Hi folks! Welcome to my My Own Personal Nerdy Disney and Animation Scrutinizing Analysis blog. A blog where I'm analyzing several Disney films, Disney or Animation in general! These entries are just meant to be my analyses. Not reviews or statements. Just fun analyses! Though I'll make some personal remarks now and then, the content of these entries are meant to be depicted objectively. They're made for entertainment purpose only and the pictures/clips are copyright Disney or other companies.
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We're playing "Simon says". And Simon says learn to fly ;) |
In many ways, Mulan was a semi-redemption for the Disney Renaissance, who's reputation and Box Office numbers had been decreasing after Pocahontas (yes, I know this is subjective, but it's hard to dismiss that the films from 1995 to 97 were perceived as inferior by the major public).
which was an heavily promoted film with low Box Office result. Mulan was modestly promoted and did better! Perhaps a sign how the world was getting tired of the overwhelming promotion of every annual Disney release. So these factors pretty much confirms Mulan's redemption staple. And non-Disney releases were finally starting to break the Box Office. As DreamWorks much hyped The Prince of Egypt and The Rugrats Movie (actually).
Yes, IT'S crowded here |
Something that also the title character of the Disney knock-off Anastasia did, released the year pior. As did the heroine of the panned and overlooked Quest for Camelot (yes, I'll confess it's a guilty pleasure of mine). A movie that has strikingly similarities to Mulan! (A farmer girl, feminist agenda, father/daughter-bond, dragon and a similar villain)
Mulan rebels against female deprecation and has the proactive, smart and resourceful title character saving the day (with help of her sidekick, though). But cross-dressing is a major theme on this film that it never shies away from.
Mulan has to become one of the boys, gaining their acceptance and using their manly qualities as a tool. Which she also did in the original poem. Due to the unfortunate fate and status of several Asian women, it's not strange to see why the story of Mulan is so heralded through Asian history.
Don't be fooled, it was actually heavy to hold it. |
Though the story-team were tempted to depict Mulan as a misfit tomboy who goes to war (which was going to happen to Brave's Merida), they never fell for it. Though they were tempted by modeling the story after Tootsie.
However, initially the story crew completely overlooked the original intention of the poem and portrayed Mulan as an unhappy misfit who left home due to selfish reasons. Chris Sanders eventually realized that Mulan's actions would be just as Belle from Beauty and the Beast; Another heroine who takes her fathers place to save his life.
Remarkable how Mulan is able to have some male features as a soldier (beauty of animation, able to cheat). But despite her lowering her voice (The Joy Luck Club's Ming-Na Wen), she never speaks the whole time as a guy, which was an intentional choice by the directors (due to it seeming contrived). There's no secret that Mulan was added to a certain Royal Franchise (and therefore included in an episode in Sofia the First). But since I've already tapped into that discussion, I'll leave it for now.
If there's an adjective to describe Mulan, then it's modest. While it's not to dismiss that it's an ambitious movie, it feels overall more modest and subdued than it's Renaissance counterparts. While all of the features of the 90's were more or less grand epics, Mulan feels more intimate and minimalist (which is due in many aspects of this movie). At least in my opinion.
We're the Snow Rangers. At least we invigorated a new name ;) |
What's notable about Mulan is how steeped it is in Chinese culture (despite how Chinese found Disney's version too Americanized). Heck, perhaps the most dedication that Disney's ever done to a culture!
The creative ink-calligraphic opening is certainly evident of this! And it's visual look, having a subdued Chinese style by production designer Hans Bacher (Lion King) and Art Director Ric Sluiter (Lilo & Stitch).
Chinese artists worked on this film and the minimalistic backgrounds reflects the minimalistuc Chinese approach, as little space and details (which was a challenge for the detail-loving layout artists). While some reviewers have ranted about this approach, Mulan is overall worshiped for it's look.
The Asian casts has already been mentioned, some of them sounding Authentically Asian (as Pocahontas Native parts did). The Chinese tone is also influenced in the music, as Honor To Us All is sampling a traditional Chinese stock melody that most people associates with China. But unfortunately not all Disney scores reflects their cultural setting, as Hercules, The Emperor's New Groove, Frozen (yes, it had the Norwegian folk chant as stev, but it could've been more used) and even Disney's other semi-Asian feature Big Hero 6.
Several animators supervised two characters, which was an unusual task for a Disney animator during the 90`s. Mark Hehn supervised both Mulan and her father, Fa Zhou. Ruben Aquino supervised Li Shang and Mulan's mother Fa Li (Li synergy, huh?). And Tom Bancroft, Tony's identical twin brother, supervised Mushu.
