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Coming up under a deeply patriarchal Chinese regime, Mulan (Ming-Na Wen) is expected to follow in the path of all girls in her village — to marry a man and have his sons. But when the evil Hun empire invades her village, Mulan accepts that her destiny lies beyond the walls of tradition. In a heroic effort to save her aging father from the clutches of the Emperor’s military draft, Mulan secretly disguises herself as a male warrior and rushes off to train for the impending war. Accompanied by her sly pet dragon Mushu (Eddie Murphy), Mulan embarks on a life altering adventure that reshapes everything she knows about honor, duty, family and love.
Based on the ancient Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, this Academy Award nominee is a hallmark of Disney’s signature blend of extraordinary animated visuals and the art of storytelling through music — making Mulan an unforgettable experience for both the eyes and ears.
“It took long enough, but Disney has finally come up with an animated heroine who's a good role model and a funky, arresting personality at the same time.” —Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly (Jun 19, 1998) “MULAN serves up the sort of classic entertainment the Magic Kingdom was built on: stunning animation, sharply defined characters, a smattering of catchy tunes all seamlessly woven into a simple, powerfully told yarn. Ironically, by harking back to its semi-serious dramatic roots, the studio's 36th feature length cartoon may suggest the future for its animated output.” —Ian Freer, Empire Magazine (Jul 22, 1999) “MULAN charts a new direction for Disney’s animation studio…. The visual style breaks slightly with the look of modern Disney animation to draw from Chinese and Japanese classical cartoon art; in the depiction of nature, there’s an echo of the master artist Hiroshige…. There are scenes here where the Disney artists seem aware of the important new work being done in Japanese anime; if American animation is ever going to win an audience beyond the family market, it will have to move in this direction, becoming more experimental both in stories and visual style.” —Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times (Jun 19, 1998)
