Mulan

This article is about the 1998 Disney animated film. For the legendary Chinese heroine, see Hua Mulan. For other uses, see Mulan (disambiguation).

Mulan
Promotional poster by John Alvin
Directed by	Tony Bancroft Barry Cook
Produced by	Pam Coats
Screenplay by	Rita Hsiao Philip LaZebnik Chris Sanders Eugenia Bostwick-Singer Raymond Singer
Story by	Robert D. San Souci
Starring	Ming-Na Eddie Murphy B. D. Wong Miguel Ferrer Harvey Fierstein Beth Fowler George Takei
Music by	Score: Jerry Goldsmith Songs: Matthew Wilder (music) David Zippel (lyrics)
Studio	Walt Disney Feature Animation
Distributed by	Walt Disney Pictures Buena Vista Distribution
Release date(s)	June 19, 1998 (1998-06-19)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$70 million[1]
Box office	$304,320,254

Mulan is a 1998 American animated film directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook, with story by Robert D. San Souci and screenplay by Rita Hsiao, Philip LaZebnik, Chris Sanders, Eugenia Bostwick-Singer, and Raymond Singer. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures on June 19, 1998. Starring Ming-Na, Eddie Murphy, Miguel Ferrer and B. D. Wong in the English version, while Jackie Chan provided his voice for the Chinese dubs of the film. The thirty-sixth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics, and a part of the Disney Renaissance, the film is based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan.^[2]

Mulan was the first of three features produced primarily at the Disney animation studio at Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida.^[3] Development for the film began in 1994, when a number of artistic supervisors were sent to China to receive artistic and cultural inspiration. Mulan was well-received by critics and the public, grossing $304 million, earning Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations, and winning several Annie Awards including Best Animated Feature. A 2005 direct-to-video sequel, Mulan II, followed.

Mulan is set in China during the Han Dynasty. The film's protagonist, Fa Mulan, is the only daughter of aged warrior Fa Zhou. She impersonates a man and takes her father's place during a general conscription to counter a fictitious Hun invasion led by Shan Yu. Along with her guardian dragon Mushu, her captain, Li Shang, a lucky cricket, "Cri-kee," and her companions, Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po, she battles the invading Hun army.

Plot

The Huns, led by the ruthless Shan Yu, invade Han China, forcing the Chinese emperor to command a general mobilization. Each family is given a conscription notice, requiring one man from each family to join the Chinese army. When Fa Mulan hears that her elderly father Fa Zhou, the only man in their family, is forced to join the army, she decides to stand in his place, disguising herself as a young man named "Ping". Fa Zhou learns that Mulan has taken his place and prays to his family's ancestors, who order their "Great Stone Dragon" to protect her. The ancestors are unaware that the statue of Great Stone Dragon failed to come to life, and that Mushu, a small dragon is the one to go and protect Mulan.

Mulan is initially misguided by Mushu in how to behave like a man, and starts a ruckus at the training camp. However, under command of Li Shang, she and her new friends at the camp, Yao, Ling and Chien-Po, become skilled warriors. Mushu, desiring to see Mulan succeed, creates a fake order from Li Shang's father, General Li, ordering Li Shang to follow them into the mountains. They arrive at a burnt-out village and discover that General Li and his forces have been wiped out by the Huns. As they solemnly leave the mountains, they are ambushed by the Huns, but use of a cannon by Mulan buries most of the enemy forces in an avalanche. Mulan is slashed by Shan Yu in his rage at her wiping out his army during the battle, and she is forced to reveal her deception after receiving medical attention. Instead of executing Mulan as the law requires, Li Shang decides to spare her life by leaving her on the mountain as the rest of the army departs for the Imperial City to report the news of the Huns' demise. However, the avalanche failed to eliminate all the enemies, as Mulan catches sight of a small number of surviving Huns, including Shan Yu, making their way to the City intent on capturing the Emperor.

