Mulan - Nostalgia Critic
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- Опубліковано 1 вер 2020
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The original Mulan did well on the big screen, but has won even more fans over the years. Nostalgia Critic takes a look at why a seemingly passable Disney film has hooked so many fans.
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Mulan is a 1998 American animated musical historical action adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation for Walt Disney Pictures. It is based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, and was Disney's 36th animated feature and the ninth animated film produced and released during the Disney Renaissance. It was directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook, with story by Robert D. San Souci and screenplay by Rita Hsiao, Philip LaZebnik, Chris Sanders, Eugenia Bostwick-Singer, and Raymond Singer. Ming-Na Wen, Eddie Murphy, Miguel Ferrer and BD Wong star in the English version, while Jackie Chan provided the voice of Captain Li Shang for the Chinese dubs of the film.
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Let's get down to business....favorite animated Disney movie?
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This upcoming Nostalgiaween could there be Nostalgia Critic reviews of Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein and Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman?
Suggestions for future Reviews:
The Mummy Returns,
The Belko Experiment,
City Of Ember,
Weekend At Bernie's 2,
Superman 3,
Old Vs. New of Watership Down,
Episode Vlog of Amphibia.
The Lion King (1994)
Toy Story.
Toy Story (1995)
Something really cool I didn't realize as a kid is that Yao, Ling, and Chen Po are all individuals who don't fit the traits of what it means to be a strong male. Ling's the skinny one, Chen Po's overweight, and Yao is short so he has a bit of a Napoleon Complex. So we're not just seeing Mulan's growth, we're seeing theirs too.
Great insight! I never noticed that!
Napoleon complex doesn't exist. Napoleon was average height.
@@HeroLanding he was average height, but it's still a term used to describe short people who are overly aggressive.
JonGon Productions exactly, it’s simply been given a non-fitting name by the Brits who felt that they needed to (physically) look down on Napoleon.
Maybe not Yao's so much (had to be said, goodnight Cleveland)
Ok but the coolest part about “Girl worth Fighting for” is that through the whole thing, they’re talking about a girl romantically, until they find the village. More specifically the doll, and that little girl who was killed becomes the real girl worth fighting for
Even more poignant is there are no songs after "A Girl Worth Fighting For." The closest song is the reprise of "Be a Man" as the five heroes climb the columns, but that's more a vignette as it isn't a full song and added on more for thematic and illusory purposes. The war completely stops the fun, music and childlike nature in its tracks and it doesn't return until the vignette. Afterwards, things get silly again, but everything in between is actually rather serious.
That’s profound
Honestly, "Honor for us all", "Be a Man" and "A Girl worth fighting for" all belong together, because they are exploring gender roles from different perspectives.
Mmhmm, that was a really poignant tonal shift that I truly appreciated them having the balls to go all in on. Up to that point, the soldiers were treating the whole thing like some sort of summer camp adventure, but when the reality of what they were really getting into hit, you could see their innocence drop off of them like water.
Also the ending song was dope as fuck. I had the dvd with the second disc with added features and you get true to our heart in both english and spanish
The doll thing still gets me. I'm amazed by how one object could tell us the dark moments happening offscreen and how merciless Shan Yu's troops would go to eliminate an entire village, without even having to show us the child who used to own that doll.
That doll FUCKED me up!
And it follows "A girl worth fighting for" the Chinese army finally found a girl worth fighting for.
Shan Yu is arguably a scarier Disney "Villain" in comparison to Ursula, Jafar, Captain Hook, and Gaston. Sure, he wasn't given a menacing, catchy theme song, but he was CERTAINLY more gruesome. He literally killed one of the messengers, which was heavily implied with the whole, "how many messengers does it take to send a message" and one of the Huns go "one" shooting the guy point blank, sending a message to both the emperor and China. He was a real conquerer and although he wasn't given a lot of screen time, he was still interesting. For example, he didn't care that Mulan was a man or women, because the Huns were nomadic and had significantly less gender biases than that of China. Shan Yu still attempted to kill Mulan in revenge regardless. He wasn't a traditional antagonist, but he still played his part as the villain well.
In a deleted scene he kills one of his own men that tried to save a bird
They could've given him a backstory trying to finish what his predacessor couldn't: and he had a grudge against the Emperor and Fa Zhou since then.
