Saturday, August 6, 2011

Mulan [G]


In China, the greatest gift and honour that a girl can bring to her family is being silent, obedient, and making the perfect bride and wife. For Mulan, being the perfect bride seems out of the question, as she is outspoken, opinionated, and defiant. When her ill father is conscripted to serve China in a time of war, Mulan decides to take matters into her own hands, and she runs away and pretends to be a man so that she can serve in her father’s place. Keeping up the charade though is going to be harder than she thought, but with her dragon guardian Mushu guiding her, and a lucky cricket on her side, she just might prove her worth. 

It has to be said that Beauty and the Beast is my favourite Disney film, but Mulan definitely has to make top five. The most modern and eye-opening Disney classic to grace our screens, Mulan is Disney’s 36th animated classic, based on an actual Chinese poem, and without a doubt a fantastic film that will engage audiences of any age. 

In China, the greatest gift and honour a girl can bring to her family is being silent, obedient, and making the perfect bride and wife. For Mulan, being the perfect bride seems out of the question, as she is outspoken, opinionated, and defiant. When her ill father is conscripted to serve China in a time of war, Mulan decides to take matters into her own hands, and she runs away from home so that she can pretend to be a man and take her father’s place in the Imperial Army. Keeping up the charade though is going to be tough, but with her dragon guardian Mushu guiding her, and a lucky cricket by her side, she might just prove her worth. 

As a child, you love Mulan for the action, the memorable characters, and the comedy. As an adult, you love Mulan because it deals with so many themes and issues that we see in modern society. 
Without a doubt, the character of Mulan has to be the most prominent and influential Disney heroine because hers is not just a story of self-discovery. On her journey, Mulan battles not only with Huns, but prejudice, tradition, and sexism. By joining the army, she completely shatters China’s tradition of men fighting and women being housewives, and she also proves that women are equally capable of fighting just as well as men. 
Most Disney films promote important but sappy morals such as beauty is found within, love is the most powerful force, and good will always triumph over evil. But Mulan promoted morals that are much closer to those of modern times, the main one being equality. 
Featuring the voice talents of Miguel Ferrer, Harvey Firestein, June Foray, James Hong, Pat Morita, Miriam Margoyles, Eddie Murphy, Jerry Tondo, Gedde Watanabe, B. D. Wong, and Ming-Na, Mulan is one of my favourite Disney films, filled with wonderful messages, action, memorable characters, and comedy. I LOVE THIS FILM! 

You the man!... well, sort of. 

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