Mulan

Rating:
Summary: Powerful
Review: The Disney version of Mulan is a very precious addition to anyone's Disney collection. In this masterpiece, a young woman by the name of Mulan feels uncomfortably pressured to be the traditional perfect bride and daughter of her time and culture in China. But unknown to everyone who knows and sees her, she has much different and untraditional plans for herself. When the Hun Army invades China, one man from every family is called to serve in the country's defense. When her previously injured father is called to serve, Mulan seizes the opportunity for adventure and honor and takes his place. Tagging along with her is ex-guardian Mushu, a tiny scrawny dragon willing to put her life in danger to regain his position of exalted guardianship, her lucky cricket, and her trusted anti-Mushu horse Khan. Together they embark on a remarkable journey so save China and, perhaps, herself. Will she succeed? Will she be discovered by her commanding officer? And will Mushu ever regain his position?

Mulan is played by the talented and spirited Ming Nga (sp?) and Mushu by the hilarious and gifted Eddie Murphy. It is a worthwhile addition to any collection. Songs include "Honor to us all" and the hilarious and inspiring "Be a Man" sequence.

Personally, my favorite character in the movie was the cricket, and I loved the never ending Mushu/Khan feud.



Rating:
Summary: Drawn from greatness
Review: I loved this movie when it first came out, and I recently saw it 2 and a half times on DVD. If I could only own one Disney movie, this one would be it. The principles are profound, the humor is laugh-out-loud, and the music is exhilarating. "Reflection" never fails to give me chills. I especially like the Special Edition with Jackie Chan's performance of the "Be a Man" song, and options to set the language to Mandarin (as well as French, German and Spanish). It's wonderful!

Rating:
Summary: Good Message For Young Girls
Review: Although "Mulan" isn't my favorite of the big Mouse's productions, it is definitely in my top ten. In this tale, a young girl goes against tradition and takes her father's place in a great war with the Mongols by disguising herself as a young man. The tale has been told before in various forms, but it works very well in this picture.

The story gives girls a strong message of doing what you believe in or what is best, even though it may go against tradition or the majority's point of view. In the end, Mulan not only gains the respect of her fellow soldiers, but of the entire empire of China.

The action sequences are fairly intense, although there are really only two major battles. The first is the brilliantly animated fight in the snowy mountains where the Chinese, outnumbered, take on a huge Mongol force lead by the sinister main villain whose name escapes my memory right now. The second major conflict takes place in the emperor's palace and spills into the streets of the city.

The characters in this film are all given proper introductions, though the main bad guy doesn't have many chances to develop. All we really know is that he wants to take over the Chinese empire. Ming-Na Wen provides the speaking voice for Mulan. The rest of the character voices include B.D. Wong, Pat Morita and a hilarious Harvey Fierstein. Of course, everyone focuses on the comic relief of Mushu(Eddie Murphy). Murphy does a splendid job with the character, though I think he could have been given a little more room to expand on the character. In all honesty, Mushu is almost as funny as Murphy's "Donkey" from the "Shrek" films.

The songs in this film are pretty good. "Reflection" is a rather good song that is performed by Mulan(singing voice provided by Lea Salonga). The song is very inspiring. My favorite song has to be "Be A Man," however. It just sounds great and reminds me of Elvis' "GI Blues." You'd think the military would be an odd setting for musical numbers, but it works in both of these films. Another excellent song is "True To Your Heart," performed by Stevie Wonder and boy band 98 Degrees. It's a very peppy, feel-good song that finishes off the film in great fashion.

The DVD includes a number of special features. From games to the obligatory "Making Of" featurette, it's all here. There is a music video of the aforementioned Stevie Wonder/98 Degrees song and a very, VERY virginal looking Christina Aguilera performing "Reflection."

Overall, a fine addition to the family DVD collection. I highly recommend this to folks with young daughters due to its good message. Don't worry if you only have sons, the message works for them as well, and there's plenty of action to quench their craving for fight scenes.

Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Honorable
Review: I love this movie. Its probablly the last BESTest film that came out in theatures that was from disney. Oh that wasn't pixar. This is A Great movie and the extras aren't that bad because their wasn't alot, but that doesn't matter, the movie itself matters, and the movie is good. No its not good....ITS AWESOME

Rating:
Summary: Una oda de guerra, amor y honor
Review: Quizás el más maduro de sus largometrajes animados desde el Rey León. Una oda de guerra, amor y honor. Batallas a muerte contra la voluntad y el valor de una joven que no se da por vencida. Es Mulan, una película que combinando elementos tan distintos -seriedad y humor, amor y odio-, crea una historia inteligente y graciosa que nadie debe dejar de ver.

Basada en una leyenda china, Mulan es el relato de una joven que no encaja en las estructuras rígidas impuestas por su cultura tradicional, en cuanto al rol de la mujer dentro de la sociedad. Un espíritu independiente sentenciado a "nunca traer honor a su familia" por manifestar una manera propia de pensar y actuar.

En la época del feudalismo chino, el Emperador, quien debe confrontar un ataque de los Hunos, comandados por el vil Shan Yu, manda a reclutar un hombre por cada familia para que tomen su puesto en la futura guerra. El padre de Mulan, único hombre de la familia y atado a sus tradiciones, acepta su deber sin titubeos.

