#36 Mulan

Title: Mulan

Release Date: June 19th, 1998

Voice Cast: Ming-Na, Eddie Murphy, B.D. Wong, Miguel Ferrer

Recap: The Huns, led by Shan Yu, have invaded Imperial China. Mulan, a young Chinese woman, cannot seem to find her place in life after repeatedly dishonoring her family. In order to stop her weak father for going to fight for China, she goes in his place, disguised as a man. She is soon accompanied by Mushu, a petite dragon who claims to be sent by Mulan's ancestors. With Mushu's help, she impresses Captain Li Shang and becomes an excellent soldier. However, her position as a woman compromises her stance in the army, and it soon becomes a major issue.

Review: Mulan starts off well. There's an intriguing plot set-up, a few chuckles here and there, and already a star song. Unfortunately, the rest of the film treads on dangerous water, approaching complete dullness though, luckily, never quite reaching it.

No, the rest of the film isn't just bad. It's just par compared to the beginning's birdie, which promises a potentially great film. The excellent comedic timing fades away, and the humor falls flat throughout the middle of the movie. Eddie Murphy's performance is slightly funny, but nowhere near as good as his other work in animation.

The soundtrack remains steady for the most part. It's a risky move to put the best song in the beginning "Reflection" has a heart-grabbing chorus with a melody the likes of "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid. "Honor to Us All", also in the beginning, makes an efficient musical filler-song, and "I'll Make a Man out Of You" does contain a surprising deal of excitement.

It's the screenplay that breaks the film-- the speed, namely. Certain scenes are two or three times the length they need to be. In the big picture, the story works, just not when broken down. Thank God the feminist motif was always there to add some uniqueness.

In all fairness, I wasn't disappointed by Mulan-- just disappointed with the introduction implied. If you haven't seen it, I'd recommend it only as an "okay" film.

Hakuna Matata (It Means 'No Worries!')