Mulan (Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook - 1998)

Taken from an ancient Chinese ballad, Mulan is the eponymous heroine who, after shaming her family, disguises herself as a boy and runs away from home to fight for the Chinese army in place of her father in order to protect the family honour. Unfortunately, great danger is approaching as the Hun army, lead by Shan Yu, have invaded China and are preparing to overthrow the emperor. Aided by an opportunistic dragon called Mushu and a lucky cricket, Mulan must keep her identity secret and stay alive.

If you thought the term "Feminist Disney movie" was an oxymoron, then you should watch this movie. Mulan is a fantastic chracter - a woman not preoccupied with finding a husband, who cares about her family and will do anything to protect them, even subvert the basic rules of gender in her society! Poking fun at the typical masculine and feminime roles, the film follows Mulan through army training and her desperation to keep her sex a secret, even while bathing. It all feels very modern but keeps a timeless energy with the storyline. Even though the obligatory romance is shoved in, it doesn't feel fairy-tale sickly or forced. You can genuinely understand why Shang (B.D. Wong) likes her. The girl is kicking arse and it's a joy to watch!
The Disney tradition of the sidekick is alive and well in this film with Mushu (voiced by Eddie Murphy.) Imagine a blaxploitation dragon (yet another oxymoron I never though I'd write) keeping the spirit alive and looking out for his friends. I think Murphy should stick to good voice-over work, it's funnier than anything else he's done recently. Ample comic support is provided by Harvey Fierstein, Jerry Tondo and Gedde Watanabe as Mulan's soldier friends, desperate to show off their masculinity. Shan Yu, the villain of the piece, is easy to hate but there isn't much else to him, although he has a very menacing voice (thanks to Miguel Ferrer.) Jerry Goldsmith is on musical duties and provides a beautiful score, mixing traditional Asian sounds with synthesizers and adding the pleasant songs we come to expect. Reflection is a lovely ballad, although Christina Aguilera's cover ruins the subtlety (nothing new there.)

The film is epic in all senses of the word. From the more intimate scenes of Mulan preparing to leave her family, to the battle in the mountains, the sweeping cameras, painstaking detail and sheer beauty on display is stunning. Some images genuinely send shivers down your spine. The mix of exaggerated character design and the larger scale detail of the backgrounds sit perfectly together. The action scenes are genuinely thrilling and wouldn't look out of place in a Kurosawa film. It's a film made by people who care and it's evident from the very beginning, with thetraditional Chinese art opening the story. Although the occasional Chinese pun is made, the film feels like a real love letter to China (how ironic that it took a year's delay before their government would release it).

Stunning, sweet, exciting and giving one for the girls, Mulan is entertainment of the highest order, one of Disney's more unusual films but all the better for it. Featuring one of their best female characters, it will always stick in my mind as the film where the girl can save herself.