Mulan; Honoring Entertainment When searching for a great movie to watch, don’t bother looking further than Mulan! This classic animated movie will forever be a endless source of entertainment, so grab some popcorn and enjoy. Mulan, released in 1998, is a Disney movie set in Medieval China, at the time of a Hun attack. Mulan, voiced by Ming-Na Wen, defies the law by dressing as a boy and joining the defending army in place of her ailing father. After proving herself as her alias, ‘Ping’, she is unmasked as a woman and has to prove herself again. She ends up defeating the Hun army, led by Shan-Yu, saving all of China, and honoring her family in an nontraditional way. Definitely worth the 70 million dollars spent producing it, this Disney movie has three main excelling qualities: its characters, its feminist plot, and its artistry.
First, the characters in Mulan are written and portrayed very well. Shan-Yu is the villain, and unlike previous Disney villains, he does not exist solely for comic relief. Even as a villain, Shan-Yu is a well-explored character with Miguel Ferrer adding surprising depth and ruthlessness to his character. Mushu is Mulan’s sidekick and though some would argue that his humorous lines …show more content…
The artistry captivates the audience from the opening credits with oriental scenery and music that astounds the senses. Even Roger Ebert agrees when he comments, “...in the depiction of nature, there's an echo of the master artist Hiroshige.” Animators adopted oriental techniques to seamlessly translate the beauty of the culture into detailed buildings and mesmerizing landscapes comparable to the work of a legend. These visual effects blend with the music to hypnotize the audience. The music not only drives the story and heightens emotion, but it also furthers the plot (O’Sullivan). Using such powerful musical effects, Mulan invites the audience into the oriental setting and doesn’t
First, the characters in Mulan are written and portrayed very well. Shan-Yu is the villain, and unlike previous Disney villains, he does not exist solely for comic relief. Even as a villain, Shan-Yu is a well-explored character with Miguel Ferrer adding surprising depth and ruthlessness to his character. Mushu is Mulan’s sidekick and though some would argue that his humorous lines …show more content…
The artistry captivates the audience from the opening credits with oriental scenery and music that astounds the senses. Even Roger Ebert agrees when he comments, “...in the depiction of nature, there's an echo of the master artist Hiroshige.” Animators adopted oriental techniques to seamlessly translate the beauty of the culture into detailed buildings and mesmerizing landscapes comparable to the work of a legend. These visual effects blend with the music to hypnotize the audience. The music not only drives the story and heightens emotion, but it also furthers the plot (O’Sullivan). Using such powerful musical effects, Mulan invites the audience into the oriental setting and doesn’t