Enjoyable, time and time again

Rating: 10/10 (26 September 2008)

If the Lion King is the best Disney ever-achieved, they came very close 4 years later with this simple tale set in ancient China. With a extended writing team that looks like a football lineup, the animated retelling of this Chinese legend came up both crisp and fluid. The final 88 minutes cut is well-pace and packed with poignant and witty dialog. Add in the a apropos lyrics that are equally funny or soul-searching deep and you have a movie that has almost as much quotables as people in China for your kids (or you) to try to memorize.
Then you have the multi-nominated score and songs themselves, including the cornerstone "Reflection" to give the musical aspect a strong supporting presence. The story is heartfelt and Mulan's character easily memorable. Her story and struggle bring us right into the narrative and the scenes and songs are expertly edited to have the desired emotional impact.
The voice talent is noteworthy with Eddie Mucrphy stealing the show as the sharp-tongued mini-Dragon, Moshu. He brings such impact to the his clever and laugh-out-loud funny banter that his presence is pivotal to the movie's overall drama-comedy balance. Ming-Na gives a believable, less-assured take on the woman who tries to pass herself of as a man, but clearly has a big gap to overcome (Mulan; not Ming-Na!) The animation is superb from beautiful scenery, captivating action sequences, to nuanced facial expressions. If you doubt that this is one of the best animated pictures ever released just look at the 10 wins it received at the Annie Awards. I would go even further and say that it clearly simply ranks as one of the best movies and still is after half a dozen viewings since I first saw it in theaters ten years ago.
Long Live Mulan!