 Mulan (1998) In recent years, Disney has slid into an increasingly non-creative means of developing its animated features. Executives with zero creative impulse determine the content of the films based on whether they will translate into successful toys and live action musicals. Lawyers and MBAs who actually admit to hating movies, and especially animation, have the final say over ever line of dialogue, every tree on every painted landscape. Brilliant ideas are regularly thrown out and replaced by, at best, pedestrian ones. Animators are treated like sweatshop workers, churning out drawings at an inhuman pace, only to have entire sequences thrown out and redesigned in a manner that inexplicably doesn't match the rest of a film's animation style, which later on will have to be re-done a second time. Projects drag on for years, while budgets escalate to the point that it is nearly impossible to achieve substantial profits. When the film finally opens, animators are shunted aside in favor of the voice talent, and forced to pay exorbitant prices for such traditional freebies as film hats, posters and jackets. And with each film, regardless of the worldwide receipts (often approaching a billion dollars), a portion of the animation staff is fired, leaving an increasingly beleaguered and frustrated crew in the trenches. Admittedly, the animators are paid handsomely for their troubles—a lot more than the traditional sweatshop worker, I'd guess. But imagine watching great concepts churned into pure crap, as with Hercules, Tarzan, and most of Fantasia 2000, while idiotic films blossom into massive hits, as with The Lion King. It's hard enough to listen to, and I don't even work there. Remarkably, most recent Disney films, even the worst, are pretty coherent, a fair number are actually good, and maybe one is brilliant (Beauty and the Beast). It's especially incredible to see a Disney film that has character, humor, an interesting and unusual storyline, and truly wonderful artistry. A line in Mulan sums it up perfectly: "The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all." Mulan is just such a flower. It isn't the greatest Disney film ever made, but it stands out as the best among the meager crop of cookie-cutter animation that began with The Lion King. Mulan is a young woman who, to save her father's life, sneaks off to join the Chinese military disguised as a man, and returns home a hero. In between, we have a fast-paced, perfectly realized story of triumph over great adversity, with action, comedy and romance all underscored by some of the finest animation these jaded eyes have seen and a darn good score. At 88 minutes, it's a quick gem, following Mulan from her village, to training camp and then into battle. Throughout, Mulan consistently uses her wits to outsmart everyone from her fellow soldiers to the entire Hun army. Her character, voiced by the luscious Ming-Na Wen (TV's "The Single Guy," The Joy Luck Club), is headstrong to the point of foolishness outside of the army, but her foolishness ends up saving China once she is a soldier. She is aided by a spirit dragon, Mushu (Eddie Murphy), who provides de rigueur comic relief, and a "lucky" cricket. Murphy is surprisingly funny in a role that might otherwise churn my stomach. Other voices include Pat Morita, B.D. Wong, June Foray (Rocky from "Rocky & Bullwinkle"), and Miguel Ferrer as Shan-Yu, the leader of the Hun army. All provide strong vocal performances. The underlying theme is honor. Mulan, as a girl, dishonors her family, and most importantly, her father, by not being marriage material. She's too goofy, too modern, too headstrong. When the local military leader announces that one male from every household must enter the army, or face humiliation and death, she cannot understand why they would need her father--once a great warrior, now a frail old man. So she goes in his place, hoping to earn back her family's respect. Appropriately, Mushu's story mirrors hers. There's a temple in Mulan's backyard where the ghosts of the family ancestors plan how to help Mulan in her ill-conceived quest. Mushu, despised among the ancestors for having seriously screwed up a previous assignment, manages to impersonate a stronger, better demon, thinking he can easily save Mulan and become a great hero. So both Mulan and Mushu are pretending to be something they're not, and eventually it comes back to haunt both of them and jeopardizes the lives of her and her friends and the future of China. Only when they both come clean and admit who they really are is it possible for them to succeed. It's a straightforward but effective theme, and it is played for everything it's worth. We completely understand why Mulan does what she does, and when she triumphs, it really is triumphant. Same goes for Mushu, but on a smaller scale. The final scene, where Mulan returns home, actually sent a minor chill down my spine. A perfectly realized emotional payoff, after a strong climactic action sequence. On top of all this is a painstaking attention to detail. There may have been one or two anachronisms or cultural flaws, but it didn't matter. We were solidly, beautifully there. The flaws of Mulan are pretty minor, but they are annoyingly traditional Disney standbys. The songs are terrible and completely out of place. Also, the insistence on the funny animal sidekick is tired, despite the fact that they use it to underline the story's theme. Other characters are also used for comic relief, and there are a couple of scenes where I wished they weren't trying so hard to keep the little ones' attentions by being silly. This is a really powerful and engaging story, and could stand on its own as a live action feature for adults. Disney needs to have a little more faith in its audience, and not talk down to them/us. Hell, I recently watched Napoleon, a glacially-paced kids' movie about a talking puppy lost in the wilderness, and the child I was with loved every languidly cutesy moment. If a kid can sit through Napoleon, they can handle a movie like Mulan without the lame musical numbers. The worst thing about watching Mulan is knowing that it's going to be a very long time before Disney releases an animated feature of the same depth and artistry.
Review by Crimedog |