Mulan

"The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all."

"Sir?"

"You don't meet a girl like that every dynasty."

Fa Mulan (Na) does not know how to fit in with her family and society.  She is rejected by the matchmaker and continually brings dishonor on her family.  When the Hun army, led by Shan Yu (Ferrer), attacks, all families in China are ordered to send one man to join the army.  The only man in the Fa family is Mulan's injured and aged father, Zhou (Oh), who plans to do his duty and fight for honor.  Mulan is unwilling to lose her father; cuts her hair, dons her father's armor and joins the army as "Ping".

The Fa family ancestors fear that she will be discovered and killed.  They worry that this will lead to financial ruin and dishonor.  They want Mushu (Murphy), a disgraced guardian, to wale a guardian to bring Mulan home.  After Mushu accidentally destroys the stone guardian, he decides to make Mulan a war hero to get his job back.  With Mushu and a lucky cricket, they join the other recruits.  They are trained by General Li's son, Shang (Wong) and the Emperor's assistant Chi Fu (Hong) who believes they will never be real soldiers.  Can they survive training and go up against the Hun army?


For their first Asian centric film, Disney turned to an ancient Chinese poem "The Ballad of Mulan."  The poem tells the story of Hua Mulan.  Disney adapted the story, with a few minor tweaks, songs, and comedic co-stars. Despite adapting the poem, there are a few anachronistic issues with the story: the pronunciation of her name (Mandarin pronunciation of her first name, Cantonese pronunciation of her family name), etc.

The characters are entertaining, with excellent voice talents.  Ming Na brings Mulan to life, with Broadway star Lea Salonga providing her singing voice.  BD Wong, from Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, is a great Shang, with Donny Osmond performing his solo on "I'll Make A Man Out of You."  Eddie Murphy steals the show as Mushu, hilarious without veering into annoying.  He is better known for voicing Donkey from the Shrek films, but he is better here.  Mulan's friends also provide comic relief: Broadway legend Harvey Fierstein is perpetually angry Yao, Gedde Watanabe is the overly confident Ling, and Jerry Tondo is the zen Chien-Po.  James Hong, who also lends his voice to the Kung Fu Panda series, is funny as Chi-Fu.  Miguel Ferrer is a fascinating and menacing villain, not the best, but still creepy.

In addition to the great cast, the film also boasts a memorable soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith.  The film was successful enough for Disney to green light a direct-to-video sequel Mulan II.

Mulan (1998) 88 minutes
Director: Tony Bancroft & Barry Cook
Starring: Ming Na as Fa Mulan (voice)
Lea Salonga as Fa Mulan (singing voice)
Eddie Murphy as Mushu
BD Wong as Li Shang
Miguel Ferrer as Shan Yu
Harvey Fierstein as Yao
Gedde Watanabe as Ling
Jerry Tondo as Chien-Po
James Hong as Chi-Fu
Soon-Tek Oh as Fa Zhou
June Foray as Grandmother Fa
Pat Morita as Emperor of China