Mulan (1998 film)

Mulan is a 1998 American animated musical coming-of-age[3] action-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation for Walt Disney Pictures. Based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, the film was directed by Barry Cook and Tony Bancroft (in their feature directorial debuts) and produced by Pam Coats, from a screenplay by Rita Hsiao, Chris Sanders, Philip LaZebnik, and the writing team of Raymond Singer and Eugenia Bostwick-Singer, and a story by Robert D. San Souci. Ming-Na Wen, Eddie Murphy, Miguel Ferrer, and BD Wong star in the English version as Mulan, Mushu, Shan Yu, and Captain Li Shang, respectively, while Jackie Chan provided the voice of Li Shang for the Chinese dubs of the film. The film's plot takes place in China during an unspecified Imperial dynasty, where Fa Mulan, daughter of aged warrior Fa Zhou, impersonates a man to take her father's place during a general conscription to counter a Hun invasion.
Mulan was the first of three features produced primarily at the Disney animation studio at Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney's Hollywood Studios) in Bay Lake, Florida. Development for the film began in 1994, when a number of artistic supervisors were sent to China to receive artistic and cultural inspiration.
Mulan premiered at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on June 5, 1998, and was released in the United States on June 19. The film was well received by critics and the public, who praised the animation, plot, characters (particularly the title character), and musical score. It grossed over $304 million worldwide against a production budget of $90 million. It earned a Golden Globe and Academy Award nomination and won several Annie Awards, including Best Animated Feature. It was then followed by a direct-to-video sequel, Mulan II in 2004. A live-action remake directed by Niki Caro was released on September 4, 2020.[4]
== Plot[edit] ==
The Huns, led by the ruthless Shan Yu, invade China by breaching the Great Wall. The Emperor orders a general mobilization, with conscription notices requiring one man from each family to join the Imperial Army. Fa Mulan, an adventurous young woman, hopes to bring honor to her family. She is arranged to meet a matchmaker to demonstrate her fitness as a future wife, but is deemed a disgrace after several mishaps.
Fa Zhou, Mulan's elderly father and a military veteran, is conscripted. She tries dissuading him from going, but he insists that he must do his duty. Fearing for his life, she cuts her hair and takes her father's sword and armor, disguising herself as a man so that she can enlist in his stead. Quickly learning of her departure, Mulan's grandmother prays to the family's ancestors for Mulan's safety. In the family's temple, the spirits of the ancestors are awakened by Mushu, a small red dragon who is a disgraced former family guardian. The Great Ancestor decides that the powerful stone dragon guardian should guide Mulan, and sends Mushu to wake him. After accidentally destroying the guardian's statue, Mushu decides to redeem himself to the ancestors by personally aiding Mulan.
Reporting to the training camp, Mulan passes as a man named "Fa Ping", with Mushu providing encouragement and clumsy guidance throughout her deception. Under the command of Captain Li Shang, she and her fellow recruits—including three named Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po—gradually become trained soldiers. The Emperor's belligerent counsel, Chi-Fu, threatens to dissuade the Emperor from allowing Shang's men to fight. Mushu then writes a fake letter from Shang's father, General Li, ordering Shang to follow the main imperial army into the mountains. The reinforcements set out and discover that the Huns have slaughtered Li and his troops.
As the soldiers march up a mountain pass, they are ambushed by the Huns. Mulan uses a Huolongchushui cannon to trigger an avalanche that buries the Hun army. An enraged Shan Yu wounds Mulan during the battle, and her true gender is revealed when the wound is bandaged. Instead of executing Mulan as the law requires, Shang spares her life and expels her from the army. Mulan is left behind as the other soldiers depart for the Imperial City to report the Huns' defeat. However, Shan Yu and several of his warriors have survived, and Mulan sees them heading towards the city.
