Mulan Review
by Jon Popick (jpopick AT sick-boy DOT com)October 22nd, 1999
PLANET SICK-BOY: http://www.sick-boy.com
Ahhh, finally a big Disney animated film with strong female lead that doesn’t wear buckskin. I envisioned her fighting for her chance to go to war with men (ala G.I. Jane) and imagined that perhaps the film might shatter some stereotypes about women. I was a little queasy after hearing the first song, which was all about how looking pretty and having a small waist will bring both a good husband and honor to your family. But it got better.
Mulan is based on a true story about a clumsy young girl who defends her country by cross-dressing (and, no, it’s not the Ed Wood story). See, China is under siege by Huns and each family has to send one member to war. Rather that see her aging father go to battle, Mulan cuts her hair, sneaks off in the middle of the night and joins the Chinese army.
Fearing for the safety of Mulan (Ming-Na Wen), her father prays to the spirits of their ancestors for her safety. Mistakenly, the ancestors send Mushu (Eddie Murphy), a pipsqueak dragon that resembles a small version of Tigger. Together with a questionably lucky cricket, Mushu sets off to find and protect Mulan.
Still hiding her female identity, Mulan finds herself inexperienced at war but quickly learns to play with the boys and eventually wins their trust. The picture leads up to a big showdown with the head Hun (Miguel Ferrer) who has – so help me God – yellow eyes. I’m not going to tell you who wins the battle, but I will say that it is Disney-esque.
Murphy steals the show as the voice of Mushu, the best Disney sidekick in recent memory. His presence livens things up and gives the picture and edgier feel, due mostly in part to the possibility of hearing Mushu call the Huns “a bunch of dirty ass motherhuckers” or telling Mulan “Damn, Bitch - If you was a boy, I’d like to give you a ride home and smell your feet”. He doesn’t, but he’s still very funny.
Although there is little to complain about (even the songs aren’t totally annoying), the character of the head Hun is under developed and ineffectively used. But maybe I’m just spoiled after seeing the lovely Hades (James Woods) from last summer’s Hercules. There are also a lot of really awful Chinese stereotypes, but what do you expect from a Arab-hating fag-bashing multimedia conglomerate? Oh yeah, expect a huge backlash from the Hun community. You may have to cross a picket line to see this film, but that OK, because good movies come before the effective portrayal of certain ethnic groups any day.
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