In the Imperial City, Mulan attempts to warn Li Shang about Shan Yu, but he refuses to listen. The Huns appear and capture the Emperor, locking themselves inside the palace. With Mulan's help, Li Shang, Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po pose as concubines and are able to enter the palace and defeat Shan Yu's men. As Shang prevents Shan Yu from assassinating the Emperor, Mulan lures the Hun onto the roof where she engages him in single combat. Meanwhile, acting on Mulan's instructions, Mushu fires a bundle of fireworks rockets at Shan Yu on her signal and kills him. Mulan is praised by the Emperor and the people of China, who all bow to her as an unprecedented honor. While she accepts the Emperor's crest and Shan Yu's sword as gifts, she politely declines his offer to be his advisor and asks to return to her family. She returns home and presents these gifts to her father, but he is more overjoyed to have his daughter back safely. Li Shang, who has become enamored with Mulan, soon arrives under the guise of returning her helmet, but accepts the family's invitation for dinner. Earlier in the film, Mulan was declared unfit for marriage, but this is not the case with her budding romance with Li Shang. Mushu is granted a position as a Fa family guardian by the ancestors amid a returning celebration.

Production

Mulan originally began as a short, straight-to-video film titled "China Doll" about an oppressed and miserable Chinese girl who is whisked away by a British Prince Charming to happiness in the West. Then Disney consultant and children's book writer Robert D. San Souci suggested making a movie of the Chinese poem, "The Song of Fa Mu Lan" and Disney combined the two separate projects.^[4]

Development for Mulan began in 1994, after the production team sent a select group of artistic supervisors to China for three weeks to take photographs and drawings of local landmarks for inspiration; and to soak up local culture.^[5] The filmmakers decided to change Mulan's character to make her more appealing and selfless^[6] and turn the art style closer to Chinese painting, with watercolor and simpler design - opposed to the details of The Lion King and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.^[7]

To create 2,000 Hun soldiers during the Huns' attack sequence, the production team developed a crowd simulation software called Attila. This software allows thousands of unique characters to move autonomously. A variant of the program called Dynasty was used in the final battle sequence to create a crowd of 3,000 in the Forbidden City. Pixar's photorealistic RenderMan was used to render the crowd. Another software developed for this movie was Faux Plane which was used to add depth to flat two-dimensional painting. Although developed late in production progress, Faux Plane was used in five shots, including the dramatic sequence which features the Great Wall of China, and the final battle sequence when Mulan runs to the Forbidden City. During the scene in which the Chinese are bowing to Mulan, the crowd is a panoramic film of real people bowing. It was edited into the animated foreground of the scene.^[8]

Cast

From left to right: Cri-Kee; Mushu; Fa Mulan; Kahn

Main article: List of Mulan characters

• Ming-Na as Fa Mulan (singing voice provided by Lea Salonga)
• Eddie Murphy as Mushu
• B. D. Wong as Captain Li Shang (singing voice provided by Donny Osmond)
• 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 (singing voice provided by Marni Nixon)
• Pat Morita as The Emperor of China
• George Takei as First Ancestor
• Freda Foh Shen as Fa Li
• James Shigeta as General Li
• Frank Welker as Cri-Kee, Khan (Mulan's horse), and Little Brother (Mulan's dog)
• Mary Kay Bergman as various ancestors

Jackie Chan provided the voice of Li Shang in Chinese dubs of the film and appeared in the promotional video singing the Chinese version of the song.^[9]

Reception

Critical reaction

Reception of Mulan was mostly positive, gathering a 86% fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes.^[10] Additionally, the film was ranked seventeenth out of the forty-eight canon Disney animated features in a 2009 countdown at the same website.^[11] Kyle Suggs described the visuals as "breathtaking,"^[12] and Dan Jardine described the visuals as "magnificently animated."^[13] Film critic Roger Ebert gave Mulan three and a half stars out of four in his written review. He said that "Mulan is an impressive achievement, with a story and treatment ranking with Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King". Negative reviews described it as a "disappointment." The songs are accused of not being memorable, and slowing down the pace of the movie.^[14] Some reviewers suggest that the film is "soulless" in its portrayal of Asian society.^[15]

This movie was also the subject of comment from feminist critics. Mimi Nguyen says the film "pokes fun at the ultimately repressive gender roles that seek to make Mulan a domesticated creature."^[16] Nadya Labi agrees, saying "there is a lyric in the film that gives the lie to the bravado of the entire girl-power movement." She pointed out that she needed to become a boy to do it. Kathleen Karlyn, an assistant professor of English at the University of Oregon, criticizes it suggesting "In order to even imagine female heroism, we're placing it in the realm of fantasy". Pam Coats, producer of Mulan, aimed to produce a character that exhibits both masculine and feminine influences, being both physically and mentally strong.^[17]

