Spoiler Alert!

Rating: 10/10 (29 September 2015)

We are all accustomed to the usual beautiful princess who needs a prince to rescue them; that is not the case for Mulan who proves herself not to be a damsel in distress, but a warrior who saves all of China. She accomplishes this amazing task along with vivid characters and defeats all odds against her. It was not just a film, though, it was an epic depiction based on a true story of Hua Mulan, a real warrior who fought in the invasion of China. The Disney film Mulan captures the timelessness of Ballad of Mulan and reintroduces it in a way that appeals to viewers of all ages, displaying empowerment as a trait all girls can possess, overall an excellent movie with clear cut theme and plot without losing its authenticity. Mulan, released in 1998, was a screenplay written by Robert D. San Souci. Fa Mulan (Ming-Na Wen) was the only child of her ill father Fa Zhou (Soon-Tek Oh) and mother Fa Li (Freda Foh Shen), both decent farmers. The story begins with Mulan having a meeting with the matchmaker to find a suitable husband, but Mulan is not as poised and graceful enough to impress the matchmaker and ultimately dismissed and labeled a disgrace. Soon after her father is summoned by the councilman Chi Fu (James Hong) to serve in battle. Chinese culture collects one male from each family, if the father is summoned, a son can volunteer to assume his position; although in this family, there is no son to volunteer. A brave and determined Mulan, afraid to lose her father, decides she is going to take his place disguising herself as his son. Since women cannot participate in war she had the challenge of concealing her identity as well as living up to expectations as a male warrior. Li Shan (B.D Wong) is assigned to train the recruitments for battle. Mulan was not as trained and skilled as most of the males so she was met with challenges. After training was over with Mulan was at the top of her class, and soon her identity was revealed and she was released from the roster. She was a determined warrior she returned leading to victory against Shan Yu with the help of some friends and began her budding romance with Li Shang. In addition to the incredible Disney film, it's not only for the television screen, the story has roots. Mulan is actually based on a real person and a real account in history. Mulan is based on a ballad written anonymously during the Ming Dynasty telling the legend Hua Mulan. There of course are subtle differences in the ballad and film, such as the fact that Hua Mulan was fairly skilled in weapons and combat, overtly Mulan was not. What makes this fact special is the time period (1368 C.E-1644 C.E.) where there were strict roles that men and women should follow, especially in Chinese culture. But Mulan differed all regulation and ultimately became a popular figure in Chinese history. Selflessly she took the place of her father in risk of being exiled, killed, or worse. It inspired me even, not to allow anything to become a hindrance and to continue to be selfless one day it may be recognized as greatness. Needless to say, the ballad sets the movie apart from any other Disney film. Characterization is important in any film, they give it dynamics and set the tone. This is a critical movie, but the tone can be very light hearted given the vivacious characters. Mulan is given an ancestor spirit in the form of a little red dragon named Mushu (Eddie Murphy) he adds a comical twist although he is very wise. The characters were well thought out and given an identity, even the minor characters were complex. Warriors and friends of Mulan's like Ling, Yao, and Chien-Po were supporting characters who, like Li Shang, learned to accept Mulan's motives and forgive her deceit. Then you have the obvious static character like Shan Yu whose ultimate goal was to kill the last of the Chinese warriors. Moreover, the voice behind the characters were all of Asian descent (given very few exceptions), I found that intriguing and it gave the roles even more distinction. Characterization provided in this film gave the story the tone it needed to reach out to the audience, without losing the culture. This film happens to be a family favorite, it's always on the list when binge watching Disney films. After its release it was nominated for an Oscar award, and ranked number 2 in the box office, rightly so. Without bias this film has been underrated, I believe it gives hope to female youth. It gives off a sense of empowerment and bravery over all odds. In this story you do not need a prince to rescue you from a tower guarded by dragons; in this case the dragon was her accomplice and she saved her prince. If you were to ever ask who my favorite Disney "princess" is I would tell you Mulan. Although she is not a princess, she has just as much nobility on film and in history.