Mulan enters the city and warns Shang shortly before the Huns capture the Emperor and seize the palace. Mulan, Yao, Ling, Chien-Po, and Shang enter the palace and defeat Shan Yu's men. Shang prevents Shan Yu from attacking the Emperor, and Mulan lures the Hun leader onto the roof, where she pins him there with his own sword. Guided by Mulan, Mushu fires a large skyrocket at Shan Yu, propelling him into a fireworks launching tower. The Emperor and the city's assembled inhabitants praise her for having saved them, and they bow to her in honor. She accepts the Emperor's crest and Shan Yu's sword as gifts but declines his offer to be on the royal council. Mulan returns home and presents these gifts to her father, but he ignores them, happy to have her back. Having become enamored with Mulan, Shang also arrives and accepts her invitation to stay for dinner. Mushu is reinstated as a Fa family guardian as the ancestors celebrate.
== Cast[edit] ==
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/Ming-Na_at_the_premiere_of_Push_%28cropped%29.jpg/143px-Ming-Na_at_the_premiere_of_Push_%28cropped%29.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Eddie_Murphy_Shankbone_2010_NYC.jpg/161px-Eddie_Murphy_Shankbone_2010_NYC.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/BDWongNYCJune08.jpg/171px-BDWongNYCJune08.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Miguel_Ferrer_at_the_NCIS_LA_Season_7_Premiere_as_part_of_Paleyfest_Previews_-_DSC_0404_%2820743137643%29.jpg/133px-Miguel_Ferrer_at_the_NCIS_LA_Season_7_Premiere_as_part_of_Paleyfest_Previews_-_DSC_0404_%2820743137643%29.jpg
Top row (L–R): Ming-Na Wen, Eddie Murphy
Bottom row (L–R): BD Wong, Miguel Ferrer
Main article: List of Disney's Mulan characters
* Ming-Na Wen as Mulan (singing voice provided by Lea Salonga)
* Eddie Murphy as Mushu
* BD Wong as Captain Li Shang (singing voice provided by Donny Osmond)
* Harvey Fierstein as Yao
* Gedde Watanabe as Ling (singing voice provided by Matthew Wilder)
* Jerry Tondo as Chien-Po
* James Hong as Chi-Fu
* Miguel Ferrer as Shan Yu, the Hun chieftain
* Soon-tek Oh as Fa Zhou
* Freda Foh Shen as Fa Li
* June Foray as Grandmother Fa (singing voice provided by Marni Nixon)
* Frank Welker as Cri-Kee, Khan (Mulan's horse)
* Miriam Margolyes as The Matchmaker
* James Shigeta as General Li
* George Takei as First Ancestor
* Pat Morita as The Emperor of China
* Chris Sanders as Little Brother (Mulan's dog)
* Mary Kay Bergman as various ancestors[5]
Kelly Chen, Coco Lee and Xu Qing voiced Mulan in the Cantonese, Taiwanese Mandarin and Mainland standard versions of the film respectively, while Jackie Chan provided the voice of Li Shang in all three Chinese versions and appeared in the version of promotional music videos of "I'll Make a Man Out of You". Taiwanese comedian Jacky Wu provided the voice of Mushu in the Mandarin version.
== Production[edit] ==
=== Development[edit] ===
In 1989, Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida had opened with 40 to 50 employees,[6] with its original purpose to produce cartoon shorts and featurettes.[7] However, by late 1993, following several animation duties on Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King, Disney executives were convinced to allow the Feature Animation Florida studios to produce their first independent film.[8] Around that same time, Disney Feature Animation developed an interest in Asian-themed legends, beginning with the optioning of several books by children's book author Robert D. San Souci, who had a consulting relationship with Disney executive Jay Dyer.[9] Also around that time, a short straight-to-video film titled China Doll about an oppressed and miserable Chinese girl who is whisked away by a British Prince Charming to happiness in the West was in development. Thomas Schumacher asked San Souci if he had any additional stories, in response to which San Souci turned in a manuscript of a book based on the Chinese poem "The Song of Fa Mu Lan". Ultimately, Disney decided to combine the two separate projects.[10][11]
Following the opening of the Feature Animation Florida studios, Barry Cook, who had served as a special-effects animator since 1982,[12] had directed the Roger Rabbit cartoon Trail Mix-Up produced at the satellite studio. At a lunch invitation with Thomas Schumacher, Cook was offered two projects in development: a Scottish folk tale with a dragon or Mulan. Knowledgeable about the existence of dragons in Chinese mythology, Cook suggested adding a dragon to Mulan, in which a week later, Schumacher urged Cook to drop the Scottish project and accept Mulan as his next project.[13] Following this, Cook was immediately assigned as the initial director of the project,[14] and cited influences from Charlie Chaplin and David Lean during production.[15] While working as an animator on the gargoyles for The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tony Bancroft was offered to co-direct the film following a recommendation from Rob Minkoff, co-director of The Lion King, to Schumacher, in which he accepted.[16] He joined the creative team by early 1995.[17]
link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Temple_of_Heaven,_Beijing_(March_8_2005).jpg|thumb|The crew toured various parts of China for inspiration.