Box office performance

Mulan's opening weekend box office figures were $22.8 million,^[18] placing it as the second highest grossing movie that week to The X-Files.^[19] It went on to make $120 million in the U.S. and Canada as well as $304 million worldwide, placing it the second highest family film of the year, behind A Bug's Life, and the 7th highest of the year overall.^[20] While Mulan outgrossed the two Disney films which preceded it, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Hercules, its box office returns failed to match those of the Disney films of the early 1990s such as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King.^[21] Top international releases include United Kingdom ($14.6 million) and France ($10.2 million).^[22]

Awards

Mulan won many Annie Awards. The film itself won the award for Best Animated Feature. Individual achievement awards were awarded to Pam Coats for producing; Barry Cook and Tony Bancroft for Directing; Rita Hsiao, Christopher Sanders, Phillip LaZebnick, Raymond Singer and Eugenia Bostwick-Singer in Writing; Chris Sanders for Storyboarding; Hans Bacher for Production Design; David Tidgwell for Effects Animation; Ming-Na for Voice Acting Mulan; Matthew Wilder, David Zippel and Jerry Goldsmith for music and Ruben A. Aquino for Character Animation. Tom Bancroft and Mark Henn were also nominated for Character Animation.^[23] The music score also received significant praise. Jerry Goldsmith won the 1999 BMI Film Music Award and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score in 1998. It was also nominated for an Academy Award for Original Music Score in 1998, but was beaten by Stephen Warbeck's score for Shakespeare in Love.^[24] Matthew Wilder and David Zippel were also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song the same year for "Reflection". They were beaten by The Truman Show and "The Prayer" from Quest for Camelot respectively.^[25]

The American Film Institute nominated Mulan for its Top 10 Animated Films list.^[26]

Reception in China

Disney was keen to promote Mulan to the Chinese, hoping they might replicate their success with their 1994 film The Lion King, which was one of the country's highest-grossing Western films at that time. Disney also hoped it might smooth over relations with the Chinese government which had soured after the release of Kundun, a Disney-funded biography of the Dalai Lama that the Chinese government considered politically provocative.^[27] China had threatened to curtail business negotiations with Disney over that film and, as the government only accepts ten Western films per year to be shown in their country, Mulan's chances of being accepted were low.^[28] Finally, after a year's delay, the Chinese government did allow the film a limited Chinese release, but only after the Chinese New Year, so as to ensure that local films dominated the more lucrative holiday market.^[29][30] Kelly Chen, Coco Lee (Taiwan version) and Xu Qing (Mainland version) voiced Mulan in the Cantonese and Mandarin dubs of the film respectively, while Jackie Chan voiced Shang in all three dubs.

Chinese culture in Mulan

The Legend of Hua Mulan

Main article: Hua Mulan

The Chinese legend of Hua Mulan centers on a young woman who disguises herself as a man to take the place of her elderly father in the army. The story can be traced back to The Ballad of Mulan. The earliest accounts of the legend state that she lived during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534). However another version reports that Mulan was requested as a concubine by Emperor Yang of Sui China (reigned 604–617).^[2] The film may take place even later, as it prominently features landmarks such as the Forbidden City which was not constructed until the 15th century during the Ming dynasty. On the other hand, at the time of Northern Wei, the Xiongnu (Huns) had been already absorbed into Chinese culture. However, according to the style of dress (traditional Han clothing, also known as Hanfu), the film takes place sometime in the 15th century or before. The fireworks featured in the movie indicate that the movie is set during the Sui dynasty. Though Mulan is set in north China, where the dominant language is Mandarin,^[31] the Disney film uses the Cantonese pronunciation, "Fa", of her family name. Disney's Mulan casts the title character in much the same way as the original legend, a tomboy daughter of a respected veteran, somewhat troubled by not being the "sophisticated lady" her society expects her to be. In the original Mulan legend, Mulan uses her father's name Li and she was never discovered as a girl, unlike the film.

Language

When Mulan masquerades as a man, her name is a pun in Chinese. She takes the name "Fa Ping" (花瓶), which can be used to both mean "flowerpot" and something superficial that serves little purpose other than to be eye candy or decoration. However, in Chinese dub versions, they chose to use "平"(flat, peace, safe, etc.) for "Ping" instead of "瓶" (vase), to avoid "花瓶's" derogatory sense. Chi Fu's (欺负) name also means "to bully".

