June 5, 1998
Mulan is a 1998 American animated musical historical action adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation for Walt Disney Pictures. It is based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, and was Disney's 36th animated feature and the ninth animated film produced and released during the Disney Renaissance. It was directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook, with story by Robert D. San Souci and screenplay by Rita Hsiao, Philip LaZebnik, Chris Sanders, Eugenia Bostwick-Singer, and Raymond Singer. Ming-Na Wen, Eddie Murphy, Miguel Ferrer and BD Wong star in the English version, while Jackie Chan provided the voice of Captain Li Shang for the Chinese dubs of the film. The film's plot takes place in China during the Han dynasty, where Fa Mulan, daughter of aged warrior Fa Zhou, impersonates a man to take her father's place during a general conscription to counter a Hun invasion.
Produced and released during the Disney Renaissance, Mulan was the first of three features produced primarily at the Disney animation studio at Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida. Development for the film began in 1994, when a number of artistic supervisors were sent to China to receive artistic and cultural inspiration. Mulan was well received by critics and the public who praised the animation, plot, characters (particularly the eponymous character), and musical score, and grossed over $304 million. It earned a Golden Globe and Academy Award nomination and won several Annie Awards including Best Animated Feature. A 2004 direct-to-video sequel, Mulan II, followed. A live-action adaptation directed by Niki Caro was released on July 24, 2020.
Storyline
The Huns invade China by breaching the Great Wall. The Emperor orders a general mobilization, with conscription notices requiring one man from each family to join the Imperial Army. Fa Mulan, an adventurous young woman, hopes to bring honor to her family. She is arranged to meet a matchmaker to demonstrate her fitness as a future wife, but is deemed a disgrace after several mishaps.
Fa Zhou, Mulan's elderly father and a renowned military veteran, is conscripted. Mulan tries dissuading him from going, but he insists that he must do his duty. Fearing for his life, she cuts her hair and takes her father's sword and armor, disguising herself as a man so that she can enlist in his stead. Quickly learning of her departure, Mulan's grandmother prays to the family's ancestors for Mulan's safety. In the family's temple, the spirits of the ancestors are awakened by Mushu, a small red dragon who is a disgraced former family guardian. The Great Ancestor decides that the powerful stone dragon guardian should guide Mulan, and sends Mushu to wake him. After accidentally destroying the guardian's statue, Mushu decides to redeem himself to the ancestors by personally aiding Mulan.
Reporting to the training camp, Mulan passes as a man named "Fa Ping", with Mushu providing encouragement and clumsy guidance throughout her deception. Under the command of Captain Li Shang, she and her fellow recruits—including three named Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po—gradually become trained soldiers. The Emperor's belligerent counsel, Chi-Fu, threatens to dissuade the Emperor from allowing Shang's men to fight. Mushu then writes a fake letter from Shang's father, General Li, ordering Shang to follow the main imperial army into the mountains. The reinforcements set out and discover that the Huns have slaughtered Li and his troops.
As the soldiers march up a mountain pass, the Huns' ruthless leader Shan Yu leads an ambush to attack them. Mulan uses a Huolongchushui cannon to trigger an avalanche and bury the Huns, but is badly injured. Shang and the soldiers discover Mulan's true gender while her wound is bandaged. Instead of executing Mulan as the law requires, Shang spares her life and expels her from the army before departing for the Imperial City to report the Huns' defeat. Mulan, however, later discovers Shan Yu and several of his warriors have survived. Mulan travels to the city to warn Shang just as the Huns seize the palace and take the Emperor hostage. In the ensuing fight, Shan Yu's men are quickly defeated and Mulan lures Shan Yu onto the roof, and ultimately pins him down with his own sword. Guided by Mulan, Mushu uses a giant skyrocket to propel Shan Yu into a fireworks launching tower, killing him.
The Emperor and the city's assembled inhabitants praise Mulan for having saved them, and they bow to her in honor. She accepts the Emperor's crest and Shan Yu's sword as gifts but declines his offer to join the royal council. Mulan returns home and presents these gifts to her father, but he ignores them, happy to have her back. While Mushu is reinstated as a Fa family guardian, Shang becomes enamored with Mulan and accepts her invitation to stay for dinner.