In 1994, the production team sent a select group of artistic supervisors to China for three weeks to take photographs and drawings of local landmarks for inspiration; and to soak up local culture.[18] Key members of the creative team at the time—Pam Coats, Barry Cook, Ric Sluiter, Robert Walker, and Mark Henn—were invited to travel to China as a research trip to study the landscape, people, and history of the original legend. From June 17 to July 2, 1994, the research trip flew to Beijing, China, which is where Coats became inspired by the placement of flags on the Great Wall. They also toured Datong, Luoyang, Xi'an, Jiayuguan, Dunhuang, and Guilin.[19]
=== Writing[edit] ===
In its earliest stages, the story was originally conceived as a Tootsie–inspired romantic comedy film where Mulan, who was a misfit tomboy who loves her father, is betrothed to Shang, whom she has not met. On her betrothal day, her father Fa Zhou carves her destiny on a stone tablet in the family temple, which she shatters in anger, running away to forge her own destiny.[20] In November 1993, Chris Sanders, who had just finished storyboard work on The Lion King, was hoping to work on The Hunchback of Notre Dame until Schumacher appointed him to work on Mulan instead.[21] Acting as Head of Story, Sanders grew frustrated with the romantic comedy aspect of the story, and urged producer Pam Coats to be more faithful to the original legend by having Mulan leave home because of the love for her father.[22] This convinced the filmmakers to decide to change Mulan's character in order to make her more appealing and selfless.[23]
Sequence Six—in which Mulan takes her father's conscription order, cuts her long hair, and dons her father's armor—served as a pivotal moment in the evolution of Mulan's character. Director Barry Cook explained that the sequence initially started as a song storyboarded by Barry Johnson and redrawn by character designer Chen-Yi Chang. Following the story changes to have Mulan leave to save her father, the song was dropped. Storyboard artist and co-head of story Dean DeBlois was tasked to revise the sequence, and decided to board the sequence with "minimal dialogue".[24] Assisted with an existing musical selection from another film score courtesy of Sanders, the sequence reel was screened for Peter Schneider and Thomas Schumacher, both of whom were impressed. DeBlois stated, "Sequence Six was the first sequence that got put into production, and it helped to establish our 'silent' approach."[25] Additionally, General Li was not originally going to be related to Shang at all, but by changing the story, the filmmakers were able to mirror the stories of both Shang's and Mulan's love for their fathers.[26] As a Christian, Bancroft declined to explore Buddhism within the film.[27][better source needed]
Because there was no dragon in the original legend, Mulan did not have animal companions; it was Roy E. Disney who suggested the character of Mushu.[15] Veteran story artist Joe Grant created the cricket character, Cri-Kee, though animator Barry Temple admitted "the directors didn't want him in the movie, the story department didn't want him in the movie. The only people who truly wanted him in the movie were Michael Eisner and Joe Grant – and myself, because I was assigned the character. I would sit in meetings and they'd say, 'Well, where's the cricket during all this?' Somebody else would say, 'Oh, to hell with the cricket.' They felt Cri-Kee was a character who wasn't necessary to tell the story, which is true."[28] Throughout development on the film, Grant would slip sketches of Cri-Kee under the directors' door.[29]
=== Casting[edit] ===
Before production began, the production team sought out Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, or Korean vocal talents.[30] Tia Carrere was an early candidate to voice the title character.[31] However, Lea Salonga, who had been the singing voice of Princess Jasmine in Aladdin, was initially cast to provide both Mulan's speaking and singing voices, but the directors did not find her attempt at a deeper speaking voice when Mulan impersonated Ping convincing, so Ming-Na Wen was brought in to speak the role. Salonga returned to provide the singing voice.[32] Wen herself landed the role after the filmmakers listened to her narration at the beginning of The Joy Luck Club. Coats reflected on her decision, stating, "When we heard Ming-Na doing that voice-over, we knew we had our Mulan. She has a very likable and lovely voice, and those are the qualities we were looking for."[33]
