Mulan (1998)

Mulan is essentially a film about a girl who pretends to be a man so that she can join the army in place of her dad, to stop him from fighting. The film sticks out to most people for having a “strong female lead” which differs from most other Disney movies, where the main female is often a princess.  The main message of Mulan is to show that you will be able to achieve whatever it is you’re after despite the many setbacks along the way. The film also encourages putting others before yourself. It revolves around her making the decision to take her father's place in the army, knowing it will be dangerous. Mulan actually seems to have more similarities with the male leads in most Disney films than the female ones. She doesn't spend most of her time trying to find a "true love" which is the case in many other Disney movies - instead she is focused on becoming a soldier. She also tends to speak her mind even though the culture and people she was around would be against this.

I also like the fact that the film has a very simple villain (Shan Yu) who we don’t know too much about. By this I mean he has no special powers or magical abilities (unlike most villains). He is literally just a man with bad intentions. This, I think, makes him an effective villain, as he is only able to carry out things that any human could yet he still comes across as evil and more powerful than most. For example we see him destroy entire villages etc.

On the other hand, there are Mulan’s friends Yao, Chian Po and Ling who. I liked them as they were the only characters not to judge Mulan in any way and would always be the first ones to take her side when everyone else seemed to be the opposite – quite refreshing in a way. They were the main source of jokes. Plus there are some good musical sequences in there.

A very good and well-balanced film in my opinion.