36 – Mulan
Today's movie takes us somewhere we've
technically been before, at least for a few minutes in Aladdin.
1998's Mulan, set
in China, is about a young girl who disguises herself as a man to
join the Chinese army so her father doesn't have to. The story takes
her through a journey to save China from the invading Huns and find
out who she really is.
Before
I talk about Mulan, the story really begins with her proud father who
is a bit ashamed of his daughter because she can't seem to get the
hang of being able to act like their idea of a proper woman. He still
cares very deeply about her but holds his family's honor very high.
When he gets called to war, he doesn't hesitate, which is unfortunate
because his age and frailty from fighting in another war would surely
get him killed. This brings Mulan in who is a very strong and smart
character but just can't seem to fit in. I know, “a character who
doesn't fit in”, Disney hasn't ever used that trope before or
anything but Mulan actually finds herself in an interesting
situation. She's stuck because she can't just choose a new path in
life because her only choice is to try to fit into the role that
society needs her to but she can't. Her choice to disguise herself to
go to war for her father is really interesting. It seems, at first,
like a really selfless thing to do that couldn't possibly help her
situation out but she later admits that she took the challenge
partially to prove herself capable of doing anything right. I really
got behind her because she seems to really want to make her family
happy but struggles so much to find a way to do that while still
being happy with herself.
Of
course, Mulan doesn't save China all by herself. Her family's spirits
try to get the dragon Mushu to wake a guardian but when he fails, he
decides to take up the call himself. Although he's not technically a
guardian anymore for his past failures, he still wants to prove
himself and become a guardian again. He provides most of the comedy
in the movie as he seems to get Mulan in trouble any time he tries to
help. When he finally fesses up to Mulan that he's not really a
guardian, he becomes way more useful. He starts to let her take the
lead a bit and proves that he can actually be useful and supportive.
He has some pretty awesome moments but I feel like he could have used
a bit more character development. I wanted to see that he really
cared about Mulan by showing that he wasn't as selfish about his
situation anymore.
Mulan
is lead by Captain Li Shang, the son of the General of China's
forces. He is very strong and strict and whips the recruits into
shape. He, like Mulan, respects his father greatly and tries to live
up to his reputation. He really doesn't tolerate failure which makes
Mulan push even harder to prove herself. His role is to really
inspire Mulan to get better and give her something to work toward.
Otherwise, he's kind of boring. The best parts with him are when he
breaks his character a bit and loosens up. You see him change
throughout the movie which is really great because he has such a
military vibe. It's good to know he does have a heart. Of course, he
also becomes Mulan's love interest, but I'll talk more about that
later.
Shan
Yu is the villain of the story. He is the leader of the Huns and has
a badass pet falcon named Hayabusa. He is very cruel and confident of
his power. He never really loses his cool and seems to revel in how
powerless China's forces are to stopping him. He isn't afraid of
China or doing horrible things like burning down entire villages. I
do wish we had seen some more motivation for his actions. It feels a
bit cartoony when you see a villain who can do such horrible things
but they don't make his reasoning for doing so very clear. I get that
he wants to kill the emperor and conquer China but I wanted to see
something a bit more personal out of him. Gaston was a jealous jerk.
Scar was power hungry and sick of his brother and nephew taking all
the spotlight. It would have been good to get a bit more personality
like that from Shan Yu.
This
movie also has it's fair share of side characters but I don't think
any of them really got on my nerves. There's this great little
cricket character who has some legitimately funny scenes. He never
pops in to ruin the mood or anything. There are Ling, Yao and
Chien-Po who really do a bunch of stuff. They are the main examples
Mulan gets for what “men” are like. You get to see how they
change and grow by the end, even following Mulan's orders and
dressing in drag. The Emperor is a very wise and proud man. He
doesn't get too much screen time but he does his job. Chi-fu is the
Emperor's big douche adviser who is incredibly sexist and a huge
stick in the mud. He was so antagonistic that he felt a bit like a
Pre Disney Renaissance villain. His presence, however, didn't really
hurt to me because it just made Mulan's victory better for having to
face even more adversity.
The
animation in this movie is really good, though it still lacks that
grandeur from The Hunchback of Notre Dame and
before. There are some really great moments when they use a style
similar to Chinese art, but it doesn't happen nearly enough. It only
really happens in one music sequence. The music, speaking of which,
is pretty middle of the road for me. The score is great and mixes
Chinese instruments and ideas. Sometimes it doesn't mesh really well
but it makes for an interesting style. The songs all work but the
lyrics are a bit literal sometimes and definitely not as great as
some of the classics from before. The sequences are fun, however, and
definitely give you a good idea of what's going on. The pacing of the
movie was really great. They used emotions really well like showing a
fun singing scene that transitions right into them stumbling upon a
village that was burned down by the Huns.
There
are some really great themes in this movie too. Honor is a huge part
of the movie with Li Shang wanting to live up to his father's
reputation, Mushu looking for redemption after losing his guardian
position and, of course, Mulan trying to bring honor to her family.
They really have an interesting take on identity and gender roles
too. Mulan really doesn't know who she is at the beginning of the
movie except that she isn't the perfect woman she thinks she should
be. She really struggles to prove herself and finds that she's better
when she's not trying to be something she's not. Mushu also finds
that he isn't really great at being a guardian while he's lying about
it but he definitely gets better when he tells the truth and steps
back a bit.
I
definitely had some problems with this movie. The music definitely
isn't as strong as some of the classics, like I mentioned before. The
romance subplot they stuck in felt a bit weak too. Shang thought
Mulan was a guy for half the movie, so they didn't exactly have a
chance for any romance before then. It just felt a bit shoehorned in.
It was good to see a different side of Shang but I don't think it was
very necessary. They also don't spend a ridiculous amount of time on
it, so that could be why it didn't feel as developed. It's better
than the alternative though, spending way too much time on a romance
no one cares about. Overall, I really liked this movie. I feel
like the quality is starting to take a dip compared to Beauty and
the Beast and The Lion
King, but I still really care
about the characters they create.
36
down. 17 to go.
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