The statement about Shan Yu not having biases is a point I had never considered. While Chang, the advisor and the other Chinese soldiers were all shocked and shaken by Mulan's true nature, Shan Yu just goes "the warrior from the mountain" and moves to take his revenge. He is not explicitly humiliated that a woman beat him nor does he treat her as a lesser warrior. He only sees an enemy to be vanquished.
Shan Yu legit scared me as a kid
He scared me the most because he or one of his people killed that small girl with the doll.
Man, you cut my favorite line.
Mulan: "Do you wanna stay for dinner?"
Grandma: "Do you wanna stay forever?"
He also missed Mushu's line. They popped out of the snow like daisies!
ha yeah i was gonna say that lol it's one of my favorites too hahhaa
Ah June Foray. Never thought I'd see the day she'd be in a Disney flick.
"Dinner would be great."
That Grandma is too much 😂. What a great character!!
Fun fact: Jackie Chan voiced Captain Shang in the Chinese dub and even sang “I’ll make a Man out of You”.
And they even included a music video of Chan singing the song in Chinese in the DVD special features... well, originally.
Nowadays they're stingy with special features on Disney DVDs and since I have an older DVD WITH the special features, I haven't NEEDED to pay attention to instore ones to know if Disney has become stingy with Mulan's special features nowadays
Well shit! That's awesome.
Makes sense. If anyone can make a man out of you, it's Jackie Chan.
Jackie Chan’s rendition of the song is very awe inspiring.
ua-cam.com/video/5SLJJc8siyU/v-deo.html there you go
Shang Yu is an unappreciated villain. To me his strength is his realism. He was winning until Mulan. And he took his defeat as temporary. He was ruthless, relentless, his plans were solid, he feared nothing. He was serious about things. He was serious. NOT a cartoon. The emperor was the other utterly serious character. Pragmatic and cool-headed. They were not playing. Too bad they had so few scenes.
"He was serious NOT a cartoon"
*Shang Yu after hanging from the palace like a bat*
BOO!!!
To me he was a meh villain, like he wasn’t terrible, but I’ve seen better.
**laughs in Claud Frollo**
I never thought that much of him as a kid.
Years later, he’s still pretty... meh.
I agree. I wrote a whole comment about how I love him because he's not supposed to be important, he's just an obstacle. An enemy in war. To make him anything else would take away from the story as a whole.
21:23 Don’t forget that Mulan disarmed Shanyu with *just a fan!* The very symbol of her femininity since the beginning of the film! And the fan combined with her incredible resourcefulness and basic combat training in a split second decision speaks to the epitome of her character. Backed into a corner, with no more options left, she’s able to disarm the greatest threat to her country; the biggest, strongest, scariest enemy she’s ever faced... with ‘just a fan’ as ‘just a woman’ that couldn’t compare to the might of the hierarchy. She’s mastered herself. She understands how to combine the best sides of herself. The masculine with the feminine. She’s no longer lost. She knows her reflection now. She did finally bloom. *She’s herself.* The whole movie was leading up to this very important moment! 😍 I love it!
Plus, the whole conversation with her dad is so beautiful! 😭
Actually some fun facts about that scene: fans in china are used by both males and females, a fan on it's own is not a symbol of femininity. In fact, the fan Mulan uses specifically to disarm Shen Yu, is a MALE fan.
This means to a Chinese watcher, the fan is Mulan using her masculine strength to disarm Shen Yu, while she is dressed and portraying herself as a girl.
The roll of gender, and gender portrayal in this film is amazingly complicated and very interesting.
ChasehaWing very well said! I learned something new today!
A strong female character is a female that uses the strongest aspects of femininity. This Movie nailed it which is why it's so refreshing to watch even to this day.
You win the prize for perfect comment! ❤️
Yassssss Queen!!!!!!
Shang Yu freaked me out as a kid. He wasn't fun or charismatic; he didn't sing; he didn't have a grand scheme. He wasn't Disney, and that scared me. He wasn't someone who would let you "temporarily" live as part of his grand plan. If he wanted something, he would slit your throat for it is the vibe he gave off. No negotiating, no bribing, no persuading, nothing but sheer force could stop his hand, and that terrified me.