For the role of Mushu, Disney was aiming for top Hollywood talent in the vein of Robin Williams' performance as the Genie in Aladdin.[33] The filmmakers initially approached Joe Pesci and Richard Dreyfuss until Michael Eisner considered Eddie Murphy.[34] After accepting the role, Murphy initially balked when he was asked to record at the Disney studios, but then asked to record the voice in his basement at his Bubble Hill mansion in Englewood, New Jersey.[35]
For the speaking voice of Captain Li Shang, BD Wong was hired,[36] although his singing voice, for the song "I'll Make a Man Out of You", was performed by Donny Osmond, who had previously auditioned to be the speaking voice of the title character in Hercules.[37] Osmond's casting originated from a suggestion from the casting director,[37] and throughout recording, Osmond studied Wong's dialogue tapes, and aimed to match his inflections and personality.[38] Osmond commented that his sons decided that he had finally "made it" in show business when he was in a Disney film.[39] Likewise for the role of Grandmother Fa, June Foray provided the speaking voice, and Marni Nixon supplied the singing voice.[40]
Mimi Chan was chosen by Mark Henn as the model and martial arts video reference for Mulan. Character drawing sessions and live-action video reference shooting was done over the course of three years.[41] Chan’s cousin, George Kee, was chosen to play the part of Captain Shang Li. Together, they choreographed fight sequences for the film's song “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” and the film's end finale.[42]
=== Animation and design[edit] ===
link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Confucius_Laozi_Buddha.jpg|thumb|The animation crew was inspired by ancient Chinese art for the aesthetics of the movie
To achieve a harmonious visual look, producer designer Hans Bacher and art director Ric Sluiter, along with Robert Walker and Head of Backgrounds Robert Stanton collaborated to establish a proper chronological location for the film in Chinese history. Since there was no general consensus on the time of Mulan's existence, they based the visual design on the Ming and Qing dynasties.[43] An important element of Bacher's design was to turn the art style closer to Chinese painting, with watercolor and simpler design, as opposed to the details of The Lion King and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.[44] Bacher further studied more than thirty-five film directors ranging from the silent era German Expressionism, British and American epics of the 1950s and 60s, and the Spaghetti Westerns for inspiration for composition, lighting, and staging that would establish settings that enhanced the characters.[45] Additional inspiration was found in the earlier Disney animated films such as Bambi, Pinocchio and Dumbo to establish a sense of staging.[46]
In October 1997, the Walt Disney Company announced a major expansion of its Florida animation operations constructing a 200,000-square-foot, four-story animation building and the addition of 400 animators to the workforce.[47]
To create 2,000 Hun soldiers during the Huns' attack sequence, the production team developed crowd simulation software called Attila. This software allows thousands of unique characters to move autonomously. A variant of the program called Dynasty was used in the final battle sequence to create a crowd of 3,000 in the Forbidden City. Pixar's photorealistic open API RenderMan was used to render the crowd. Another software developed for this movie was Faux Plane, which was used to add depth to flat two-dimensional painting. Although developed late in production progress, Faux Plane was used in five shots, including the dramatic sequence which features the Great Wall of China, and the final battle sequence when Mulan runs to the Forbidden City. During the scene in which the citizens of China are bowing to Mulan, the crowd is a panoramic film of real people bowing. It was edited into the animated foreground of the scene.[48]
== Music[edit] ==
Main article: Mulan (soundtrack)
