Mulan is a really outstanding piece of animated film making. Fox's Anastasia seemed to have launched a challenge on Disney, but with Mulan, you can see that Disney is miles and miles ahead of this and any other competitor (Dreamworks have not released their animation picture yet). Unfortunately for Disney, their two previous films, were not that great. While I enjoyed the Hunchback of Notre Dame, I felt as though it were written to be coupled up as a broadway musical, with characters constructed to suit merchandising. While Disney has always made heaps of money from merchandising off its animated hits, it seemed to have forgotten the lesson that should have been learnt from the amazing success of Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and the Lion King. A great story with great animation should come before any plans for merchandising. And I believe that Mulan has learnt that lesson, focussing on quality before commercial interest.

The story centres on the historical story of Mulan, an unusual girl who must face up to the realities of Chinese life. Women give their families honour by being excellent brides. Mulan has a "free" spirit (there are many analogies that can be drawn from this film - as was the case with the Lion King) and fails in her ability to be the obedient girl, ready for marriage. Meanwhile, the emperor of China is being threatened by the evil forces of Shan-Yu and his Huns, who are offended by the erection of the great wall. The emperor calls on one man from every family to fight for the emperor. The problem is, Mulan's father is the only male, and he is very frail. Mulan then decides to pass herself off as a man, in effect taking her father's place. Her identity, if revealed would forever disgrace her family.Will Mulan be able to gain honour? Following Mulan on her path in the army is a dragon called Mushu. Voiced by Eddie Murphy, Mushu adds a vital ingredient to the film, doing wonders with the role, and breathing originality into the film. The film sldo has narrative depth.

Just a brief skim through the way the narrative of Mulan can be interpreted. Mulan's individuality seems to make her enduring to the American way, and the whole philosophy espoused by the emperor at the beginning ("one man can change the course of history") is extremely American in its context. The Chinese government is not showing Mulan in China (could be pay back for Disney's sponsoring of Kundun), and one suspects that some of the underlying political ideals would be against the finer aspects of communist thought. The movie also focusses on the subject of feminism. But beneath that, and in a subversive reading of the film, lies the often comic examination of cross dressing. Would Walt Disney be turning in his grave by seeing girls dress as men and vice versa? Added to that, the word "cross-dresser" is directly used in the film itself. Disney has hit the nineties. The issues of honour and family are also taken up in their context, and the struggle between the lessez faire aspect of individuality and the tradition of family life is taken up too. The resolution between the two in the end are typically Disney, but who cares! If you go and see a Disney film, you don't expect to be coming out depressed.

The animation was outstanding here. In Fox's Anastasia, you could tell some of the character's were moving too robotically. Here, they moved with grace. Some of the scenes were absolutely amazing. I am constantly amazed by how they bring about such a vision. In many ways, that's why I admire animation more than conventional film making. It's painstakingly detailed. At times, I hardly noticed it was animation, and some scenes looked very real. The colours were very beautiful, and the characters were finely drawn. While the ideology may have been clearly American, the art work was not. There is a clearly asian influenced art direction in the way characters are drawn, colours are used, and backdrops developed. This also fits in with the musical structure.

This really stands out in the film. Using Chinese motifs, Jerry Goldsmiths score manages to create the Disney feel while at the same time adding to the authentism of the Chinese setting. One thing that really annoyed me about Hunchback was that the musical numbers seemed designed to be part of a stage show. There's be no context for the songs. Apart from one scene, every song in this film easily fit in to the film. The transition between voice and song was almost seemless, and this is why I think the movie works so well. You don't feel like you're watching a marketing exercise, you're watching a film. The tunes are great, and I love the Disney voice of that woman that sings those songs. I know I shouldn't, but it got me all the time.*

Disney is back in form with this animation. While not a classic like the Lion King or even Aladdin, the animation work here is beyond reproach, and the story, while standard is aided (as was Aladdin with Robin Williams) by Eddie Murphy's great performance as Mushu. The score music and songs fit in well with the whole theme. If you don't like Disney films that much, then don't go see it, you might not like the sopiness of parts of it. But if you're like me and you like watching great animation, and almost all Disney animations, then you won't be disappointed by this film.

* The singing was done with a professional singer (separate to the woman who did the animated voice of Mulan), and the songs were not done by Jerry Goldsmith. I'm sure all the details would be up on the imdb page anyway (search for MULAN)

78/100