**THE WACPINE OF ‘MULAN (1998)’**

WRITING: 8
ATMOSPHERE: 7
CHARACTERS: 7
PRODUCTION: 9
INTRIGUE: 7
NOVELTY: 8
ENJOYMENT: 8

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**The Good:**

Mulan is one of the rare instances of Disney fully embracing a (from a Western point of view) foreign culture, with unfamiliar traditions and ways of life. It makes the subject matter, the characters and the setting fascinating and interesting for kids and adults alike.

Mulan is easy to connect with thanks her clumsy but warm-hearted demeanour. Her journey from a nobody to a fearless warrior is one of the more fascinating character developments in any Disney film. Mulan is one of the stronger female leads in a Disney animated film, at least pre-Pixar.

Ming-Na Wen (of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D) fame does a great job portraying Mulan; her sweet and soft side as well as her fiercer warrior persona.

The brisk pace, the fluid animation, beautiful colours and fine use of music and sound make this a very enjoyable animated film that still holds up today.

The interesting historical setting, the beautiful music and the strong leading characters help Mulan break from the undoubtedly very formulaic Disney plot structure that otherwise forms the bulk of the story.

Eddie Murphy might be a somewhat strange choice to play a Chinese dragon, but he effectively makes the character his own, which is partly the reason why Mushu is such a fan-favourite character.

The best parts of the script are those that force Mulan to adapt to a male-oriented society and pretend she's male to fit in. This was Disney commenting on gender roles twenty years before that was popular. It brings tension to the plot and warmhearted comedy to the proceedings.

I'll Make a Man Out Of You is arguably the best Disney song of the 90s next to everything from The Lion King.

The climactic action/fight sequence is exciting, inventive and satisfying.

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**The Bad:**

The lack of a presence of any kind of palpable threat is one of my main gripes. The Hunns are quickly introduced by barely used until the final 30 minutes of the film and even then, they remain side players.

Other than Mulan, Mushu and Shang, the characters aren't very interesting and mostly follow Disney standards.

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**The Ugly:**

Disney was still doing training montages 10 years after they stopped being in fashion.

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**WACPINE RATING: 7.71 / 10 = 4 stars**