Movie Review: Mulan

By Betsy Wallace

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What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that kids under 5 may find some of the scenes in this lush Disney adventure frightening. Mulan becomes a hero and helps her people -- but she does so by rebelling against authority. She also learns to fight with weapons. The Huns destroy Chinese villages and kill people (not shown), and some battle scenes are scary and intense.

Families can talk about how Mulan reconciles defying her parents' wishes and the law versus doing what she thinks she must. When should children follow their inner beliefs first and foremost?

Based on the story of China's legendary girl warrior Mulan, this animated Disney film begins as the Huns invade China and the army calls up its best soldiers. Mulan's father is on the list, but she can see that he's too weak from an old injury to fight. So instead of staying home to find a husband, Mulan (voiced by Ming-Na) dresses like a man and heads off to war, taking her father's place. Her ancestors try to send a powerful dragon to help her, but a scrawny dragon named Mushu (Eddie Murphy) sneaks off with her instead. Mulan struggles at first but becomes a brave and skilled fighter against the Huns -- and finds new friends in unexpected places.

Disney took a gamble on Mulan -- she doesn't fit the princess mold, and most moviegoers had never heard of her. And the end results are a bit mixed -- the songs and supporting characters aren't particularly memorable, but the settings are gorgeous, and Mulan herself is one of a kind in the Disney canon (it's too bad that in the end she still needs to be married off to a "Prince Charming" who saves the day).

Still, many aspects of Chinese culture are incorporated -- such as reverence to one's ancestors, the significance of dragons, and the importance of honor. The DVD includes a feature that shows how the filmmakers researched not only the Mulan legend but also Chinese art, architecture, history, and culture. There's also a feature for kids that explains the film's many cultural references, as well as deleted scenes and songs.