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| A beautifully painted poster of the titular hero with two comic characters and a dramatic backdrop makes up this neat poster for Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook's Mulan |
The Huns are threatening imperial China, and Mulan's aging father reports for duty, - but his strong daughter decides to cut of her long hair and act in his place.
Mulan is written by Rita Hsiao (Toy Story 2 (1999)) and Chris Sanders (The Lion King (1994)), with Robert D. San Souci contributing story elements, and directed by debuting Tony Bancroft (Beauty and the Beast (1991, animator)) and debuting Barry Cook (The Rescuers Down Under (1990, effects animator)). The film is based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan.
Good-looking animation and a riveting, good story mark yet another good Disney film here, which is unique because is has an entire scene, - one of its best, set in a lake, - which is about its characters having genitals!
Eddie Murphy (Harlem Nights (1989)) arrives in very bombastic fashion as the voice of the small red dragon Mushu, the film's main comic relief, but a while later we've gotten used to him and even endeared to him. Mulan has rousing songs, - although none become real classics, - and a plot about patriarchal repression, although one that never becomes really daring in that respect.
Watch a trailer for the film here
Cost: 90 mil. $
Box office: 304.3 mil. $
= Box office success (returned 3.38 times its cost)
[Mulan premiered 5 June (USA) and runs 87 minutes. A production team were sent on an inspirational trip to China in 1994. The story was changed from a romantic comedy to a father-focused dramatic story during pre-production. The film opened #2, behind fellow new release The X Files, to a 22.7 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed in the top 5 for another 3 weekends (#2-#3-#5) and grossed 120.6 mil. $ (39.6 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were France with 35.2 mil. $ (11.6 %) and Germany with 23.1 mil. $ (7.6 %). It was hoped that the film would patch up Disney's relationship with the Chinese authorities, following the release of their maligned Kundun (1997) Dalai Lama movie, but Mulan was given a poor release date after the Chinese New Year and was widely pirated in the country. The film was nominated for 1 Oscar: Best Score - Musical/Comedy (Matthew Wilder, David Zippel, Jerry Goldsmith), which it lost to Stephen Warbeck for Shakespeare in Love. It was also nominated for 2 Golden Globes and a Grammy, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, translating to a notch over this one. The 1999 release of the Mulan DVD was Disney's first DVD release ever. Disney released their live-action version of the story with Mulan (2020). Bancroft returned with 6 short and TV credits prior to his feature directing return Animal Crackers (2017); Cook with 2 shorts prior to his theatrical directing return as co-director of Arthur Christmas (2011). Murphy returned in Doctor Doolittle (1998). Mulan is certified fresh at 86 % with a 7.60/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Mulan?
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