Mulan Movie Review: A Heroic Tale of Courage, Identity, and Empowerment

For over the ninety years that Disney has been around, it has produced some fantastic movies that have left its fans yearning for more entertainment. From Snow White (1937), Cinderalla (1950) to Sleeping Beauty (1959), Disney has never seized to amaze and it continuous to produce master piece after another every year. Majority of the girls in their childhood were glued to the screen watching Disney princess and wishing for their prince to come and take them to the happily ever after world. Still, the most successful and interesting film ever produced by Disney is Mulan (1998).

The characters are one of the elements that makes Mulan stand out. Belle’s sense of intelligence is quite outstanding and unmatched. Jasmine has a sense of adventure that makes the film even more interesting. The sassy dragon, Mushu, also provides memorable moments throughout the movie. The pint-sized dragon challenged the rules, provided some hilarious one-liners and always took the blame for the team. The main character, Mulan demonstrated some pure talent. She does anything to protect her loved ones and rejects outdated traditions in a polite way. Mulan also stands by what she believes in at any cost. She also has a crazy grandmother who is a delight to watch. Mulan also has the best friends in all China and never gives up.

Mulan’s soundtracks are the best of all time. With every song sang by the characters, one cannot help but to sing along. The song, “A Girl Worth Fighting For” is quite interesting and one cannot help but laugh along. Most of the people who watched the film could also not help but belt all the words to ”I’ll Make a Man Out of You.” It can also not be forgotten how ”Reflection” brought out the feels in different ways.

Gender roles are challenged throughout the movie. The roles challenged are not only for women but also men. In the film, Mulan switches freely between feminine and masculine roles and figures out what works best for her in certain situations. Mulan’s free role depicts the multidimensionality of people and why choice is important. In the final scene, Ling, Yao and Chien Po dress up as women to help Mulan save China. The move shutters the ideal that women only have their pretty faces to show and cannot do anything important. Mulan’s

success throughout the movie is attributed to her intelligence and creativity. She wins a battle and her brains are the plot behind the movie. Mulan is a movie that encourages kids to be smart because it is better than being strong or pretty.

Disney has produced some breathtaking movies over the years but none is at the level of Mulan. The characters, the sound track and the moral lesson have made me watch the movie a dozen times.  As a child, the movie brought me a feel-good vibe whenever I was bored and taught me the importance of being intelligent. Through the movie, I have come to respect women and learnt that they can do what men do if given an opportunity. I look forward to another movie from Disney that will elicit all sorts of emotions as well as keep me entertained throughout.