Mulan 720p - (1998 Lang: English)

Great Movie for little girls!

I have a 4.5 year old daughter who is going through the princess phase. We read lots of fairy tales etc and its very difficult to find a fairy tale where the princess is strong and resourceful. Most of the time they are pretty passive and the worst one is sleeping beauty. I find myself treading a fine line between letting her enjoy the fairy tale and occasionally commenting on the fact that perhaps some of these princesses just don't do enough to help themselves and how they can help themselves a little bit more. I don't want to destroy her pleasure in these fairy tales, after all, I loved them too. But it took me a while as adult to see how the subconscious message of helplessness in these fairy tales can reinforce the existing values of society and parents that girls are meant to be saved.

So it is a great pleasure to be able to show my daughter a story of a strong and intelligent girl - Mu Lan and its great that Mu Lan and we are both ethnically Chinese. Here is a heroine who is resourceful, uses her brains, saves the Captain and China. We draw many discussion points from the story, such as why it is that women were not allowed to join the army, the value of trying hard and training and practising hard, what is discipline and why it is needed to succeed, using your brains and thinking of how to solve a problem, not just using brute strength, etc. Even some politics - like why did the Hun king want the Emperor to bow to him and why the Emperor wouldn't bow to him but would bow to Mulan. My challenge is the explain things in a way which is both accurate and yet understandable to a 4 year old. My daughter loves the story because Mulan does a lot of "saving".

My daughter has probably watch the movie only 3 times coz I limit TV and video a lot. But she'll ask me to tell her the story in my own words, based on the video. It works out great.

The fact that the movie Mulan captivates me as an adult also helps. There's only so much I can enjoy of a barney video.

I definitely recommend this movie to parents with young girls, as a good place to start talking about being a strong and intelligent woman. Another good one is Beauty and the Beast. I've not seen Pocahontas so I can't comment on that.

Mulan is a 1998 American animated musical action comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation for Walt Disney Pictures. It is based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, and was Disney's 36th animated feature. It was directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook, with story by Robert D. San Souci and screenplay by Rita Hsiao, Philip LaZebnik, Chris Sanders, Eugenia Bostwick-Singer, and Raymond Singer. Ming-Na, Eddie Murphy, Miguel Ferrer and B. D. Wong star in the English version, while Jackie Chan provided the voice of Captain Li Shang for the Chinese dubs of the film. The film's plot takes place during the Han dynasty, where Fa Mulan, daughter of aged warrior Fa Zhou, impersonates a man to take her father's place during a general conscription to counter a Hun invasion.

Released during the Disney Renaissance, Mulan was the first of three features produced primarily at the Disney animation studio at Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida. Development for the film began in 1994, when a number of artistic supervisors were sent to China to receive artistic and cultural inspiration. Mulan was well received by critics and the public, grossing $304 million, earning Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations, and winning several Annie Awards including Best Animated Feature. A 2004 direct-to-video sequel, Mulan II, followed. A live-action adaptation of the film is scheduled for a November 2, 2018 release in the United States.

After the Huns, led by the ruthless Shan Yu, invade Han China, the Chinese emperor orders a general mobilization. Conscription notices require one man from each family to join the Chinese army. When Fa Mulan hears that her elderly father Fa Zhou, the only man in their family and an army veteran, is once more to go to war, she becomes anxious and apprehensive. Taking her father's old armor she disguises herself as a man so that she can enlist instead of her parent. The anxious family quickly learn of her departure and Grandmother Fa prays to the family ancestors for Mulan's safety. The ancestors then order their "Great Stone Dragon" to protect Mulan. Mushu, a small dragon, is sent to awaken the Stone Dragon, but accidentally destroys it in the process. Mushu conceals this from the ancestors and resolves to protect Mulan himself.

Reporting to the training camp Mulan is able to pass as a man, although her military skills are initially poor. Mushu provides clumsy guidance in how to behave as a man. Under the command of Captain Li Shang, she and her fellow recruits Yao, Ling and Chien-Po, gradually become trained warriors. Mushu, desiring to see Mulan succeed, creates a fake order from Shang's father, General Li, ordering Shang to follow the main Imperial Army into the mountains. The reinforcements set out but arrive at a burnt-out encampment and discover that General Li and his troops have been massacred by the Huns. As they solemnly leave the mountains, they are ambushed by the Huns, but Mulan cleverly uses a cannon to create an avalanche which buries most of the invaders. An enraged Shan Yu slashes her in the chest, and her deception is revealed when the wound is bandaged. Instead of executing Mulan as the law requires, Shang spares her life, but discharges her from the army. Mulan is left to follow alone as the recruits depart for the Imperial City to report the news of the Huns' destruction. However it is revealed that several Hun warriors including Shan Yu have survived the avalanche, and Mulan catches sight of them as they make their way to the City, intent on capturing the Emperor.

At the Imperial City, Mulan is unable to convince Shang about Shan Yu's intentions. The Huns capture the Emperor, then seize the palace. With Mulan's help, Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po pose as concubines and are able to enter the palace. With the help of Shang, they defeat Shan Yu's men. As Shang prevents Shan Yu from assassinating the Emperor, Mulan lures the Hun leader onto the roof where she engages him in solo combat. Meanwhile, acting on Mulan's instructions and signal Mushu fires a bundle of fireworks rockets at Shan Yu. The fireworks strike Shan Yu and kill him. Mulan is praised by the Emperor and the assembled inhabitants of the city, who bow to her in an unprecedented honor. While she accepts the Emperor's crest and Shan Yu's sword as gifts, she politely declines his offer to be his advisor and asks to return to her family. She returns home and presents these gifts to her father, but he is more overjoyed to have Mulan back safely. Having become enamored with Mulan, Shang soon arrives under the pretext of returning her helmet, but accepts the family's invitation to stay for dinner. Mushu is granted a position as a Fa family guardian by the ancestors amid a returning celebration.

There are too few "girl" heroes in stories. According to Chinese legend, Mulan, the only child of an aging soldier, disguised herself as a male to take her sickly father's place fighting evil invaders. While in the disguise of a loyal soldier to the emperor, Mulan falls in love with her commander, who does not suspect the deception. When Mulan saves the entire fighting forces, what she managed to hide up to that point is discovered: She is a girl masquerading as a man. Rather than punish Mulan with death, the commander sends her away (presumably to die). In the end Mulan is honored with a medal for bravery by the Emperor himself. Although "only" a female, she had saved the entire empire from certain doom.

The finest moment is the scene where her father says "I am proud to call you daughter". Legend or history, this is a fine example of telling a story centering around a girl, rather than the countless tales celebrating boys as heroes. Like so many other recent animated Disney features, this is yet another gem in the treasure chest of Walt Disney Studios.

I can't think of a single animated feature film done by Disney that I don't like. For some reason they never bore me and they never feel the same. The classics like 'Snow White' and 'Cinderella' are great but I think I like the newer ones ('The Little Mermaid', 'Beauty and the Beast', 'The Lion King') even more. 'Mulan' definitely belongs to the best ones.

Mulan is a girl who doesn't do much right. For the honor of her family she joins the army instead of her father. She takes his gear and runs off. She pretends to be a man and does the training to go to war against the Huns who invaded China.

With some nice new songs, great music by Jerry Goldsmith and beautiful animations this is a real Disney. A little dragon called Mushu is helping her on the way. He is send by the ancestors. The voice of Mushu is from Eddie Murphy and he does a very great job. With a quick and good story and a lot of funny moments this is a great movie.

More Disney Magic - Historically Accurate Legend!