MULAN

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 4 out of 5

Because of: Chinese religious influences

Rated:

Disney is famous for taking ordinary characters and giving them extraordinary adventures, from Belle's discover of an enchanted castle in the beloved Beauty and the Beast to Aladdin's battle with Jafar, Ariel's desire to be human, and a lion cub's hunted haunted past and triumphant future in The Lion King. Mulan is the exception. Set in China before the turn of the century, the story centers around a young tomboy whose only desire is to please her father. In order to bring honor to her family name, she must be a young lady... a task that proves horrific as Mulan completely destroys any hopes her father has for a future match.

When an evil army called the Huns attack China, the emperor declares that every family must send one man to war. As Mulan is an only child, her father is therefore required to fight, but he is so feeble that they know it would bring certain death. She tries to reason with him but he refuses to listen, insisting that he must not dishonor the family name. And so in the darkness of the night she takes his armor, cuts her hair, and rides off to enlist in his place. When her parents awaken and find her gone, they realize that to go after her would be to reveal the truth; in China, the penalty for a woman dressing as a man is death.

They pray to their ancestors (more about that in my conclusion) for help, and the ghosts decide to send someone to help, so they appoint Mushu, a tiny dishonored dragon, to awaken the "most powerful dragon" who may help Mulan in battle. But Mushu's clumsiness accidentally destroys the him, and therefore Mushu decides to take care of Mulan himself -- and in doing so, earn back his honored position of guardianship. The only problem is that his advice to Mulan creates absolute havoc in camp. Mulan finds the men disgusting, brutal, and temperamental. 

Only her hard work and determination helps her keep up and earns the respect of the battalion's young leader. After weeks of training, the recruits are ready to go to war. But when they arrive, they find that the entire army has been wiped out by the Huns. They are the only people left to defend China. Their enemies are marching steadily toward the emperor, and only this half-winded, ashamedly-bad group of misfits stand in their way. In a sense, Mulan has a good heart. The main focus of the film is Disney's never-ending motto, "You can do anything you set your mind to." The songs are good, the animation is fair, and the storyline a lot of fun. The film goes from dramatic to hilarious when Mulan enlists and takes on the swagger and stare of a "boy," from spitting to taunting. However, this proves to be a bad idea, and the end conclusion is that girls cannot be boys, but they can be useful, thoughtful, and smart. Mulan uses her head rather than muscle to get her way out of many a tight situation.

The one caution that lies in the film's core is the same one that troubles Disney's Pocahontas -- skewed beliefs in ancestral powers and spirit companions. Many Christians will find her prayers to her ancestors -- and the ghosts that inhabit the family temple -- difficult to swallow. It really is a pity, since otherwise the film is excellent. The attempt is to make that element of the storyline as lighthearted as possible; the ghosts are humorous. The dragon guardian literally out of his mind. Coupled with a faithful horse, some witty one-liners, and plenty of action, Mulan is a brightly-scripted and choreographed piece of entertainment. But for younger children or viewers unable to separate sad cultural beliefs from truth, it may be a rocky ride.