Music

Main article: Mulan (soundtrack)

Mulan features a score by Jerry Goldsmith and five songs by Matthew Wilder (music) and David Zippel (lyrics), with a sixth originally planned for Mushu, but dropped following Eddie Murphy's involvement with the character.^[32] The movie's soundtrack is credited for starting the career of pop singer Christina Aguilera, whose first song to be released in the U.S. was her rendition of "Reflection", the first single from the Mulan soundtrack. The song, and Aguilera's vocals, were so well received that it landed her a recording contract with RCA records.^[33] In 1999, she would go on to release her self-titled debut album, on which Reflection was also included. As well as her own, the pop version of Reflection has 2 Spanish translations, because the movie has separate Spanish translations for Spain (performed by Malú) and Latin America (performed by Lucero). Other international versions include a Brazilian Portuguese version by Sandy & Junior ("Imagem"), a Korean version performed by Lena Park and a Mandarin version by Coco Lee.

Lea Salonga, the singing voice of Mulan in the movie, is also the singing voice of Princess Jasmine in Aladdin. The music featured during the haircut scene, often referred as the Mulan Decision score, is different in the soundtrack album. The soundtrack album uses an orchestrated score while the movie uses heavy synthesizer music. The synthesizer version is available on the limited edition CD.^[34] Salonga, who enjoys singing movie music in her concerts, has done a Disney medley which climaxes with an expanded version of 'Reflection' (not the same as those in Aguilera's version). Salonga also provided the singing voice for Mulan in the movie's sequel, Mulan II.

The song "I'll Make a Man Out of You" was performed by Donny Osmond, who commented that his sons decided that he had finally "made it" in show business when he was in a Disney film.^[35]

Legacy

Live action adaptation

Disney has agreed to invest in a live action and 3D adaptation of Mulan starring international star Zhang Ziyi. Chuck Russell was chosen as the director, and also rumored to be in the production is US-born singer/actor Wang Lee Hom as General Li Shang. Production is slated to begin filming in China on October 2010.^[36]

References in Disney media

Mushu in the game Kingdom Hearts

Although she is technically not the daughter of a king or other form of royalty, nor married to a prince or the equivalent, Mulan is often regarded as one of the Disney Princesses.^[3] In the film Lilo & Stitch, Nani has a poster of Mulan in her room.^[37] Mulan is also present in the Disney and Square Enix video game series Kingdom Hearts. In the first Kingdom Hearts and in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Mushu is a summonable character,^[38] and in Kingdom Hearts II, the movie is featured as a playable world named "The Land of Dragons", with the plot being changed to accommodate the game's protagonists (Sora, Donald and Goofy) and Mulan (both as herself and in her Ping identity) able to join the player's party as a skilled sword fighter.^[38]

See also

	Animation portal
	Film portal
	Disney portal
	United States portal

• Mulan II
• History of the Han Dynasty (for info on the period this film is loosely based on)