I'm exaggerating for the case of the art |
True to Asian costume, Mulan is given away to marriage as her story begins, though for once she's not given an suitor (which is a nice twist to the story, though it was a deliberate one, as she became too unlikable for rebelling against marriage for selfish reasons, which meant that she had to be willing to fulfill it).
Mulan herself is a failable, yet relatable role model. Despite a few blatant mistakes, she comes across as a healthy, good role model (which the directors were praised for, according to the audio commentary). But personally I've found her more vivacious and spirited at the beginning and becoming duller later on (ironically enough).
After two (obviously) orphaned heroines in Esmeralda and Megara, Mulan was the return to the stock-daddy girl that was reused through the nineties. Fa Zhou belongs to the tall, patriarchal father type, as Triton and Powhatan. But remarkably Mulan is given both a mother and a grandmother (and Ancestors, haha).
While Fa Li may be personality-deprived, her inclusion was intentional, to reflect Mulan's future role as a Chinese wife and bride. Grandmother Fa may recall Grandmother Willow, but at least is an actual Grandmother (which pluckiness Mulan takes from), which also Anastasia had. Grandmother Fa had originally a bigger part in the story, but got reduced.
They payed me to do this ;) |
I can be threatening too. Screw my size :) |
And if you're questioning Mushu's size, Chinese dragons can be small, which was a deliberate choice, in order to avoid having a huge dragon as a companion (though there has been many theories and questions about why the Great Stone Dragon never came to life).
Mushu was the obligatory sidekick of nineties. But the movie takes
My red alter ego is cute when he haven't slept, isn't he? |
I'm adorable, ain't I? |
Disney has currently invigorated animated musicals again with their newest Princess movies. But the case was different with Mulan! Hercules was the last true musical preceeding Mulan, which in turn, has just four songs. At least Mulan was the first non-Alan Menken musical since Lion King, by musician and producer Matthew Wilder. Known for his Break My Stride from 1984 and producing No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom. He's been producer for artists as Natalie Cole, Bette Midler, Kelly Clarkson, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus (two former Disney starlets), to name a few (and Wilder also provided the singing voice for Ling as well).
David Zippel (The Swan Princess, Hercules) penned the lyrics. Originally Stephen Scwhartz was a part of the project, but resigned.
The songs were the usual Disney stock songs (with the exception of the villain song, which was getting excluded in the late nineties). Looking at a reflection is classical a stock Disney element, but Reflection, the "I want"-song, takes it quite literally (Mulan`s singing voice was by Lea Salonga, who also sang for Jasmine in Aladdin. Which was a better fit, since Mulan is closer to Salonga`s region)!
It's tempting to claim that the songs of Mulan haven`t been the most worshipped songs in the Disney canon. But the truth is that most reviewers usually claimed the songs of the first films of the Renaissance (Mermaid and Beauty) as superior and the following as inferior.
However, there overall were mixed reactions to the songs of Mulan. Certainly I'll Make A Man Out Of You (sung by Donny Osmond) is the most worshiped of the songs, as with Reflection (which was made into a pleasant pop-single by the then former Musketeer Christina Aguilera, before her career taking off).
Yeah, I'm baffled by your dance. What did you expect? |
At least until you eat it ;) |
While Mulan is indeed a solid film for kids, it has quite little juvenile filler (in my opinion). Whereas Pocahontas and Hunchback had misplaced comedic elements and Hercules being a comedy with melodrama, Mulan blends both genres effortlessly. The depth and savviness is evident on it's smart and solid screenplay.
Epilogue
We didn't fly. Technology made it look like we did so :) |
References:
The Art of Mulan (Jeff Kurtti)
Mouse Under Glass (David Koenig)
Mulan Special Edition DVD.
boxofficemojo.com
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120762/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120762/criticreviews?ref_=tt_ov_rt
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120855/?ref_=nv_sr_2
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120855/criticreviews?ref_=tt_ov_rt
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119282/?ref_=nv_sr_1
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116583/?ref_=nv_sr_1
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120762/?ref_=nv_sr_1
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120762/trivia?ref_=tt_ql_2
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120762/externalreviews?ref_=tttrv_ql_op_5
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120762/newsgroupreviews
http://web.archive.org/web/20030402021413/http://www.animated-movies.net/Mulan.html
http://www.laughingplace.com/News-ID115160.asp
http://imgur.com/gallery/F1lWJ
https://moviepilot.com/posts/3548503
https://mic.com/articles/171661/bisexual-icon-li-shang-may-not-be-in-live-action-mulan-here-s-why-he-needs-to-be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THHjkhyxKJI&t=64s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5aZC5eoAJw&t=922s
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mulan
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tarzan
The Art of Brave (Jenny Lerew)
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