The Pick

Mulan sits at a curious intersection of the Disney ‘Renaissance’.

It is not one of the game-changing hits that kicked off the revitalized period for the studio, like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, or Aladdin. When those films were being made, the idea of structuring an animated film in the style of a Broadway musical, with toe-tapping showstoppers dropped every couple minutes, was still a novelty. By the time Mulan came out in 1998, the novelty had worn off, especially as every studio in tone was cranking out clones that copied the look and feel and sound of those Disney films to an exactingly bland degree.

But nor is Mulan one of the semi-misbegotten misfires that curtailed the Renaissance in its infancy, leaving an open space for those gremlins at Pixar to swoop in and lay their claim on the future of animation. Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, all oddly-shaped attempts by Disney to copy what worked in their first run of hits, while pushing themselves artistically, while also trying to be even more universally appealing so as to make more money and grab some of that sweet, sweet Oscar hype. The result was movies like Hunchback, which somehow includes both an opening chase involving the villain coming thisclose to slaughtering a deformed baby, and also Jason Alexander doing Borscht Belt bits as a talking gargoyle.

And then there’s Mulan.

Adapted from the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, Mulan (directed by Barry Cook and Tony Bancroft) is the story of the titular young misfit (voiced by Ming-Na Wen; songs by Lea Salonga), unsure of her role within her strict culture. When an army of rampaging Huns scales the Great Wall and begins marching towards the Imperial City, Mulan’s ailing father is drafted into service. To save his life, Mulan disguises herself as a man and enlists herself. She is joined by fast-talking, pint-sized dragon Mushu (voiced by Eddie Murphy), determined to prove himself as a guardian spirit, and a not-so-lucky luck cricket. Together, this unlikely band must work with the handsome-but-severe Captain Li Shang (voiced by B.D. Wong; songs by Donny Osmond) to save China and their family’s honor.

Mulan enjoyed a fairly warm reception upon original release, albeit with some critical side-eye with regards to the film’s depiction of Chinese history and culture. Still, the film has quietly amassed a significant following thanks to some of its songs (particularly Salonga’s moving “Reflection” and Osmond’s “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” training number) and its depiction of a young woman forging her own path and identity, rather than conforming to society’s prescribed role. Disney’s hopes to appeal to the Chinese market were unfortunately curtailed due to ongoing bad blood between the company and the nation over Martin Scorsese’s Kundun. While Mulan was a success, the Renaissance would flicker out over the next couple of years.

Today, Disney is betting big on that following, as they are currently mounting a $300 million live action remake, directed by Niki Caro and starring Liu Yifei, Donnie Yen, Jet Li, and Gong Li. But while we look forward to that, let’s take a look back at the original film, and see if it still sings.

We are absolutely on record for our love of John Woo, especially in the heroic bloodshed subgenre he more or less created, and we’re beyond thrilled that his latest has finally arrived, and you can watch it right now on Netflix — and that’s just what we’re going to do. Moving from a Chinese legend to a Chinese film, Manhunt is next week’s film club pick. I hope this is full of dual-wielding pistols, explosions, doves, slow-down cinematography, and bro-down melodrama. Watch it with us and submit your two cents!

Would you like to be a guest in next week’s Two Cents column? Simply watch and send your under-200-word review on any MCU film to twocents(at)cinapse.co anytime before midnight on Thursday!

Next week’s pick:

Related posts:

Good bye to the masks.. “Good Bye” is published by Greg the Writer.

I found my inner child & injured my middle-aged self. Okay, I frequently act childish, but this was especially fun. Perhaps my inner child was lost. I do have a terrible sense of direction, after all. I’ve never been to this very popular tourist attraction, and our son is the right age to really enjoy something like this.

Sleep problems should be taken seriously, and sometimes, the reasons why we're not sleeping through the night are simply because of our lifestyle choices.