Movie Review Of Mulan

The film Mulan from 1998, directed by Tony Bancoft and Berry Cook, is about a woman in the Han Dynasty that replaced her father in the war against the Huns. This animated Disney movie is based on a popular Chinese legend and is produced to be education and entertaining to younger viewers. The movie used a mix of historical fact and fiction, and this essay is going to identify how the film ‘Mulan’ reflects features of a legend.

Why was strength and discipline so important? “I’ll make a man out of you”. A character named Li Shang, Mulan’s commanding officer and love interest, states this during the soldiers training period to prepare to confront the Huns. This period of preparation and coaching displays discipline, growth, determination and resilience. All features of the values of society from their perspective back in the Han Dynasty and now.

How does the film blend with fiction and historical fact? Back then in the Han Dynasty, matchmaking was necessary for women, since women did not have much significance. “Please bring honour to us all.” Mulan’s family recites this sentence several times because, as stated, ‘women didn’t have much significance’. Like how they described in the movie, women could only provide honour to their family by marrying. They displayed this throughout the movie which makes the movie true to historical fact.

The setting of Mulan is very similar to the Han Dynasty. It has not changed to some western setting like England or some other place. The emperor’s palace and Mulan’s village is a good example to this statement, along with The Great Wall of China. The characters had traditional and casual clothing dedicated to that Era.

The film ‘Mulan’ has very obviously outlined features of a legend. Strength and discipline are very strong values that people find important and worthful, now and back then. The film blends with fact and fiction since women were not valued back then. Moreover, it’s honest to the history of the Han Dynasty with their old traditions and beliefs. Features of a legend are included and is the main aspect to this film. It symbolizes the key feature to this movie, ‘Mulan’ which is the legend and they have made it so entertaining yet very educational to legend and the past.