Replacing My Mulan Review with My Mulan Review.

Since November 12^th of last year, I have felt that I was missing out. For the past four months America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Holland, and Puerto Rico have had Disney+ in their hands while everyone else in the world has been looking on in jealously. Finally, after all this time the service has arrived in Ireland. It really couldn’t have arrived at a better time considering we’re all locked inside and looking for something to fill our days. The live-action remake of Mulan was due to arrive in cinemas today, meaning for obvious reasons I need something new to review. However, I came to a wonderful realisation that has given me something to do with my time. To the shock and horror of my beloved readers, I have never seen Mulan. Disney+ has offered me a chance of salvation as I can finally watch the “classic”. Will I understand what all the hype is about? Or will I be objectively wrong?

Mulan tells the story of a young woman who decides to disguise herself as a man to join the Chinese army in place of her father who would surely lose his life on the battlefield. Released in 1998, Disney Princesses were far from the kickass rebels that we’ve in recent years in Tangled, Frozen, and Moana. Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel, Belle, Aurora and Jasmine all followed the same story arc. Get in danger, get rescued by their dashing knight in shining armour, fall in love and live happily ever after. For the record, I haven’t seen Pocahontas either so there’s a chance that she doesn’t fit into this bracket. To my delight, Mulan was unlike any other princess I had seen before from this era of Disney.

Mulan was one of the earliest Disney films to defy gender stereotypes. The character of Mulan is determined to bring honour to her family. They want her to settle down and marry a successful man, but that’s not the life that Mulan wants for herself. Mulan like countless other women in the world wants to bring honour to her family through being herself. The character's journey is inspiring for any young woman who has ever been told they aren’t good enough. When she eventually joins the army she doesn’t become a success in the same way as her fellow soldiers. Rather than rely strictly on violence, Mulan uses her intelligence to succeed. She’s the only member of her crew who has the faintest idea of what to do in life-threatening situations.  Mulan is also an all-round badass. During a battle on a mountain, she holds her own and destroys multiple villains using her new fighting skills along with her reliable improv skills. Ming-Na Wen’s performance as our protagonist is one of the all-time Disney greats. Wen is the heart of the movie and makes Mulan more relatable than say Aladdin or Hercules who are both the weakest part of their respective films. Mulan just wants to be accepted for who she is. Who hasn’t ever gone through that struggle? Feeling like you’re not good enough in the eyes of the people you love. Mulan’s journey to self-acceptance is one that will make even the coldest of hearts warm.

Outside of having a phenomenal lead. Mulan is backed by a solid supporting cast. When I first heard Eddie Murphy as Mulan’s sidekick and dragon Mushu I rolled my eyes. I’ve seen Murphy in four Shrek movies and was not ready for another Donkey. I couldn’t have been more pleased with Murphy’s role in the film.  It’s at first discerning to see an American star in a cast that is almost entirely Asian. You have to remind yourself that back in 1998 audiences weren’t as accepting as they are today. Having a star of Murphy’s stature would ultimately lead to people going to see the film and learn about Asian culture. Murphy is on fine form as Mushu, using a dialled down style of his stand up days instead of going down the donkey route of being the butt of the joke. Disney was clearly hoping for Murphy to reach Robin Williams as the Genie heights of success. While he doesn’t steal the show, he doesn’t need to. Murphy knows his role is to provide comic relief and he does that brilliantly.

B.D. Wong as the Chinese army’s commander Li Shang is excellent. Li Shang is not your average Disney prince who is there to look pretty and save the day. Li Shang’s arc of trying to follow his father’s footsteps while moving away from using cruelty to motivate his troops is compelling. Wong does a mighty job of elevating his character from love interest to an essential part of the film's greatness. For me, Mulan falls short with its villains. Much has been said about the film's portrayal of the Hun army that’s led by Shan Yu (Miguel Ferrer). Shan Yu is given yellow eyes, fangs, and claws in a move that’s pretty damn racist. Even if you look past the racism in Shan Yu’s design (which you shouldn’t) he’s not an interesting villain. We never get a sense of what he’s like outside of wanting to rule China and having a pet falcon. If there’s one thing Disney is good at its creating dimensional villains.  It’s obvious why Shan Yu isn’t brought up in conversation these days. Shan Yu is both problematic and dull.   

Directors Tony Bancroft and Barry Cooke do a stellar job at giving a more grown-up feel to Mulan. It’s important to remember that the film revolves around war; a topic that can’t be taken lightly. The fight sequences between the Chinese and the Hun army are epic battles where you don’t know who will win. It’s harder for family films to convince the audience that the heroes may lose; it would make for an awkward car journey home if our heroes are defeated. However, Bancroft and Cooke make you question who will prevail at the film’s climax. It’s a shame that neither of the directors has gone onto anything of note following Mulan. You have to remember that these directors managed to not only delivered a powerful female character, but they also presented Asian culture accurately, outside of the villains, to their western audience.

What turns Mulan from a good movie to a great movie is one song. As the Baby Driver tagline said: “all you need is one killer track.”. There are multiple songs in the film that are great; Reflection is a beautiful ballad and a defining moment for Mulan as a character. That being said, every single person on this planet can agree that I’ll Make a Man Out of You is the best song to ever exist. Donny Osmond the same guy won the hearts of the elderly with Puppy Love delivers the anthem to end all anthems. It’s the perfect motivation song. Even thinking about it makes me want to go for a run. The late Jerry Goldsmith composed Mulan’s score during the final years of his life. Without him, we wouldn’t have Disney’s best song and for that, I’m forever grateful.

It’s a real shame that we’re not going to get this Mulan reboot for the foreseeable future. From what’s been revealed in trailers and interviews it seemed that Disney was trying something new instead of cloning the original. The one thing that the delay does is allow people like me to catch up on an excellent film. Mulan deserves to be in the conversation of great Disney movies. From its important message of staying loyal to yourself to its fantastic protagonist, this is the perfect film to watch during isolation. Get everyone in your house onto the couch to watch it. At the very least you’ll all be singing I’ll Make a Man Out of You for the next few weeks.