Mulan (Special Edition) 1998 Buena Vista Home Entertainment Official Website Buy It Now

Disney has had a long history of involving female leads in their animated features, and especially with the recent push (to a sickening degree I might add...can I please have a little bit of my local Disney Store back?) of their line of Princess collectibles, costumes, and decor, it is becoming very apparent that Disney holds a special place in their hearts for the images they portray of women.  Whether it is Jodie Foster and Barbara Harris in Freaky Friday or Wendy in Peter Pan, there have been plenty of intelligent, brave and magnificent female characters included in Disney features over the years.  But what there hadn't been, until Mulan (at least not to my sub-standard memory), was a female character that was being motivated by something other than silly circumstance or the chance to win the heart of a man.  Mulan's title heroine is a breath of fresh air, with all of her inner strength, noble goals and most importantly, a motivation that is something other than becoming a "princess".

In the years around 250 BC, a nation of Turkic-speaking tribes moved substantially south from the frozen lands of Siberia to the high areas around Balkhash Lake in what is now the former USSR Republic of Kazakhstan.  There they combined with the Xiongnu, a tribe of people who had no written language and worshipped the sun, moon and stars, who had moved north-west out of China.  These peoples would eventually be written in to the annals of history as the Huns, and written into the history of China in particular as a tremendous threat...one worthy of a very, very "great wall".  Our story starts during the conflict between these peoples, with the Huns invading and the Chinese Emperor mandating that one male from every family is called to arms to defend the proud nation by joining the military.
 

Mulan is a daughter in just such a family...only she has no male siblings to be called to war.  This leaves only her father, an elderly man who is not in the best of health; if he were to see combat, there is nearly no chance of his survival.  Faced with this difficult situation, Mulan makes the only decision that she believes to be right; to steal her fathers weapons and armor and go into battle disguised as a boy, thus fulfilling the requirement.  But greater than her desire to keep her father safe is her desire to bring honor and respect to her family name.  This, however, will prove to be much harder than she would have thought...

Mulan is not a warrior and was not raised to be one.  She finds the arms and armor cumbersome and unwieldy, and not having a very mentionable history of doing things correctly or with grace, she is already starting off a little behind.  Her bungling risks bringing her family name scorn and ridicule rather than the recognition that she longs for, but a fierce determination and a prayer to her ancestors will simply have to be enough to get the job done and to prove once and for all that she can accomplish great things...great enough to cast her family in a honorable light.  Lucky for Mulan, her ancestors have heard her prayer...

Deciding that the headstrong young girl will need all the help that she can get on this fool's errand, her ancestors send her a companion to help her along the way.  But this tiny dragon, Mushu, has his own past filled with disgrace and bumbling and if anything, he threatens to make matters worse for the displaced young girl.  Somehow, through a series of poor choices and off-the-cuff comedy, this "demoted" little dragon will be Mulan's only support through what will turn into the hardest journey of her life...a journey from aimless naivety to fierce courage and determination.

But not only Mulan's inner turmoil and outward awkwardness stands between her and a triumphant return home to her family.  There is, of course, an entire army of Hun's bent on the utter annihilation of the Chinese people.  The leader of this sword-wielding horde of savage warriors is a man named Shan-Yu, who's inner fire for conquest is matched only by the flames in his eyes.  Complete with a wide-winged and sharp-taloned bird of prey as his sidekick, Shan-Yu is a formidable enemy by himself, let alone with an army of skilled fighters at his back.  Cunning and keen-witted, Shan-Yu is an adversary not to be taken lightly.

What begins as an adventure of an everyday ordinary girl swiftly turns into something much more expansive.  Mulan begins the tale as a clumsy, young daughter who wakes up disheveled each day and can't seem to navigate her way through a single 24 hour period without causing some disturbance or another to those around her.  If she is not cutting corners on her chores, she is accidentally setting influential townsfolk on fire.  Not the sort of days that a "noble" and "honorable" young lady should be having according to her culture.  But on her journey to save her father's life, Mulan's trials will turn from trying to be more "proper" to trying to overcome her internal limitations.  Suddenly, she is not trying to be something she is not and is able to focus on making who she is...someone incredible. 

In the history of Disney films, there has really not been one that  focused on a more reality based concept than Mulan.  Gone are the wistful princesses who long to be swept off their feet by some metro-sexual prince.  Gone are the princesses that must learn to be more "ladylike" and who eventually find their happiness through the acceptance of "their people" or "a strapping young man".  Mulan instead finds acceptance of herself...a much more valuable and "real-world" lesson.  I think that the messages within Mulan are far more valuable to the youngsters of today's world than anything that was passed to them through a beautiful princess in a ball gown.  But this film does more than teach important lessons; as mentioned before, it pushes boundaries for the Disney company...