References

1. ^ Mulan (1998) - Box office / business
2. ^ ^{a b} J. Lau. "Ode to Mulan". http://www.yellowbridge.com/onlinelit/mulan.html. Retrieved 2007-08-11. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Disney Princess Official Homepage" (SWF). The Walt Disney Company. http://disney.go.com/princess/html/main_iframe.html. Retrieved 2007-09-08. 
4. ^ Brown, Corie and Laura Shapiro. "Woman Warrior." Newsweek. Jun 8 1998. Vol 131: p. 64-66.
5. ^ "Discovering Mulan". Mulan DVD: Walt Disney Home Entertainment. 2004. 
6. ^ "Finding Mulan". Mulan DVD: Walt Disney Home Entertainment. 2004. 
7. ^ "Art Design". Mulan DVD: Walt Disney Home Entertainment. 2004. 
8. ^ Mulan DVD Commentary (DVD). Walt Disney Home Entertainment. 2004. 
9. ^ http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=jackie+chan+mulan&aq=f
10. ^ "Rotten Tomatoes". http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mulan/. Retrieved 2007-08-11. 
11. ^ "Disney Animation Celebration". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/guides/best_disney_animated_movies/. Retrieved 28 November 2009. 
12. ^ Suggs, Kyle (1998). "Review of Mulan". Christian Spotlight. http://www.christiananswers.net/spotlight/movies/pre2000/i-mulan.html. Retrieved 2007-08-11. 
13. ^ Jardine, Dan (1998). "Review of Mulan". Apollo Guide. http://www.apolloguide.com/mov_fullrev.asp?CID=549&Specific=1924. Retrieved 2007-08-11. 
14. ^ "Review of Mulan". Need Coffee. 1998. http://www.needcoffee.com/html/reviews/mulan.html. Retrieved 2007-08-11. 
15. ^ Gonzales, Ed (1998). "Review of Mulan". Slant Magazine. http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/film_review.asp?ID=1301. Retrieved 2007-08-11. 
16. ^ Nguyen, Mimi. "Negotiating Asian American superpower in Disney's Mulan". Pop Politics Media LLC. http://www.poppolitics.com/articles/2001/01/05/Whos-Your-Heroine?. Retrieved 2007-08-11. 
17. ^ Labi, Nadya (1998-06-26). "Girl Power". TIME Magazine. pp. 1–2. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988643,00.html. Retrieved 2007-08-11. 
18. ^ "Box Office Report for Mulan". http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mulan.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-11. 
19. ^ "Box Office Report for X-Files". Archived from the original on November 13, 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20061113184600/http://www.boxofficereport.com/byfilm/1998/xfiles.shtml. Retrieved 2007-08-11. 
20. ^ "1998 WORLDWIDE GROSSES". http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=1998&p=.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-11. 
21. ^ Corliss, Richard (2002-06-24). "Stitch in Time?". TIME Magazine. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1002724,00.html. Retrieved 2007-08-11. 
22. ^ Woods, Mark (1998-12-01). "'Mulan' hits $100 mil". Variety. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb1437/is_199812/ai_n5940344. Retrieved 2007-08-11. ^{[dead link]}
23. ^ "26th Annie Award Winners". 1998. http://annieawards.org/26thwinners.html. Retrieved 2007-08-09. 
24. ^ "1998 Academy Award Winners". 1999. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0774113.html. Retrieved 2007-08-09. 
25. ^ "1998 56th Golden Globe Awards". LA Times. Archived from the original on May 20, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070520002640/http://theenvelope.latimes.com/extras/lostmind/year/1998/1998gg.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-11. 
26. ^ AFI's 10 Top 10 Ballot
27. ^ Fessler, Karen (June 23, 1998). "Will Mulan open China to Disney?". Bloomberg News. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4182/is_19980623/ai_n10118444. Retrieved 2007-06-23. 
28. ^ Michael Fleeman (1998). "Hollywood hopes more movies will follow Clinton to China". The Associated Press. http://www.tibet.ca/en/wtnarchive/1998/7/12_2.html. Retrieved 2007-06-23. ^{[dead link]}
29. ^ Kurtenbach, Elaine (February 8, 1999). "China Allows Disney Film Screening". Associated Press. http://www.tibet.ca/en/newsroom/wtn/archive/old?y=1999&m=2&p=8_5. Retrieved 2007-06-23. 
30. ^ Shelly Kraicer (August 14, 1999). "China vs. Hollywood : the BBC World Service talks to me". http://www.chinesecinemas.org/bbc.html. Retrieved 2007-06-23. 
31. ^ "China Factbook". https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html. 
32. ^ "Songs of Mulan". Mulan DVD: Walt Disney Home Entertainment. 2004. 
33. ^ Smith, Andy. "One talented teen". Providence Journal. 
34. ^ Clemmensen, Christian (July 7, 2007). "Filmtracks: Mulan (Jerry Goldsmith)". http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/mulan.html. Retrieved 2007-07-28. 
35. ^ Scheerer, Mark (1998-07-08). "Donny Osmond rolls with the punches for 'Mulan' success". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Music/9807/08/donny.osmond/. Retrieved 2007-08-11. 
36. ^ "Zhang Ziyi to produce and star in 3D Mulan film". Channel News Asia. July 27, 2010. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
37. ^ "Lilo & Stitch Easter Egg Archive". www.eeggs.com. http://www.eeggs.com/items/40473.html. Retrieved 2007-08-18. 
38. ^ ^{a b} "Official Kingdom Hearts Website" (SWF). 2006-02-08. http://na.square-enix.com/games/kingdomhearts/index4.html. Retrieved 2007-08-11. 

External links

• Official website
• Mulan at the Internet Movie Database
• Mulan at AllRovi
• Mulan at Rotten Tomatoes
• Mulan at the Big Cartoon DataBase