Y al igual que su padre, Mulan, sin pensarlo mucho, decide tomar su lugar, convirtiéndose en hombre. Corta su cabello, roba las armas de guerra de papá y se enlista en la milicia con el seudónimo soldado Ping. Y en el camino, se consigue 2 amigos muy caricaturescos, un simpático dragón llamado Mushu y su compañero, un grillo llamado Crikee. Ambos dan el toque de humor usual en este género cinematográfico.

En la vida militar, Mulan enfrenta un desafiante y riguroso entrenamiento, bajo la mirada crítica de su jefe de comando, el Capitán Shang. Y demuestra en el campo de batalla tanto inteligencia como valor. La historia de su búsqueda por defender el nombre de su familia y por lograr la aceptación de su manera de pensar es contada con gran estilo.

La animación es excelente, desde escenas tan impresionantes como la batalla en la nieve hasta el desfile realizado ante el palacio imperial. Se implementan ángulos de cámara inusuales, Los colores y las texturas utilizadas dan gran delicadeza a la película, favoreciendo su fotografía; la banda sonora es ligera y fresca.

En Mulán, el largometraje animado número 36 de los estudios Disney, una vez más se tratan de alcanzar y explorar emociones y sentimientos como el amor familiar, el deber, el valor, el honor, la obediencia, la osadía, la voluntad y el trabajo en equipo. Nociones muy agradables para que todos, niños y adultos, aprendan y practiquen. (1998)


Rating:
Summary: Mulan
Review: You can't help but love this movie. when a girl will go against all she knows and kick butt. can't help but love that. plus with a little romance at the end. its something every disney fan needs and would love!

Rating:
Summary: Courageous & Inspiring......................................
Review: This should be a story that every mother watches with her daughter. Well children cause my children and I love it. Of course they like that it's animated, there's singing not to mention talking animals. BUT for me it's a strong and courageous story, in which a young woman realizes that she has to assume responsibility for her family!

Mulan is now a young woman it's time to be a wife. Her visit with the matchmaker is the worse. The matchmaker tells her that she will never bring her family honor.

The Huns are attacking China. Every village needs to send a male to represent their family. Unfortunately Mulan is and only child.

Instead of allowing her father the only man in her family to go Mulan disguises herself as a man to help her family and her country. Her ancestors send a dragon in an effort to bring her back in order not to disgrace them. In boot camp, she's learning to fit in with the other soldiers. Mushu (voice of Eddie Murphy) a wise cracking dragon becomes her helpful sidekick. Mulan at times is barely able to maintain her secret. BUT through all of her struggles we see as Mulan learns that she doesn't have to be perfect.

As they come face to face with The Huns we see as they work as a team. I love that Mulan isn't all looking for a man and needs one to define her! Although it's obvious that she is attracted to Shang.

This is such a powerful story filled with determination not to mention the vibrant colors. I can't wait for part II.


Rating:
Summary: Not bad one-off viewing
Review: Not bein' as big a fan of Disney's animated fare as I used to be, I wasn't too keen on seein' this particular flick. But then Amazon sent me a "thank you" for being a Top 100 customer reviewer in the form of an advance copy of "Mulan II" on DVD (available at www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002YLCH4/qid=1106712546/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-0488135-0118334?v=glance&s=dvd ) to review, and alla' sudden I had somethin' of an obligation to fulfill. So I figured that if I'm gonna review the sequel, I might as well watch the original movie so I'd be caught up on the back-story and such. Kinda like watchin' the first "Star Wars" so you're up to speed when ya check out "The Empire Strikes Back", ya know? Or not...

Anyhoo, I gave "Mulan I" a rent and a view. While I wasn't too hip with a few of the musical numbers and the rapid-fire rap that Eddie Murphy laid out as the miniature dragon Mushu, I found the show reasonably entertaining. I've always been a sucker for the tried-and-true "prennial-screw-up-who-tries-to-prove-his/her-worthiness-and-ends-up-savin'-the-day" plot, and this was one of the better ones I've seen in recent years. I even got a chuckle or two outta some of the more humorous situations, although most of the slapstick moments were more silly than funny. I even got a bit misty at the end, which hasn't happened to me since I watched "Snoopy Come Home" (available at www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005BCMS/qid=1106712476/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-0488135-0118334?v=glance&s=video ) for the first time. I only wish the animation was up to the level of "The Little Mermaid" and "Beauty and the Beast"; methinks the Disney animators are gettin' a bit complacent...

Another thing I've noticed about "Mulan" is how much more risqué it is compared to Disney's older animated musical fare; I don't think I've seen quite so many... shall we say, "glute injuries" in a Disney flick as I saw here. There's even a scene where the title character and her fellow troops come across a defeated regiment, the silhouettes of their bodies lyin' out in a snow bank off in the distance. While this scene doesn't quite drive home the horrors of war like most Japanese anime aftermath-of-battle scenes, it's pretty intense for a Disney flick...

Finally there are the special features... which are pretty sparse on the regular-edition DVD. There's the usual theatrical teaser trailer, which (somewhat surprisingly) features a few unfinished rough-cut snippets. Also included are a couple music videos from Christina Aguilera and 98 Degrees with Stevie Wonder, both of which I found absolutely unwatchable. Which makes sense, seein' as how I found the music videos' tunes unlistenable. Fortunately, both songs kicked up during the closing credits sequences, so I didn't hafta suffer too long...

On a technical note: the "Mulan" DVD gives you the option of watching the feature in widescreen or pan-&-scan. Guess which option I chose?

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