Mulan (Disney)

This article is about the Disney character. For the legendary person, see Hua Mulan.

Fa Mulan (花木蘭)
Mulan
First appearance	Mulan (1998)
Last appearance	Mulan II (2004)
Created by	Robert D. San Souci Mark Henn (supervising animator)
Voiced by	Ming-Na Wen (speaking) Lea Salonga (singing)
Information
Aliases	Fa Ping
Species	Human
Gender	Female
Occupation	Rural farmer/peasant later Warrior
Family	Fa Zhou (father) Fa Li (mother) Grandmother Fa
Spouse(s)	Li Shang
Relatives	First Ancestor Fa and other ancestors
Nationality	Chinese

Fa Mulan (Chinese Traditional: 花木蘭, Simplified: 花木兰, Pinyin: Huā Mùlán) is a fictional character who is the title character of Walt Disney Pictures thirty-sixth animated feature film Mulan. She subsequently appears in the direct-to-video sequel Mulan II. The character is inspired by the legendary Hua Mulan from the Chinese poem The Ballad of Mulan. In all animated appearances, Mulan's speaking voice is provided by Chinese-American actress Ming-Na, while her singing voice is provided by Filipina singer and actress Lea Salonga.

Personality

Mulan is shown to be courageous and self-reliant. She also does not fit in with the expectations of a young Chinese girl of the time; despite her natural beauty, she is clumsy, outspoken, and independent rather than graceful, silent and demure. This is why her meeting with the matchmaker(媒婆) ends in chaos, and why the matchmaker claims that even though she has the looks of a bride, she will never be one. However, her courage, intelligence, and determination help her through her adventures.

Development

Mulan was voiced by Ming-Na and her singing voice was provided by Broadway singer and actress Lea Salonga. Her character was based on the character in the ancient Chinese legend, "The Ballad of Hua Mulan."

Appearances

Mulan

Main article: Mulan

The Huns, led by Shan Yu, invade Han China, forcing the Chinese emperor to command a general mobilization. Each family requires one man from each family to join the Chinese army. When Fa Mulan hears that her elderly father Fa Zhou, the only man in their family, is forced to join the army, she decides to stand in his place, disguising herself as a young man named "Ping". Fa Zhou learns that Mulan has taken his place and prays to his family's ancestors, who order their "Great Stone Dragon" to protect her. The ancestors are unaware that the statue of Great Stone Dragon failed to come to life, and that Mushu, a small dragon is the one to go and protect Mulan.

Mulan is initially misguided by Mushu in how to behave like a man. However, under command of Li Shang, she and her new friends at the camp, Yao, Ling and Chien-Po, become skilled warriors. Mushu, desiring to see Mulan succeed, creates a fake order from Li Shang's father, General Li, ordering Li Shang to follow them into the mountains. They arrive at a burnt-out village and discover that General Li and his forces have been wiped out by the Huns. As they solemnly leave the mountains, they are ambushed by the Huns when Mushu accidentally fired a cannon causing their position to be given away, but a second firing of a cannon by Mulan buries most of the enemy forces in an avalanche. Mulan is slashed by Shan Yu in his rage at her wiping out his army during the battle, and she is forced to reveal her deception when she receives medical attention. Instead of executing Mulan as the law requires, Li Shang decides to spare her life by leaving her on the mountain as the rest of the army departs for the Imperial City to report the news of the Huns' demise. However, the avalanche failed to eliminate all the enemies, as Mulan catches sight of a small number of surviving Huns, including Shan Yu, making their way to the City, intent on capturing the Emperor.

In the Imperial City, Mulan attempts to warn Li Shang about Shan Yu, but he refuses to listen. The Huns appear and capture the Emperor, locking themselves inside the palace. With Mulan's help, Li Shang, Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po pose as concubines and are able to enter the palace and defeat Shan Yu's men. As Shang prevents Shan Yu from assassinating the Emperor, Mulan lures the Hun onto the roof where she engages him in single combat. Meanwhile, acting on Mulan's instructions, Mushu fires a bundle of fireworks rockets at Shan Yu on her signal and kills him.

