note : some may consider portions of the following text to be spoilers .
be forewarned .
east meets west in mulan , the latest installment in disney’s parade of annual animated feature films .
an odd fusion of ancient asian traditions and disconcerting elements which betray obvious mass-market commercial sensibilities , this confident entry is easily the most engaging and satisfying hollywood animated feature in years , but falls short of actualizing its potential .
though not for lack of trying .
in many respects , mulan is among disney’s most mature efforts , skirting the surface of adult themes and daring to sneak glimpses into the messier side of combat .
the violence of the battles in the film are admittedly sanitized — the imagery of a pillaged village , neatly encapsulated in the form of a child’s discarded doll , is in itself no more harrowing than luke discovering his fallen guardians in star wars , and mulan’s later heroics in dispatching of the ruthless invaders is done so in the most tidy , bloodless method imaginable — yet how often does a hollywood animated film , long considered as the last safe refuge for the innocent , dare touch upon the consequential horrors of war in such a provocative manner ?
in an instant , idealistic mulan’s innocence is lost , and her jovial squadron are reminded of what their efforts are spent defending .
the film , based upon an ancient chinese fable , centers on a spirited young woman who disguises herself as a man in order to serve as her family’s obligatory conscript when china finds itself under attack by huns ( cartoonishly depicted by easy demonic overtones , replete with glowing yellow eyes and dagger-edged teeth , although lent a surprisingly genuine sense of menace ) .
dipping into the mythology of other cultures for the first time after cavorting in animated revisitings of familiar western / european fables and literature for decades , disney’s new film is boldly set in ancient china rather than relocated elsewhere , story intact , to some neutral territory , and revels in its east asian roots ; aside from a predominantly asian-american cast providing the film’s vocal work , there’s liberal usage of oriental iconography throughout , and the artwork reveal hints of japanese anime influence .
while the film does occasionally reach its limits and starts to tread upon old stereotypes — invoking pseudo-asian references to items like beancurd and rice in every third sentence grows rather hoary , and i can’t imagine that the regiment for ancient chinese warriors * really * included karate-chopping blocks of stone in two — it’s rather remarkable that a movie primarily positioned for american and european audiences delves so wholeheartedly into new foreign territory .
the film also freely touches upon cultural idiosyncrasies from its outset ; although savvy viewers should easily pick up on the intrinsics immediately , it’s startlingly assertive in providing as little shorthand as it does to unfamiliar youngsters with regards to the customs and traditions of mulan’s land .
at its core , the film is a tale of heroic adventure , and as such paints its story in bold strokes of honour , perseverance , nobility and courage .
as such , animation is the perfect vehicle for this flavour of epic , where stark emotional simplicity is able to effectively work hand-in-hand with visual purity .
scenes which would play out as unbearably hokey in live action , such as mulan’s venerable father pridefully tossing aside his cane when accepting his draft notice , are lent a sense of strength and conveyed with greater emotional clarity in animation .
mulan capitalizes on this during its strongest moments , particularly during our heroine’s character-defining opening half-hour .
it’s when the film attempts to integrate the traditional mainstays of recent hollywood animation — the friendly animal sidekick , the colourful array of supporting characters — into the mix where it goes slightly awry .
off to battle , mulan finds herself being trailed by a jive-talking diminutive dragon called mushu and an agreeable little ” lucky ” cricket , who ostensibly appear to assist in her subterfuge and realistically serve as audience-friendly comic relief .
they’re affable presences , and not precisely ineffective — reasonable amounts of humour are elicited , and eddie murphy ( who voices mushu ) is amusingly earnest — but amidst all the high melodrama , the effect is mildly jarring and , from a storytelling perspective , questionable in its necessity .
at training camp , mulan antagonizes and eventually wins over a trio of fumbling recruits ( easily characterized simply as the short clown , the skinny clown , and the big clown ) , who provide more levity into the film with decidedly less effectiveness , and , in a familiar retread of traditional disney patterns , she grows a certain fondness for a handsome , square-jawed young captain , shang .
everybody needs love , even ancient chinese warrior princesses , but not necessarily in * this * film .
the romantic angle , which lets the air out of the sails of the story’s neo-feminist underpinnings , lacks any genuine spark and plays out like a contractual obligation .
another staple of recent disney animated films , a cache of hummable little ditties , has also obligingly been carried over to mulan but proves to be a decided weakness .
composed by matthew wilder , none of the handful of tunes are particularly distinguishing , and one — ” i’ll make a man out of you ” ( unimaginatively accompanying a tired montage featuring our crew of characters transforming into lean fighting machines ) — becomes so grating and hackneyed that it seems almost interminable .
only ” reflections ” , an early ballad of lament , proves to be a song of any consequence , serving as an effective showcase for lea salonga , one of musical theatre’s most wondrously pure voices .
nonetheless , mulan is an especially appealing piece of work from the disney factory , with a strong narrative arc and pleasant artwork ; the computer-generated stampede of hun warriors charging down a snow mountain is wholly impressive .
while the blatantly child-friendly elements at times seem incongruous with the remainder of the film , they’re not dissuasive and remain fairly enjoyable .
briskly paced with a smart , energetic heroine and filled with high adventure , the film is ultimately most satisfying on the intimate scale of father and daughter .