Never before has a Disney heroine started her grand adventure by stealing from her parents, by disobeying her parents outright, by entering into a series of friendships and acquaintances which are all based on deceit and half-truths, by disobeying orders from a superior, and from not listening to anyone's advice...ever...if it conflicted with her own personal set of morals and feelings.  I think that all of this is a bold move for a company who has always conformed their characters into submission before letting them succeed.  It seems to me that Mulan represents a much more realistic portrayal of how people accomplish great things.  Very few historical figures, whether real or imaginary, have succeeded by conforming to expectations. 

And speaking of not conforming to expectations!  This is not the look of Disney as people had ever seen it before!  Mulan represents a vastly different approach to character design and visual communication than had ever been seen before.  In the past, Disney films had been modeled after the "look" of a certain artist or style, but Mulan chose to define its own look and to do so from scratch.  The animation team and production designers were sent on an all encompassing tour of China for three-weeks.  In this short time they visited every major landmark, from temples to mountainsides (and of course the Great Wall!), and spent time with the people of China in sprawling cityscapes and isolated villages.  This complete immersion offered the team a fantastic and unparalleled glimpse into what makes a convincing China on the big screen.  This work paid off in spades, as Mulan is as fantastic a treat to see with your eyes as it is to feel in your heart.   

Thankfully, a film which has set precedents of character, story and visuals, is finally getting the full treatment that it has long deserved.  While not officially released as one of Disney's new Platinum Editions (two-disc sets filled with a boggling amount of extra-features), this set is worthy of the title with a vast array of goodies to be had.  All of the treats stored within are hinted at with the amazing, colorful artwork of the packaging around them.  I am normally not one to talk about the cases or boxes that DVDs come in, with only a few exceptions (Sleepaway Camp Survival Kit, Munsters Season One), but I feel that it is worth mentioning that the packaging here is beautiful.  A striking blend of color and design passes on much about the characters, the scope of the film, and the wonderful Chinese heritage which is as much a part of the story as Mulan herself.

Inside is a treasure trove of exciting featurettes, music, and inside scoops which are more than worthy of an upgrade from your presently shelved copy.  In a film where the music is considered by some to be the weak point (I am not one of these people as I find the "feel-good" up tempo songs to be entirely enjoyable) due to the  Broadway show tune vibe of many of the selections, it is good to include so many looks into other aspects of the film-making process.  There are glimpses into the production crew's journey to the far-East, behind-the-scenes peaks at character design, comparisons from storyboard to final production, and a lot more!

The almost obligatory "Never-Before-Heard" song is present, as are the newly obsessive music videos.  This time around the videos feature Jackie Chan, teen popstar/actress Raven, and everyone's favorite Mouseketeer-turned-dirty girl Christina Aguilera.  There is also a Spanish version of the Aguilera sung hit "Reflection" which makes you really appreciate her vocal talents; this newly included alternative language version is decent but not on par with the powerhouse vocal cords of Aguilera!  There are also a couple of games thrown in, which are fun for an adult to go through once, but don't stand up to repeated plays if you are not a wee tyke.  Of much more interest to myself was the Mulan Fun Facts and Disneypedia: "Mulan's World".

"Mulan's World" is an adventure through the wonderful world of China with the hilarious Mushu as your tour guide.  Albeit a slightly lizardish-skewed view of things, the journey is still a blast and this is one of the better extras included on this set.  The other standout are the Mulan Fun Facts which pop up on your screen like VH1's Pop Up Video and tell you interesting tidbits about the production of the film, the settings contained within and just about any other trivia fact that you could ever want to know.  This feature gives you the perfect excuse to watch the movie over again just as soon as you have seen it once!  

All in all, Mulan: Special Edition is a fantastic film reminiscent of the times when Disney films were still hand-drawn and the stories weren't sequels to other films.  This is probably my favorite voice cast of any Disney film and everyone plays exceptionally well off each other making for a very immersive experience and an overall evening of fun for the whole family unit.  This is the sot of movie that just writing about gets one excited!  Even as I write this review my girlfriend is packing our suitcases for a trip to Disneyland tomorrow (geesh, my flight leaves in 7 hours and I am gonna need some sleep!!) and you can bet that I am gonna head straight for California Disney's animation room, where you can witness a wonderful live-action history of the creation of Mushu.  You can also bet that when I get back from this vacation, that I am going to watch Mulan again.

And again.

-aaron-