Mulan Hero's Journey

The movie Mulan, is about a young girl living in China while it's being invaded by the Hans. It is required that one male from each family go to war and Mulan's father was very sick and could not even walk properly. She did not want him to die in the war, so Mulan decides to pose as a boy and go fight in the war as his replacement. Her identity remains a secret until she is injured in the war. Mulan loses the trust of the commanders and is kicked out of the army. However, she returns to help the soldiers rescue the emperor. She earns back the respect of the commander and the fellow soldiers and in the journey has found a way to accept who she is. The hero's journey is the basic template the protagonist takes which includes the call to adventure, …show more content…
Mushu appears to give guidance on how to pass of as a man and helps her work the courage to join the army. Mushu offers advice on what to do when Mulan does not what to do, as a mentor would do in step four of the hero's journey. Mushu is a magical ancestral spirit but does not have the power to solve all of Mulan's problems; he just guides her onto finding solutions to her own problems. Mulan begins to leave her comfort zone and crosses the threshold when she first enters the camp for basic training. This camp is a new environment where she tests her ability to deceive people into thinking that she is a man. Mulan also starts to act differently to the challenges put in front of her. Due to the new situations she begins to approach challenges more timidly and afraid. This new environment has new rules in which she has to follow confirming the fifth step, crossing thresholds, of the hero's journey. After Mulan meets her mentor and crosses her threshold, she encounters her first set of tests allies and …show more content…
Mulan gains an understanding of the importance of honor and cruelty of war. Previously, Mulan is chastised for being different and is said to put great dishonor on her family. She has won the respect of the emperor and the fellow citizens. Mulan is viewed as a hero and savior, because not only did she risk her life at the end of the battle, but she also risked her life disguising as a women. Mulan returns with the sword (the exiler) to give to her father. The father refuses to accept the gift because he is just so relieved Mulan is home. Mulan's father appreciates all the risks Mulan was willing to make in order to keep her family safe and could care less about the medal that she received. He is just happy his loved one is home and safe. Mulan's now lives in a world where she is accepted into society. She no longer has the pressure to be like everyone else. She has proved to both herself and the people in the kingdom that she is a