Also the transition of "A Girl Worth Fighting For" to the silence of the burned village clicks for me more as an adult. War is built up through propaganda to draw in young blood by promising honor, glory, and prestige, but the devastation, the horrors of war are never mentioned. The transition from the song, or lack thereof, really just feels like their realization that war isn't just training, or a game of strategy, or all the good stuff everyone told them going into it. It's devastation, ruin, suffering, and sorrow. Hearing something second-hand is completely different than experiencing it first-hand - the sight, the sounds, the smells. That cut felt like a flashing sign saying "Welcome to War"
Double that. Despite "Mulan" seeming a romantic adventure, it's still about war, cruel society standards and sacrifice. What should Disney have shown? Shan Yu burning alive small children? His army pillaging, slaughtering and raping? That was masterfully omitted, but is IS there - in the back of your mind.
I also liked how the whimsical song about ladies ended abruptly. It showed how dreams get crushed by the horrors of reality. And that there's no glory in war.
Yeah. Doug says it would be good to see the villain do more villaining, but I think that abrupt switch from happy-go-lucky song to crimson red scene of devastation and death is one of the best "oh shit" moments of if not the whole animated movies as a whole, but at least Disney specifically. It would fall completely _flat_ if we would've shown Shan Yu attacking the village prior to that.
Another favorite moment of mine is that in the climax Shan Yu doesn't even pay attention that Mulan is a woman. It's just "Oh so it was _YOU"_ and then he attacks. It just doesn't matter to him.
@@DarthBiomech "It would fall completely flat if we would've shown Shan Yu attacking the village prior to that."
Yeah, now that you mention it, that does make sense. Kind of like in the movie Jaws. The less we see the shark, the scarier the scene is.
@@snowangelnc4669 basically, less is more.
Ирина Рейнхардт As the saying goes, “War is hell.” No ifs, ands, or buts about it.
“I like too that Mulan isn’t naturally a fighter. Nothing about her background or environment would indict that she would be. In fact, if anything it makes her risk and sacrifice all the more meaningful, she’s going into a fight not knowing how to fight. She has to learn like everyone else. Which allows growth for the character, as well as growth with the army.”
This right here is what is going to be missing in the live-action remake. Mock words and throw whatever insult you can come up with, I promise you that is what’s going to happen!
It's not doing so hot, so you're pretty much correct.
They better pick up the phone cause you called it
From what I've heard, you are right.
You were right it did happen. They made Mulan a natural fighter and perfect from the begining.
Do you come from the future? Because if you do, you could have stopped the remake from being made.
I think it's important to note that it's not necessarily that her father was too old to serve in the war, though he is definitely older. It's that he's injured from being in the army previously. That's why they make a point about him tripping or having difficulty standing up.
Really? I just thought he had arthritis! When we first see Mulan, she’s giving her father tea and talking about a doctor. Certain teas are known to help with arthritis pain. I thought that was why he was struggling to walk. It never occurred to me that he was struggling from a war injury 😯
@@BlueDiamonds103 When he practices with his sword after being given the draft papers he clutches his stomach, hinting that it’s an old war injury
She does it to make sure no one confuses her for a girl and to pas off as a bit
i think the point was to show how much she is willingly o give up for her father, and you can see her reluctance and closed eyes when she does it,
I remember that particular scene. Actually winced when I first saw it
As a girl who didn't fit into stereotypes of femininity but still wanted to make my family happy, this movie very much spoke to me. Instead of forcing me to wear skirts and dresses and only complementing me when I wore make-up, I wanted was my family to say the same thing her father did at the end, "The greatest honor is having you for a daughter." I just wanted to be me. Mulan was the first hero to give me some hope. It took many years to feel comfortable in my own skin.
"I've a girl back home who's unlike any other"
"The only girl who'd love him is his mother"
Oooooooohhhhh dam
@brandon roberts "HA! JOKE'S ON YOU! It's is not My mother. She has made very clear how much she hates me"
HA! BA-ZING!
In the french dub, retranslated
"My girl is waiting for me for nearly 40 years"
"After all this time she must have lost all her teeth"
@@tlotpwist3417 Thats a weird dub, but ok.
"you're humming that song on your head right now"
- Me: Yeahh..........
Yeahhhh....
Yeahhh...
I can't actually say or even think those words without hearing drums in my head.
