Walt Disney World’s hit movie of 1998, Mulan, told the story of a young Chinese heroine. The tale is based off of the ancient Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, and the written work of the Ballad of Mulan. The movie Mulan is not accurate, though it is more so than Disney’s other works such as Hunchback of Notre Dame and Pocahontas. Assuming that Mulan is a girl that truly lived, the film mispresents major parts of the true story. Disney completely distorts the skills that Mulan is equipped with going into war, and her reward as a result of them. Disney also confuses the enemy-who they were and how they were defeated. The final inaccuracies are the mix-up of religions and the way that Disney portrayed the dragons in the movie.
Disney’s Mulan begins …show more content…
In the movie, Confucianism is the major religious theme. Ruler to subject, husband to wife, and parent to child are three of the five important Confucian relationships (Ellis). Each is exhibited through Mulan with the emperor to Mulan, Mulan’s father to Mulan’s mother, and Mulan’s father to Mulan. Another example of Confucianism is the presentation of the ancestors. The ancestors are prayed to by the family, and are greatly respected (Mulan). The main example of Confucianism is in the song “Honor to Us All”, which speaks about how women should be perfect porcelain dolls, and how they should find husbands to bring honor to their families (Fowler). In the legend, Mulan would have been Buddhist. She was living in the Northern Wei dynasty, which was a highly Buddhist society where Confucianism was looked down on (Editors). Buddhism’s goal was to reach nirvana, or a higher state of being (Erricker), while Confucianism’s goal was for people to accept their role in society (Ellis). Disney’s final mistake was the representation of dragons. Disney’s interpretation was a crude, sassy, and overbearing lizard-looking being. Mushu’s brashness is exhibited in comments like “...miss man decided to take her little drag show on the road!” when referring to Mulan dressing like a man and fighting for the Chinese army (Mulan). In reality, the Chinese dragons were symbols of wisdom and prosperousness, as well as being revered and feared by all the Chinese (Botsford). Mushu was disrespected many times by the other characters-being called names and being “demoted” by the ancestors (Mulan). The mispresentation of the Confucian culture rather than a Buddhist culture and the silly dragon Mushu are other cases of Disney changing the original
Disney’s Mulan begins …show more content…
In the movie, Confucianism is the major religious theme. Ruler to subject, husband to wife, and parent to child are three of the five important Confucian relationships (Ellis). Each is exhibited through Mulan with the emperor to Mulan, Mulan’s father to Mulan’s mother, and Mulan’s father to Mulan. Another example of Confucianism is the presentation of the ancestors. The ancestors are prayed to by the family, and are greatly respected (Mulan). The main example of Confucianism is in the song “Honor to Us All”, which speaks about how women should be perfect porcelain dolls, and how they should find husbands to bring honor to their families (Fowler). In the legend, Mulan would have been Buddhist. She was living in the Northern Wei dynasty, which was a highly Buddhist society where Confucianism was looked down on (Editors). Buddhism’s goal was to reach nirvana, or a higher state of being (Erricker), while Confucianism’s goal was for people to accept their role in society (Ellis). Disney’s final mistake was the representation of dragons. Disney’s interpretation was a crude, sassy, and overbearing lizard-looking being. Mushu’s brashness is exhibited in comments like “...miss man decided to take her little drag show on the road!” when referring to Mulan dressing like a man and fighting for the Chinese army (Mulan). In reality, the Chinese dragons were symbols of wisdom and prosperousness, as well as being revered and feared by all the Chinese (Botsford). Mushu was disrespected many times by the other characters-being called names and being “demoted” by the ancestors (Mulan). The mispresentation of the Confucian culture rather than a Buddhist culture and the silly dragon Mushu are other cases of Disney changing the original