When everyone else around you keep drilling it in you that you can’t do a certain thing because you’re a woman or of a different race or species, gives you all the more reason to prove them wrong, but mostly for your own sake. Why on Earth would one want to live in a place where the random circumstances of their existence decide their fate. It’s a steep hill to push this boulder up but we’ve got enough power to take things into our own hands, even if that means challenging the rules and breaking a whole lot more.
Anyway, let’s talk about Mulan (1998)
On a rusty cold night a few weeks ago my girlfriend’s housemate was watching Mulan (2020), the atrocious live action adaptation. Having never seen the original before, I thought to sit in a watch it for a few minutes, little did I know those would come to be the longest, most painful few minutes out of that day. I’m going to stave off the temptation to tear into that terrible piece of trash of a film and all I’ll say is that a visit to the radiologist is recommended after watching it. Since that day I vowed to watch the original at some point, tonight was that point. Me and my girlfriend are skipping on the precipice of a physical collapse today as savage chemicals are still flowing around our bodies, so we needed something light to watch, something easy on the eyes and gingerly on the mind. And so, my promise to myself came back to me and we watched it alright. This is one of those brilliantly polished gems from what to me is the golden age of Disney animated films, the 90’s, each film having such a unique art direction and style while still bearing all the flourishes and signs of a Disney animated production. Mulan (1998) taking its influences from ancient Chinese art, wonderfully animates the world in this pristine lightshow, even if the world itself is a total anachronism. Places where the animation really shines are all the scenes with the spectral ancestors and their wispy souls conferring and the final battle at the emperor’s palace, a resplendent kaleidoscope of reds and yellows and oranges against a velvety black sky, making the citizenry in the background with their small lanterns look like fireflies sprayed with paint.
Mushu of course being the best character in the film for me, filling in the obligatory spot of supernatural/magical/mystical being who aids the central character along their quest. I couldn’t help but think of Donkey from Shrek though, maybe Eddie Murphy needs to come up with different voices for different characters, but hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Same goes for the James Hong who voices Chi-Fu, shaking off the feeling that I’m just listening to Mr. Ping from Kung Fu Panda here was quite difficult.
Mulan’s recalcitrant characterisation, and for damn good reason on account of the atavistic people so hell bent on tradition that surround her, is set up so wonderfully where even before any of the misogynist monkeys say a word about her gender, I got the feeling that she isn’t so comfortable in her skin, defined by the expectations of society. I know I said I won’t take a cheap rabbit punch at that terrible excuse of a live-action remake, but what I thought it foolishly missed out is Mulan’s quirkiness and silver-spooned clumsiness.
The musical numbers are all catchy and if I were to watch it a second time, I’ll be singing along to every beat. A Girl Worth Fighting For has taken the crown of my favourite song from the film.
All in all, the film is a Disney classic and with the Disney balloon bursting into flames at the moment, inevitably heading for its quality crash, it’s a wonderful film to look back at the juggernaut they used to be.
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