"To defeat the hun"
*hoooaaaah*
@@diggerfan9319 "to control the world" ..... no, wait
I can't believe you skipped the "I never want to see a naked man again" *A dozen naked men run past* moment. 😂
He skipped one good part in the song "Girl worth fighting for" where Yao says "The only one who loves him is his mother" that part always makes me laugh
@@matrix91234 Same. 😂
>Mu Shu disguises himself as a messenger, passing off a message he wrote (cricket ghostwrote) that sent them down that snowy pass
>Mu Shu set off the battle in said pass
>Mu Shu literally killed the Hun leader
...is Mu Shu the real hero of China?
So you're saying he fired that cannon on purpose!?
@@italianlovecake Not necessarily, since we historically do make a habit of crediting those accidents to our heroes anyway...but yes, I absolutely think he would have in order to get some action going.
After Mulan 2, hmmm nah
@@matheusmariani3108 Fuck Mulan 2
Mulan killed more people with snow then Elsa ever dreamed of.
Yeah, well, @brandon roberts, they were just begging for it with such a poor military decision and they had been slaughtering countless Chinese villages for quite some time up that point in the movie. So screw the Huns, really.
@@adamgray1753 way to ruin the joke bro. next time just keep scrolling
Oh, whatever, @@TYcarterTracks. No running gag(s) was or were established by the time I commented in this thread. So get over it, and quite acting like such a child.
I don't think Queen Elsa dreamed of killing anyone with snow, so Mulan overshot maybe? Like, just one would've got the record
Thrackerzod the fandom nerd You get the point.
Normal people: my girlfriend loves me
General Shang: my girlfriend saved China
Sokka: My girlfriend became the moon
Spartan Jameson Locke Zuko: That’s rough, buddy.
@@mastercheese1634 "...So I can never bang my new girlfriend at night."
r/notlikeothergirls
LOVE this comment!!!♥️♥️
Mushu being Donkey and the Dragon' s son explains.... I think everything 😂
Eddie Murphy does well in kids movies
When Shan Yu said “how many men does it take to deliver a message?”
I felt that.
I never got that as a kid believe it or not, I thought he was asking a simple question
Now i get it,
And WOW....
@@zarakkhan4489 could you explain?
@@lessismore8533 watching as a little kid, I litteraly thought he was asking a question, maybe to gloat or something...
NOW i understand why he asked that and what he did
It just gave me the shivers
@@lessismore8533 after he said that, one of his men killed one of the men running off
“A Girl worth fighting for” isn’t a weak song. As soon as there’s a drastic scene change and mulan finds that doll, we realize the Chinese army has another girl worth fighting for. 😢 😭
ehh, I have to _somewhat_ agree/disagree there. I do, personally, find the song itself weak (on its own), but you're right in that the impact and the meaning behind teh entire scene is far from weak
He's referring to the composition & singing.
As soon as it plays, I remember that impactful scene of the burned down village. I think it was a great unexpected way to show the devastation AND give it even more of a shocking feel
Yeah, I think that song was the one lagging behind, but it becomes meaningful with that mood whiplash at the very end. The song is purely to keep the soldiers' spirits up on their long march...which becomes more difficult when they come face to face with the destruction.
"A Girl Worth Fighting For" succeeds at what...I think "Fixer Upper" from Frozen was going for.
What's great about Mulat is that the movie got "strong female character" right. She doesn't go to war because she wants to prove something. She does that so her father doesn't have to go. But in meantime she does prove something. At the beginning she can't do the same thing as other soldiers because she never trained. But she takes an advantage of her own skills. She struggles to achieve her goal. But she has no special gifts to do it. She doesn't want to "be like men". At the end she remains very feminin. Perfect female character which is not a copy of man actions in female body.
Rey is a better character.
Ah. You’re going to be VERY disappointed with the live-action then.
Well no, Mulan the movie got Mulan the character right. You’re right that it’s important to modern culture because it was a movie about a strong woman staying “feminine” while still being as capable of not more than the men.
However, there’s absolutely no “right” way to do a strong woman protagonist, only bad writing. Women can me more masculine and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Am I the only one who noticed the "Mulat"? XD
@@bengodwin2572 She's a very distant cousin of Borat! 👍
Something I didn't realize until recently was the line, "A girl can bring her family great honor in one way. By striking a good match, and this could be that day." Mulan later brings great honor to her family by striking a good match to light the cannon to cause an avalanche. And again in the climax I think.
