a look at why that is so!
Adapted from the famous Chinese legend we go back all the way to Ancient China where we are introduced to our main baddie, Shan Yu, ruthless leader of the Huns breaches the Great Wall of China and is on his way to conquer China! Word gets out quickly to the Emperor who then calls a mobilization to get the best men from every family to join the army. Meanwhile a young woman named Fa Mulan who while different from others still wants to bring honor to her, and her family even if it may be difficult to truly be herself given her supposed role in society. When officials of the Emperor arrive to draft soldiers Mulan’s father steps up to join since he is the only man in the family even with his weakened state. Despite her best efforts she is unable to convince him to not join the army and thus decides to take matters into her own hands and cuts her her, and puts on his armor, and disguise herself as a man so she can enlist in her father’s place. The family soon finds out about this and worry for her safety and what would happen if anyone found out her identity so the grandmother prays to the family’s ancestors. They do listen and decide to send the guardian, the Great Stone Dragon, to protect her… but instead it ends up being a disgraced former guardian named Mushu (and accidentally destroys the statue) who decides to do the job in order to gain their respect. So now Mulan (along with Mushu, and her grandmother’s cricket) trying her best to be a man, heads to the training camp with other recruits to train under Commander Li Shang so they can learn how to defeat the Huns, and save China while also proving their honor along the way!
Looking back at this movie what most impresses me about it is how it handles it’s tone. While yes it does feel like at times that the comedy can feel a little too much, the screenplay is most of the time able to strike a nice balance between the lighter stuff, and more intense subject matter and I do commend it for not being afraid to show or imply mature themes, and subject matter. One stand out scene in particular that best exemplifies this is when the soldiers are singing and having a good time until they happen upon a ravaged village (in the middle of the song no less) and are in shock of what they see. It’s a perfectly executed scene that shows just enough to make an impact and does a good job of showing the horrors that war can bring. There are plenty of scenes like that throughout the entire movie that are very atmospheric and use visuals, and minimal dialogue to tell the story which is something Disney films of this time period and even before then excelled at and you could tell what is going on and really take in the moment as it leaves an impression with the scene where Mulan is preparing to ride out to the camp at night. It also has a very lean and mean runtime as I think it’s well paced and gets a lot done in that hour and a half time-frame (I’ve heard people say they wish it were longer and while I can see what they mean, I still think the movie works fine the way it is) and I do like how it often feels like this epic action movie and it does mostly succeed in that regard despite the need to also be a family friendly Disney movie with plenty of the jokes, and goofy shenanigans that transpire. Though I will admit that the jokes do land more than they don’t and it is often very funny so I will give it that. Plus just like other Disney movies it can be very powerful in the way it handles it’s themes about working hard to achieve your goals and become better, the importance of working together to accomplish things, writing your own story and not letting things like (misogynistic, and possibly short sighted) tradition get in the way of it and of course it challenges gender stereotypes and not let them define who you really are. It’s a very empowering, and feel good movie that really does manage to work on many levels and is investing from beginning to end.
Since this is Disney Renaissance era flick we’re talking about here then of course there is going to be some top notch animation on display and this one is actually one of my favorite looking Disney films. This is easily some of the most beautiful work the studio has put out in how it tries to emulate the look of ancient Chinese art and I think the animators did a very good job in doing that particularly with the character designs which are indeed memorable and capture each character really well. The movements are nice, and smooth and in the case of someone like Mushu very energetic. The backgrounds are also impressive as they do indeed feel big, and give certain sequences a greater scope like the mountains, and the Emperor’ palace in particular. There’s even some CGI used in some parts and it very well utilized especially when the Huns are charging from the mountain which is just jaw dropping in how big it looks and is a huge technical feat that the animators pulled off in spades. As for the action well there are a lot of really exciting ones that are directed with confidence like the avalanche coming down, and the climactic showdown at the palace and of course I already mentioned how superbly crafted scenes like Mulan suiting up are. Oh and I have to give a shout out to Jerry Goldsmith who composed a truly fantastic score that really does add a lot of weight to certain scenes and is truly grand, and enthralling when the occasion calls for it and I feel like it’s not as talked about as it should when discussing this movie.
