I love Disney

Rating: 8/10 (22 December 2016)

Disney did it again. With the right blend of humor, romance, action, and most of all, emotion. Watching this now is quite the different experience than when I first saw it as a child. I understand more fully the cultural and familial obstacles presented against Mulan. I noticed some things that I didn't catch the first viewing. Again, Mulan is a tale of identity, about trying to find out and discover who you are. Like Hercules, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Frozen, you name it, Disney is all about identity and rising against the norm and what society expects of you. Obviously, as it's a Western commercial production, it makes many cross-cultural flaws -- the characters have too-exaggerated facial features to supposed to look Chinese, for instance.
It being Disney, its soundtrack is amazing, we all know "I'll Make a Man out of You" and "Reflection," just to name two. It has a great voice acting cast (i.e. Eddie Murphy as Mushu), and it ends very happily for all the good guys. Some things are a little rushed, I thought, towards the end concerning certain characters but still, Mulan is a film you need to see, no matter what your age. It will impel you to strike forth against the societal construct we know as "normal," that is, to be like everybody else. Who gives a damn about what other people think? You only have one life. Make the most of it, carpe diem.
Everything taken into account, Mulan I'd say surpasses Hercules, but lies below The Lion King. Worth watching a second (or first) time when you're at least of high school age.