Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that kids under 5 may find some scenes frightening. Mulan becomes a hero and helps her people by rebelling against authority. She learns to fight with weapons. The Huns destroy Chinese villages and kill people (not shown). Some battle scenes are scary and intense.
Families may want to discuss how Mulan reconciles defying her parents' wishes and the law versus doing what she thinks she must. When should children follow their inner beliefs first and foremost?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Betsy Wallace
When the Huns invade China, the army calls up its best soldiers. Mulan's father is on the list, but she can see he's too weak from an old injury to fight. Instead of staying home to find a husband, Mulan dresses like a man and heads off to war, taking her father's place. Her ancestors try to send a powerful dragon to help her, but a scrawny dragon named Mushu (voice of Eddie Murphy) sneaks off with her instead. Mulan struggles at first but becomes a brave and skilled fighter. Even after her true identity is discovered, she wards off the Huns and saves the emperor's life. Outraged by Mulan's gender deception at first, her captain ends up falling in love with her.
Disney took a gamble when it made a movie about China's legendary Mulan. She didn't fit the princess mold and most moviegoers had never heard of her. The gamble resulted in a movie with forgettable songs and characters, but beautiful settings and an unusual main character. Given the lack of onscreen role models for young girls, parents may be thankful for Mulan. Sadly, Disney chose to give her the problem of so many Disney heroines before her -- in the end she still needs to be married off, and in rides Prince Charming in the form of the captain to save the day.
Mulan is a strong character, though, so strong that she could have carried the movie just fine sans sidekick. But Disney must be convinced that the more animal sidekicks thrown into a movie, the more money it will make. Or perhaps they think a spunky sidekick is the answer to any plot weakness. Mushu the dragon is distracting, forms no noticeable bond with Mulan, and seems to belong in a different movie altogether.
Still, MULAN offers viewers a glimpse into another culture that many children's movies don't. Many aspects of Chinese culture are incorporated, such as reverence to one's ancestors, the significance of dragons, the importance of honor. On the DVD, the "Discovering Mulan" feature shows how the filmmakers researched not only the Mulan legend, but also Chinese art, architecture, history and culture before beginning to make the movie. Another feature, made for kids, explains how the many cultural references are woven into the movie. The DVD also includes deleted scenes and songs that, for anyone interested, provide a glimpse of how the filmmakers tweaked the story along the way to before arriving at a final product.
Rate It!
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ViolenceMulan joins the Chinese army during wartime. She learns to fight with weapons. The Huns destroy Chinese villages and kill people (not shown). Some battle scenes are scary and intense. |
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Social BehaviorIn order to help her father, Mulan disobeys him. While pretending to be a man Mulan displays crude and stereotypical male traits such as punching and burping. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoOne character smokes a long cigarette. |
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