It's been two decades since Mulan first astonished audiences with her daring ambitions and yet she's just as impressive today as she was then. Mulan remains special, in large part because she paved the way for lots more iconic characters. Here are just a few of the ways Mulan changed Disney forever.
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00:00It's been two decades since Mulan first astonished audiences with her daring ambitions, and yet
00:05she's just as impressive today as she was then.
00:08Mulan remains special, in large part because she paved the way for lots more iconic characters.
00:14Here are just a few of the ways Mulan changed Disney forever.
00:17Superficially, Mulan is the stuff of classic Disney fantasy.
00:21A lonely young woman sets out to pursue her dreams, stumbles a bit, achieves greatness,
00:26and meets a promising romantic prospect.
00:28However, Mulan was Disney's first major attempt at crafting one of their classic musicals
00:33from a singular non-Western source.
00:35Aladdin comes close to this feat, but it was already somewhat known in the English-speaking
00:39world as part of Arabian Nights, and is itself a patchwork of retellings from all over the
00:44Middle East.
00:45Mulan, in contrast, is based on a story from a specific time and place.
00:50While much of the world may not know much about Chinese history or folklore, Mulan is
00:54as much a Disney classic as The Little Mermaid.
00:58Mulan ends with the merest suggestion of romance between our heroine and her prince, or general
01:03in this case.
01:04Would you like to stay for dinner?
01:07Would you like to stay forever?
01:11Dinner would be great.
01:12They like each other, that's queer, and have earned each other's respect through feats
01:16of strength and daring moves.
01:18But instead of stamping them as officially married, Disney chose to end their relationship
01:22at its beginning, a first date and the hope for more to come.
01:26Nothing else quite compares in the Disney canon even today, but plenty of heroines have
01:30followed in Mulan's footsteps.
01:31Moana, Elsa, and Merida evade romance entirely in their respective movies.
01:36Anna and Kristoff end on a kiss in Frozen, and we're informed of Rapunzel and Flynn Rider's
01:41marriage in an ending voiceover in Tangled.
01:44None of these endings might have happened without Mulan and Shang's unique relationship
01:47ambiguity.
01:48In the post-Mulan world, happily ever after is largely something a girl builds for herself.
01:54Anna White, Cinderella, and Aurora were kind-hearted heroines with big, bright dreams, yet they
01:59are also overwhelmingly passive, and they largely bide their time wishing, waiting,
02:04and snoozing as their princes pursue them.
02:07The Disney renaissance kicked off by 1989's The Little Mermaid established a firm break
02:11with this tradition.
02:12Ariel, Jasmine, and Belle want more than their lives currently offer them.
02:17It's pretty vague beyond that, though, and their lives are often tied up in their love
02:20interests.
02:21But Mulan is different.
02:22She has a specific goal, and she achieves it.
02:25She saves her dad, her unit, and her country, and then goes home as a national hero.
02:30After Mulan, princesses started to want accomplishments as well as love.
02:35Magic and romance come along for the ride, too, but nowadays, they're not the point of
02:38the entire journey.
02:40Disney movies have always looked incredible.
02:43Snow White and the Seven Dwarves brought storybook illustration to life.
02:46The team behind The Hunchback of Notre Dame incorporated the legendary cathedral's real
02:50attributes into its dizzyingly detailed frames.
02:54Beauty and the Beast used computer animation to make a simple ballroom dance into an unforgettable
02:59climax.
03:00Mulan looked just as good, but it was also the first animated Disney feature to incorporate
03:04a specific non-Western aesthetic into its visuals to tremendous effect.
03:09Animators looked to traditional Chinese paintings for their inspiration, and the results are
03:13clearly on display through much of the film.
03:16That willingness to reach beyond the Western canon would become a Disney staple going forward.
03:21Once upon a time, a Disney princess needed to lose at least one parent.
03:26Sometimes it was symbolic, but usually, it was literal.
03:29This loss symbolized their rootlessness in the world and fueled their desire to find
03:32a love interest.
03:33Who needs a wicked stepmother when you can move into the castle?
03:36Mulan, in contrast, has a family that she seeks to protect and return to.
03:41She is anchored in her own life and doesn't need another to abandon herself to.
03:45Nowadays, a Disney princess, even if she does lose a parent, gets to keep hold of her
03:49own past and legacy.
03:52When creating a story rooted in a culture that is not one's own, it's best to let an
03:56expert take the lead.
03:57When it comes to large-scale productions like a Disney movie, which employs hundreds of
04:01animators, writers, actors, and editors, that becomes a top priority.
04:06Mulan, in contrast to the long history of missteps in this arena, hired many Asian voice
04:11actors for the film.
04:13Princess Ming-Na Wen won the role of Mulan after her stirring work in The Joy Luck Club,
04:17and B.D. Wong was chosen to play Shang.
04:20This level of thoughtfulness in casting would become the Disney standard, most recently
04:24evidenced by Auli'i Kavoyo, the young native Hawaiian woman who gave Moana her voice.
04:29Nowadays, a great cast doesn't just give their characters personality, songs, and zippy one-liners
04:34— they give them their roots as well.
04:37Princesses are femininity incarnate, especially when it comes to their looks.
04:41While makeovers are common, a fabulous ball gown often makes an appearance.
04:46Songbirds flock to them.
04:47Mulan charged into all this loveliness like a cannonball.
04:51She is at her most uncomfortable when dolled up for the matchmaker, wiping off the makeup
04:55as she sings of how false all that finery feels on her.
04:58She only truly finds herself once she's in armor with a sword in her hand.
05:02When she returns home as a hero, she wears a simple blue and red gown.
05:07Mulan proved that a Disney heroine can go beyond the bounds of traditional womanhood
05:11and still be beloved by Disney fans worldwide.