PatriotResource.com Review: Mulan is considered a bit of a disappointing effort for Disney animation. However, we find it a refreshing departure from most of the Disney formula. Mulan is based on a Chinese poem and thus is influenced by Asian traditions as opposed to the European influence of nearly all of the rest of the Disney films. The film was also voiced by a predominately Asian cast which is still a rarity in Hollywood. Of course, the glaring departure from this is Eddie Murphy's Mushu. Though Mushu is a guardian dragon, that's about the end of the Asian influence. He fills the familiar Disney role of comedic sidekick. Murphy's humor here won't work for everyone. Either you'll really like him or hate him and find him a distraction from the rest of the film. Though not among the best Disney films, Mulan does have two things going for it that are rare in all Hollywood films, let alone animation. It is steeped in Asian culture and has a strong, independent female as the lead.
The DVD:
The 2-disc Special Edition DVD includes the familiar categories of extras as Music & More, Games & Activities and Backstage Disney. The first disc also includes several deleted scenes that run over twenty minutes when combined with introductions. The Music & More feature includes four music videos. The Games & Activies' lone feature is the DisneyPedia and it's geared toward youngsters. Backstage Disney includes a short "fun facts" feature as well as an audio commentary. The 2nd disc has roughly seventy minutes worth of special features and all of them aside from a Spanish language music video are Backstage Disney. There are various features on the film's production from a narration of the original poem to the production team's trip to China to various features on making the film. Most of the features are insightful and don't overlap much with the same material.
Mulan Voice Cast List
Ming-Na
B.D. Wong
Miguel Ferrer
Harvey Fierstein
Freda Foh Shen
June Foray
James Hong
Miriam Margoyles
Pat Morita
Eddie Murphy
Marni Nixon
Soon-Tek Oh
Donny Osmond
Lea Salonga
James Shigeta
George Takei
Frank Welker
... Mulan
... Shang
... Shan-Yu
... Yao
... Fa Li
... Grandmother Fa
... Chi Fu
... The Matchmaker
... The Emperor
... Mushu
... Grandmother Fa (singing voice)
... Fa Zhou
... Shang (singing voice)
... Mulan (singing voice)
... General Li
... First Ancestor
... Khan
- Deleted Scenes with Crew Introductions [~23:00]: "Puppy Dog Tales"; "Keep 'Em Guessing" Deleted Song; "The Prologue Chronicle"; "Shadow Puppets Prologue"; "The Betrothal"; "Shan-Yu Destroys The Village"; "Mulan's Dream"; "The Emperor's Dream"
- Music & More: "Reflection" [3:35] - Christina Aguilera
- Music & More: "True To Your Heart" [4:25] - Stevie Wonder & 98°
- Music & More: "I'll Make a Man Out Of You" [3:23] - Jackie Chan
- Music & More: "True To Your Heart" [4:25]- Raven
- Games & Activities - DisneyPedia: Mulan's World [~10:00]
- Backstage Disney: Audio Commentary - Producer Pam Coats, Director Tony Bancroft and Director Barry Cook
- Backstage Disney: Mulan's Fun Facts [~2:10]
Disc 2:
- Music & More: "Reflection" [3:32] - Spanish
- Backstage Disney - The Journey Begins: Discovering Mulan [6:46]
- Backstage Disney - The Journey Begins: The Ballad of Hua Mulan [5:16]
- Backstage Disney - The Journey Begins: Early Presentation Reels: 1995 & 1996 [~4:15]
- Backstage Disney - Story Artists' Journey: Finding Mulan [7:03]
- Backstage Disney - Story Artists' Journey: Storyboard-To-Film-Comparison [2:08]
- Backstage Disney - Design: Art Design [5:31]
- Backstage Disney - Design: Character Design [3:48]
- Backstage Disney - Design: Ballad of Color [4:25]
- Backstage Disney - Design: Still Frame Galleries
- Backstage Disney - Production: Progression Demonstration: Mushu Awakens [8:16]
- Backstage Disney - Production: Progression Demonstration: Matchmaker Meets Mulan [1:35]
- Backstage Disney - Production: The Hun Charge [4:52]
- Backstage Disney - Production: Digital Dim Sum [4:00]
- Backstage Disney - Songs of Mulan [5:12]
- Backstage Disney - International Mulan: Mulan's International Journey [5:42]
- Backstage Disney - International Mulan: Multi-Language Reel [3:10]
- Backstage Disney - International Mulan: Publicity Gallery
