Mulan: Not Your Typical Disney Movie

Rating: 8/10 (3 December 2018)

The movie, Mulan, starts when a messenger named Chi-Fu is sent to everyone in China from the emperor, including Mulan's village.The emperor is asking for all men to fight and protect the country, for they are about to engage in a time of war. Mulan being the sweet, noble, caring daughter that she is, she realizes her father is now too old to fight and would die in combat. She makes the decision to sneak out the next morning with her father's armor and to take his place in the Imperial army with hopes of bringing honor to her family. And because of that she encounters a small red dragon named Mushu, who would become her trusty sidekick. Despite the fact that this one of the only Disney movies with a heroine, the film, written by Robert D. San Souci, and directed by Barry Cook and Tony Bancroft, successfully portrays the character developing into a brave young woman.
A great deal of people put the movie Mulan in a negative light because throughout the film Mulan does many things such as, disobey her parents wishes, destroy the emperors palace, lie to her superiors, and run away from home. These actions are not something people want their children watching nor repeating. Along with that Mulan tries to justify her actions by saying she was staying "true to her heart", which is supposed to make everything okay because she had good intentions. The movie does not make it look like its a bad thing because all Mulan's inappropriate actions ended up saving China and everything wrong she did looked great. Which of course only happens in Disney movies, not in reality. There have been a lot of raised eyebrows and concerns among critics who don't view rebellious Chinese teenager, Mulan as a good role model for young kids or young girls. Worrying that children will because of Mulan believe it is okay to disobey or lie as long as they have good intentions. But it is not Mulan's defiance that makes her cool or a good role model, it is her bravery in certain situations, overcoming her disadvantages, and bringing honor to her family by overcoming fear. Some critics feel that the film Mulan also discriminates against women and throughout the film puts women second to men. Juliane Fang writes, "This is exemplified in an argument between Shang (Chinese army captain) and Chi-Fu (Emperor's adviser) , when Shang says, "she's a hero!" and Chi-Fu responds with, "she's a woman! She'll never be worth anything!" Despite the negative attitude towards woman, Juliane Fang adds that Mulan is still the hero in the end. However, she only became a hero and achieved this status by faking a masculine being. And in that, the film is stating that success is primarily a male quality.
But, although, the movie demonstrates negative attitudes towards women, it does very well portray a girl developing into a woman, bringing honor to her family, and respect to herself. "As the Emperor (Pat Morita) tells Shang after Mulan rides back to her family, 'You don't meet a girl like that every dynasty.' He's right." Despite the movies weaknesses, the directors of the film Mulan do a good job in showing her struggles and her growth in confidence from the beginning to the end of the film. For example, Mulan is a good role model for young girls because while preparing for war all of the soldiers are brought to a camp for training. She starts off weak and slow, but she doesn't want to disappoint her family, so she becomes determined to be a good warrior. And because of that she is able to do everything the men can, you couldn't tell she was different. She is also seen as brave by her bold moves such as when she uses a rocket to shoot snow on a Clift to create a landslide effect and wipe out the enemies. These parts of thre movie are positive for young children and teen girls. These certain scenes reveal Mulan's bravery and courage.
Futhermore, the film successfully portrays a young girl overcoming obstacles, the emotions she felt during those obstacles, as well as the good result after doing what she felt was right. The movie has a positive influence on children, especially Mulan's sidekick, Mushu, who makes the film so much more enjoyable. And he is a perfect balance of rebellion and humor, to not make parents raise an eyebrow at the film and question its message. Even though the Disney Film Mulan incorporates doubtful situations and mirrors gender discrimination, its natural humor makes it easy to connect and relate to the movie. The depiction of the main character's emotions throughout the movie make it far exceed the others with a strong heroine role. This film demonstrates a role model for young kids and teen girls, and strikes certain emotions that are not typical for family films, reinforcing that Mulan is not a typical Disney movie.