Mulan is praised by the Emperor and the people of China, who all bow to her, an unprecedented honor. Mulan accepts the Emperor's crest and Shan Yu's sword as gifts, but politely declines his offer to be his advisor and instead asks to return to her family. She returns home and presents the imperial gifts to her father, but he is more overjoyed to have his daughter back safely. Li Shang, who has become enamored with Mulan, soon arrives under the guise of returning her helmet, but accepts the family's invitation for dinner. Earlier in the film, Mulan was declared unfit for marriage, but this is appears not to be the case with her strong budding romance with Li Shang. Mushu is granted a position as a Fa family guardian by the ancestors amid a returning celebration.

Mulan II

Main article: Mulan II

The sequel finds Mulan and Li Shang preparing to marry but distracted by a task from the Emperor, who wants his three daughters escorted to their own marriage ceremony. Their romantic relationship becomes somewhat strained during the trip, as the romantic couple has differing views on various issues. Meanwhile, Mushu realizes that if Mulan marries Shang, she will not need him anymore as her guardian spirit. Taking advantage of this, he manages to trick the two into breaking up. When bandits attack, Mulan and Shang fight them off, but Mulan is devastated when Shang is seemingly killed trying to save her. To make sure the three princesses are not forced to marry against their will, Mulan takes their place marrying the eldest son of the ruler of the neighboring land. Shang survives the accident and arrives in time to stop the wedding but ultimately Mulan is saved by Mushu who, posing as the mighty Golden Dragon of Unity, frees the three princesses from their vows, and marries Mulan and Li Shang himself causing Mulan to forgive him for his actions.

In other media

Mulan at Disneyland theme park in California.

Mulan makes an appearance in Kingdom Hearts II is part of the Land of the Dragons world. She aids Sora in battle, taking the place of either Donald or Goofy. She uses a jian called "Sword of the Ancestor" for regular combat, and her combination attacks include Red Rocket and other fire attacks, thanks to Mushu. She goes under her pseudonym (Ping) for the majority of Sora's first visit to her world, but later abandons it.

Mulan appears regularly for meet-and-greets, parades and shows at the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Mulan and Mushu (as a kite) make cameo appearances in the Hong Kong Disneyland, Disneyland Resort versions of It's a Small World, and at the Chinese Pavilion at Epcot in Walt Disney World.

On the Disney Cruise Line ships and in Hong Kong Disneyland, Mulan and Li Shang appear in the stage show The Golden Mickeys. Mulan is also known to come out for meet-and-greets on the ships as well. She is also featured in the Disney on Ice shows Princess Classics and Princess Wishes, as a princess, despite her lack of royal ties.

Mulan makes cameo appearances in the Disney's House of Mouse television series and the direct-to-video release Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse. She was scheduled to appear in the second installment of the Disney Princess Enchanted Tales series of DVDs along with Cinderella. It was to premiere in 2008 but was cancelled due to poor sales of the first DVD. In addition, Mulan is, naturally, in the Disney's Mulan Jr. musical stage adaptation of the original film.

Actress Jamie Chung plays Mulan in the second season of the ABC television series, Once Upon a Time. She first appeared in the season premiere, entitled "Broken", assisting Prince Phillip in rescuing Aurora.

Reception

Mulan has garnered very positive reception from critics, many of whom highlighted her independence and heroism. Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly praised the character, commending Disney for creating "an animated heroine who's a good role model and a funky, arresting personality at the same time." Gleiberman also praised the film for showcasing "a girl who gets to use her wits", likening Mulan to preceding Disney heroines Belle from Beauty and the Beast and Pocahontas. Ken Fox of TV Guide wrote positively of the character, describing her as "[i]ntelligent and fiercely independent". Todd McCarthy of Variety praised Mulan's heroism, writing, "[this time] it's the girl who does the rescuing, saving not only the prince but the emperor himself from oblivion". Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times lauded Mulan, calling her "an excellent heroine" and "a vivacious rebel who has to be true to herself no matter what". Turan also described Mulan as "a more likable and resourceful role model than Pocahontas was." Moira Macdonald of The Seattle Times was positive in her review of Mulan, calling her both a "spirited heroine" and "a strong, engaging character who, unlike many of her Disney counterparts, needs no one to rescue her from danger."

Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine was fairly mixed in his review of the character, writing, "Mulan's struggle to be accepted as a woman is a few centuries ahead of its time."

External links

• Mulan at the Internet Movie Database
• Mulan at Disney Princess