A Mature Disney Heroine Leading A Film

Rating: Null/10 (24 September 2010)

Disney's 'Mulan', set in ancient China' is another visual treat from Disney. The animation is stunning and colourful and it does capture the beauty of old China (as seen in paintings). The story has heart and is a lot of fun to watch. I liked that Mulan was written as the typical fairy tale Disney heroine. She's strong, independent, brave, thoughtful and determined. She has more in common with the male Disney characters like Aladdin.
All the 'good guy' characters are likable but my favourite one is Eddie Murphy's Mushu. There's quite a resemblance to Murphy's other famous character Donkey (from 'Shrek') and this just proves that he has an energetic voice and flair for comedy which is just what the characters require. The rest of the voice actors that include Ming Na, Pat Morita, Miriam Margolyes, James Hong, Miguel Ferrer and George Takei among others do a splendid job.
The jokes work very well as they had me and my family laughing out loud. The songs that were sung by the characters were hilarious and the instrumental tracks were great. Even though 'Mulan' has been criticized by many for its violent content and historical inaccuracy, I think it's one of Disney's great productions. I didn't feel the violence was overdone and where historical accuracy is concerned, it's a Disney movie for goodness sake. That said, I didn't think the film itself was grossly inaccurate even though a few liberties have been taken here and there. Just watch it and enjoy with the family. That's what it's for.