Mulan (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
by Barry Cook, Tony Bancroft
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Actor: BD Wong, Eddie Murphy, Harvey Fierstein, Miguel Ferrer, Ming-NaDirector: Barry Cook, Tony Bancroft
Brand: disney
Writer: Alan Ormsby
Writer: Anonymous
Writer: Barry Johnson
Writer: Burny Mattinson
Writer: Chris Sanders
Writer: Chris Williams
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: AC-3, Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Letterboxed, NTSC, THX, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 88 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-11-09
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Accessories:
DVD Reviews of Mulan (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
DVD Review: Another Disney "Classic"
Summary: 2 Stars
Mulan is the epitome of everything wrong with Disney right now.
For starters, understand that Mulan is not so much a movie, as it is a "product." First and foremost, the impetus behind Mulan is to generate maximum commerical consumption through endorsements of sugar-coated breakfast cereals, fast food, fruit snacks, and the launching of a whole line of toys, clothing, and other merchandise; the details and quality of the actual "movie" are ancillary and secondary concerns.
While utilizing some remarkable animation, the film itself is as flimsy as the toys you get with the McDonald's Happy Meal. Another example of shameful corporate pandering to politically correct and feminist ideology, Mulan fits perfect into the string of PC Nineties films released by Disney (Pocohontas, Hunchback, etc.,), in which everything "western," "Christian," "male" or "traditional" etc., is portrayed as bad, while its opposite, is of course, good. For example, Mulan single-handedly (1) destroys the entire Hun army (2) saves the Emporer of China's life, and (3) armed with nothing but a hand fan, wastes the Hun leader - because "Girls Kick Butt." Men, on the other hand, are portrayed throughout the film as fumbling, bumbling, nose-picking idiots who provide comic relief.
The songs and lyrics - take "A Girl Worth Fighting For" (a song intended to show us how "dumb" and "chauvenistic" men are) or "Honor to Us All" - are weak, canned, second-rate material fit for a Christopher Guest "spoof-umentary" of Walt Disney musicals in the vein of "Second Wind," or "Spinal Tap."
And for good measure, Disney had to make sure to throw in plenty of inappropriate sexual/body function/bathroom humor for a "family" film that still somehow garnered a "G" rating. Lots of yucks are provided for example, in a story-line that could easily work in a soft-core flick as Mulan frolics in a lake with a bunch of nude men, herself naked. While no nudity is actually shown, it is MORE than implied as the men prod her to join in a game of "King of the Rock." Faithful sidekick Mushu saves the day, however, by biting one of the men's "butts" to create a diversion. As Mulan makes her getaway, she proclaims that she never wants to see another naked man as long as she lives - but not before the entire chinese army parades past her in the buff on their way to the lake. Nice.
Of course, the antics in Mulan pale in comparison to the gross-out gags/inappropriate content in other "family" movies like Shrek, and later Disney films, Lilo & Stitch and Home on the Range. However, its sad that Disney felt it had to compromise its art and include any of this kind of material in order to appeal to the lowest common denominator.
And finally, the story. Sheer Disney. While trying to appear politically correct by using a non-Western story and characters, the film quite remarkably had the opposite effect. It turned off Asian-American audiences in droves by its stereotypical and offensive portrayals of its Asian characters - complete with slanty eyes and buck teeth -, mindless and racist assumptions about Chinese culture, and an apparent inability to distinguish amongst Asian cultures throughout the movie (complete with Chinese chracters wearing Japanese style kimonos as they perform a Japanese tea ceremony and Huns - a Central Asian Turkic People - drawn like Mongol Hordes. Oh well, I guess if you're Disney, "all those asians look alike" anyway...).
The story of Mulan itself - a character from Chinese literature and folklore - was "Disneyfied" per usual to fit the Hollywood formula and social agenda of Disney, much to the dismay of those familiar with the REAL Mulan. In the end, Disney's shallow and crass attempt to "embrace diversity" was revealed for what it was.
As long as Disney remains a soulless corporation, controlled by money-grubbing CEO's like Michael Eisner, who's only concern is maximizing profits, this is the best you can hope for. Its no surprise that the only worthwhile thing to come out of Disney during its self-proclaimed rebirth, has been Fantasia 2000 - the pet project of Walt Disney's own son, Roy Disney, who incidentally was pivotal in trying to wrest the control of Disney from Eisner.
Like I said, the animation is good stuff. Watch it and be moderately entertained for an hour; laugh at Eddie Murphy's one-liners. Just don't give this "product" any more credit than it deserves.
Description of Mulan (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
Solid entertainment from a new group of Disney animators. The story source is a Chinese fable about a young girl who disguises herself as a man to help her family and her country. When the Huns attack China, a call to arms goes out to every village, and Mulan's father, being the only man in the family, accepts the call. Mulan (voiced by Ming-Na Wen, sung by Lea Salonga) has just made a disastrous appearance at the Matchmaker and decides to challenge society's expectations (being a bride). She steals her father's conscription notice, cuts her hair, and impersonates a man to join the army. She goes to boot camp, learning to fit in with the other soldiers with some help from her sidekick, Mushu, a wise-cracking dragon (voiced by Eddie Murphy). She trains, and soon faces the Huns eye-to-eye to protect her Emperor.The film is gorgeous to look at, with a superior blend of classic and computer-generated animation. Directors Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook make the best of it: a battle in the snowy mountains is as thrilling as the best Hollywood action films. The menacing Huns are not cute but simple and bad. The wickedness is subtle, not disturbing. The film is not a full-fledged musical, as it has only five songs (the best, "Be a Man," is sung during boot camp). Eddie Murphy is an inspired choice for the comic-relief dragon, but his lines are not as clever as Robin Williams's in Aladdin. These are minor quibbles, though. The story is strong, and Mulan goes right to the top of Disney animated heroines; she has the right stuff. --Doug Thomas
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