The songs featured in the film were written by composer Matthew Wilder and lyricist David Zippel. Stephen Schwartz was originally commissioned to write the songs for the film.[49] Following the research trip to China in June 1994, Schwartz was contacted by former Disney studio chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg to compose songs for The Prince of Egypt, which he agreed. Peter Schneider, then-president of Walt Disney Feature Animation, threatened to have Schwartz's name removed from any publicity materials for Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Michael Eisner phoned Schwartz, and urged him to back out of his commitment to DreamWorks, but he refused and left the project.[50] After Schwartz's departure, his three songs, "Written in Stone", "Destiny", and "China Doll", were dropped amid story and character changes by 1995.[51][52] Shortly after, Disney music executive Chris Montan heard Matthew Wilder's demo for a stage musical adaptation of Anne Rice's Cry to Heaven, and selected Wilder to replace Schwartz.[51] In July 1997, David Zippel joined to write the lyrics.[53] The film featured five songs composed by Wilder and Zippel, with a sixth originally planned for Mushu, but dropped following Eddie Murphy's involvement with the character.[54]
Although Danny Elfman and Thomas Newman were considered to score the film, English composer Rachel Portman was selected as the film composer. However, Portman became pregnant during production, and decided to back out.[16] Following Portman's departure, Randy Edelman—whose Dragonheart theme was used in the trailer—and Kitarō were considered,[51] until Jerry Goldsmith became available and signed on after dropping out of a project.[16] The film's soundtrack is credited for starting the career of pop singer Christina Aguilera, whose first song to be released in the U.S. was her rendition of "Reflection", the first single from the Mulan soundtrack. The song, and Aguilera's vocals, were so well received that it landed her a recording contract with RCA Records.[55] In 1999, she would go on to release her self-titled debut album, on which "Reflection" was also included. The pop version of "Reflection" has a Polish version ("Lustro" performed by Edyta Górniak) and two Spanish versions, for Spain (performed by Malú) and Hispanic America (performed by Lucero). Other international versions include a Brazilian Portuguese version by Sandy & Junior ("Imagem"), a Korean version performed by Lena Park, and a Mandarin version by Coco Lee.
The music featured during the haircut scene, titled Mulan's Decision, is different in the soundtrack album. The soundtrack album uses an orchestrated score while the movie uses heavy synthesizer music. The synthesizer version is available on the limited edition CD.[56] Salonga, who often sings movie music in her concerts, has done a Disney medley which climaxes with an expanded version of "Reflection" (not the same as those in Aguilera's version). Salonga also provided the singing voice for Mulan in the film's sequel, Mulan II.
== Release[edit] ==
=== Marketing[edit] ===
The film's teaser trailer was released in November 1997, attached to the theatrical releases of The Little Mermaid and Flubber.[57] Teaser spots were shown during CBS's coverage of the 1998 Winter Olympics.[58]
Because of the disappointing box office performances of The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Hercules, Disney restricted its marketing campaign for Mulan, spending $30 million on promotional advertisements compared to more than $60 million for Hercules the year before.[59] Rather than holding a lavish media event premiere like those of the past few years, such as premiering Pocahontas in Central Park and bringing the Main Street Electrical Parade to Fifth Avenue for Hercules, Disney opted to premiere the film on June 5, 1998, at the Hollywood Bowl, complete with Chinese lanterns and fortune cookies.[59][60] Two days before the general release, McDonald's launched its promotional campaign by including one of eight toys free with the purchase of a Happy Meal.[61] The promotion also included Szechuan sauce for its Chicken McNuggets, which would be referenced in a 2017 episode of the Adult Swim series Rick and Morty and subsequently brought back by McDonald's as a promotional item related to that show.[62]
In collaboration with Disney, Hyperion Books published The Art of Mulan authored by Jeff Kurtti, which chronicled the production of the film. In addition with its publication, Hyperion Books also issued a collector's "folding, accordion book" of the ancient poem that inspired the film.[63] On August 18, 1998, around 3,700 backpacks and 1,800 pieces of luggage were recalled back to their manufacturer, Pyramid Accessories Inc., when it was discovered they contained lead-based paint.[64]
=== Home media[edit] ===
The film was first released on VHS on February 2, 1999, as part of the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection lineup.