I guess Im one of those rare unicorns that loves Mushu then, I love how he makes no sense culturally, his sass, particularly when he presents himself to Mulan with the televangelist tone; hes anachronistic. I also like the villain because he is just an aspect of the conflict. The reason I like this movie is because her conflict isnt linear or just one villain, its more naunced as she is mainly fighting against society and herself which makes her growth more cathartic.
Yah I love Mushu too! Diseny is a hypocrite anyway. Because adding a witch and giving Mulan powers makes no sense!
A lot of people love mushu. He just didn't
Mushu is a pocket sized dragon. That's just cool in itself.
@@LadyOnikara I LOVE your pfp
I love Mushu, too. I'm German, and in the German dub, he was voiced by Otto Waalkes, one of our best comedians, and he did a pretty great job, imho he hit the tone of the humor even way better than Murphy in the original English version. He also did the German voice for Sid in the Ice Age films btw..
To be fair, while Shan Yu is the “bad guy”, he isn’t the main antagonist of the movie. He’s not supposed to be that interesting. I think The Huns and the war are more of a framing device as well as the action conflict. Mulan isn’t linked to him as personally as other heroes are to their villains (Even Maleficent was directly slighted by Aurora’s parents), she’s just another soldier in the bunch until she throws an avalanche at him. Less personal to Mulan means less personal to the audience (until she throws an avalanche at him). We want to defeat the Huns, but saving father and avoiding discovery in the army is first and foremost.
The actual main conflict is the Chinese army itself and their expectations/rules on gender, represented by Shang, the advisor, and her army buddies (Ling, Xiao, and Chien Po). And as such, they are more interesting to watch. Mulan’s stakes are that she can be sentenced to death by her fellow soldiers for hiding her gender and taking her dad’s place. Her family will be disgraced and dishonored. Sure, the Huns could kill her, but that’s not as important to her as saving her father is.
Well said; the main "villain" isn't the bad guy threatening to kill everyone, the main "villain" is cultural expectations and the potential consequences of defying them.
And the one thig Mulan never gets credit for is just how inteligent and competant she is. The scene of her figuring out how to climb the pole without using phisical strength was one of the favourite scenes of my childhood. And all the victories she had were because she had a briliant plan that she executed well. Like, she defeated 99% of the Hun army with one canon. That is amazing!
Finally someone who understands this movie. =)
The main conflict is her being a woman.
People are always doubting her and not speaking to her because of her gender.
@@JMilutinify I'm excited for the new Mulan.. only 1 more day
You know... I know one way that could have been changed.
If the Fa family lived closer to the mongolian border. After that riviting speech with her father having shan-yu slaughter her family and then have her ancestors come out of a burnt out temple, now hell bent on helping mulan win this war with all their might.
"would you like to stay for dinner?"
"WOULD YOU LIKE TO STAY FOREVER?!"
Love the grandmother.
Cracks me up everytime
@@gianinabadami5341 The entire ending is a riot. *Chickens run in the ancestors temple*
Main Family Ancestor: Mushu!
Mulan and Mushu: Uh Oh.
Credits.
@@chasehedges6775 I agree. It was bizarre how it cuts to the credits when the main ancestors calls to Mushu, tho. Also I do see what the critic's talking about the song True to Your Heart not having the same affect as the other songs like in The Little Mermaid. But I do like it on it's own.
@@gianinabadami5341 Reason the song doesn't work: Late 90s pop song.
Fun fact.
Theres a deleted scene were one of the villain soldiers frees a bird and his eagle eats it.
And the he aproaches to the soldier and says "freedoom has a cost" and stabs him
I actually love Shan Yu, and here's why:
He completely stands apart from other Disney villains, to the point where I often forget he is one. We never explore his past or motivation. It's unclear who he is. We have no real reason to love or hate him. He has very little screentime. This all seems negative, right? I actually disagree. This is what gives his character its charm. This is the point of him. If he were given a long set of motivations and a backstory or reason to hate Mulan, it would distract from the main story. This is war. Not everyone is a perfect little character package. Really, when you think about it, he's done nothing wrong. He kills a guy, burns down a village, etc. But it's war. Both sides want the other side dead. I don't believe that he has any personal grudge against his opponents, it's simply warfare. There's not always a good and evil. Really, Shan Yu was neither a villain nor true antagonist in Mulan. He was simply an obstacle. Mulan didn't join the army to fight him, she joined to save her father. Therefore she was his enemy. But he wasn't anything more. The true conflict has nothing to do with him. He fits his role perfectly and does exactly what he's meant to do. He's not supposed to be interesting or unique, because he's not important at the end of the day.