Now a great Disney animated movie would not be complete without a great protagonist and Mulan herself fits that bill perfectly. She’s a really likable, sympathetic, and compelling character who is strong willed yet still unsure of herself at times, and has a great arc with her wanting to help her father and to prove herself once and for all and what makes it so rewarding is how we see her work hard, and struggle in order to achieve her goals. Couple that in with some great voice-work from Ming-Na Wen and she is probably one of my favorite Disney princesses. I also enjoyed her relationship with Li Shang as he comes to gain respect for Mulan as time goes on and they have some nice interactions, and he himself is a strong leader character as he is trying to show how skilled of a leader he is just like his father and BD Wong brings equal amounts of intensity, and kindheartedness to the role. As for the comic relief well there are quite a few of them with the most prominent, and popular of course being Mushu who is voiced by none other than Eddie Murphy. Lots of people see him as one of the problems of the movie and yes while there are times where his comedy can be a little distracting I actually do enjoy him quite a bit as a lot of his jokes, and witty one liners land, Murphy’s fast talking personality is always fun, and he does end up being a good aid to Mulan. Same goes for the three soldiers Mulan befriends at camp, the temperamental Yao (Harvey Fierstein), the jokey Ling (Gedde Watanabe), and the gentle Chien Po (Jerry Tondo) who each do a good job of standing out and are fun company to tag along with. Even legendary voice actress, June Foray, get some laughs as Mulan’s grandmother. I will say though that some of the other comic relief characters didn’t work as well like the cricket while cute, is pretty useless to the story, and doesn’t do much, the ancestors are perhaps a bit too over the top, and goofy, and while James Hong does make the role funny the character of Chi-Fu, the Emperor’s advisor, is the typical mean spirited character who gives the characters a hard time (though to be fair he does have his moments, and he’s not completely annoying like others of this type). Then there’s the villain of the picture, Shang Yu, the leader of the Huns and unfortunately he’s a pretty thin character with a generic motivation despite his cool design, and Miguel Ferrer’s efforts to give him a sense of menace. He’s one of those characters whose actions are more memorable, and noteworthy than the character himself (there’s one great scene in particular that involves an encounter with two soldiers that was very well done, and pretty intense). The rest of the cast is also good as well with Soon-Tek Oh, and Pat Morita in particular bringing a lot of gravitas, and wisdom to their performances as Mulan’s father, Fa Zhou, and the Emperor respectively. Some may work better than others but for the most part a lot of the character work here is well done especially when it comes to the titular character.
Pretty much every movie that was released in the Disney Renaissance had to have musical element to it even if some of the movies could’ve used without them. Even though I don’t think Mulan is hurt by it’s inclusion of songs, and musical numbers it also would not be hurt by not having them as well. Written by Matthew Wilder, and David Zippel most of them are pretty catchy and make for a pretty solid soundtrack. The opening status quo presenting song “Honor to Us All” is okay for the most as while it’s not the most memorable song it does a fine enough what it’s supposed to do even if it may not have been the most necessary one to include and it’s my least favorite of the bunch. Next is “Reflection”, which is a very beautiful piece that does a fantastic job of conveying Mulan’s emotions, and what she’s feeling in that scene and is just really powerful. Then there’s probably my favorite which is the training montage song, “I’ll Make a Man Out of You”. I really love this one as while some of the lyrics are pretty silly the instrumentals are just epic and it’s a really fun number with a really well put together montage as well. It’s great for working out, it’s catchy as all heck, and its pretty darn inspirational. What’s not to love? “A Girl Worth Fighting For” is pretty enjoyable and serves it’s intentions nicely as a fun, lighthearted song (though like I said before it’s more notable for how the number abruptly ends). Finally last but not least there’s the song that plays during the credits, “True to Yourself”, performed by Stevie Wonder which is a nice song even if I’m not sure if it was the appropriate music choice to end on. What is good about the songs in general is that the majority of them never felt like they slowed the movie and it was nice touch how after “A Girl Worth Fighting For” there are no more songs for the rest of the movie which made sense given how serious those proceedings were. They may not have been needed but they are a nice little bonus and never knock the brisk pacing off course.
The original Mulan has aged really by virtue of it’s well paced plotting, balanced tone, masterfully directed scenes of visual storytelling, powerful messages, beautiful animation, a great lead, some fun supporting players, and catchy songs. Even with some aspects holding it back from true masterpiece status (a little too much comic relief, a weak baddie, and the songs not really being all that necessary despite being fun), it still is a remarkable feature that is one of my personal favorites of that era. I’m curious to see how Niki Caro’s remake fares and see if it can stand proudly alongside this one as both a worthy re imagining and as it’s own movie. If you haven’t seen this one in a while, or not at all I do recommend giving it a watch and see how you feel about it as works in many ways and I’m happy to see that it has gained a huge fan-base since it’s release and it truly does bring honor to the Disney library.
Rating: A-
Please leave your thoughts down below in the comments and see you guys later!
Review Time 