Also, he's incredibly real. Intimidating and powerful, but real. He wants to win the war, and doesn't care who his opponents are. He has no magical powers. No sad backstory. Just an enemy.
The thing most people love about him is how intimidating he is, which goes along with the 'real' thing. He's no goofy cartoom, doesn't sing a song, doesn't try to convince anyone that he's something he's not. He just holds a threatening presence that never crumbles.
So, I'm sorry I just kinda rambled, this is all my opinion and interpretation. I completely see why someone would call him boring. I just think he perfectly fits the role and was the best choice. Feel free to discuss with me!
I can't believe your comment is so underrated. I agree with everything you said about Shan Yu. Despite how little screen time he has, he owns it until his explosive death.
Yeah, I agree, He's a villain that doesn't need a backstory or a song to explain his motivation. He's just there to be a scary villain, and he's certainly good at it.
"I've heard a great deal about you, Fa Mulan. You stole your father's armor, ran away from home, impersonated a soldier, deceieved your commanding officer, dishonored the Chinese army, destroyed my palace, and...you have saved us all."
If not were that last line, if I were Mulan I would've passed out lol
#Dumbledore'sLostBrother
The villain in Mulan was for me one of the scariest as a kid. I didn't know his intentions or his reasons, and that's what caused him to rise above other villains. We didn't know hat he would do next and the vagueness of moments such as when he said he would "return the doll" and you immediately see a burning village was creepy. What did he do? Did he torture anyone? Was everyone killed without a second thought or were they allowed to escape? These questions, these uncertainties, followed by seeing the doll and finding out that Shang's dad died, lead me to imagine the very worse as a child and having to get to that conclusion on my own versus having the movie point-blank show what had occurred made it all the more real. We only knew what Mulan knew, the worst she could imagine was what we imagined too. That is what made those scenes hit so hard and made this movie that could be so light and cheery at times become instantly serious. I enjoyed that about the movie - it didn't force you to live in one narrative. You could fill the blanks in for yourself as Mulan would have been forced to.
I just wonder if they'll expand on him during the remake. If they're getting rid of Mushu and her love interest, why not expand the villain like in other remakes?
@@theanimeunderworld8338 question for you
@@theanimeunderworld8338 from what I heard they're replacing him with a new villain. And apparently it's some kind of witch.
Another great thing is unlike most other Disney villains, he was a actual threat to a country, not just wanting revenge or to have power (Marring into power or other means). He showed he had power and let everyone in his path know it. Is he as "smart" or cunning as the others, no, but when you lead an army. It doesn't matter as much.
As a side note I did wish we got more time to flesh him or his army out a bit more, but I think just seeing the burnt village was enough to give a good picture of what they were like.
Shan Yu is also the only character besides the Emperor who doesn’t demonstrate the institutionalised sexism, recognising Mulan as a soldier in her own right instead of seeing her as a woman.
I like “Girl worth fighting for” especially when he says “I couldn’t care less what she wears or what she looks like. It all depends on what she cooks like. Beef pork chicken, mmmmmmm” BARS. Bars right in the feels.
He didn’t say he dislike it, it just the weakest song compare to Make a men out of you.
Also something I want to point out is that the recruiter says "Every ABLE-BODIED male of age", even if they accepted her father in the initial recruitment the army would have sent him home after maybe a day or so after failing a physical or something. At most they MIGHT give him a desk job or a comparatively cushier role like training troops as a purely vocal/demonstrative instructor.
Also two murders specifically by decapitation on Mushu's body count, he sure does love beheading people doesn't he?
Also, remember how they reacted to the conscription notice, how Chang and the Advisor were all like "THE Fa Zhou?!", astounded and starstruck. The man was a well-known war hero from a distinguished family. Chances are that Chang would have differed to him on tactics or asked him to manage training. He wouldn't put an old man on the front when there were sooo many peasants to throw at the enemy!
Also, Mushu did nothing wrong! That great stone douchebag refused to get his ass up and that level of dishonor caused him to crumble! ...Seriously, why was the Great Stone Dragon the only statue without a guardian spirit? Or did the ancestors sonehow forget GSD was just a badass statue?
silverblade357 With the great stone dragon, I always assumed that was Mulan herself. It’s supposed to be a protective spirit for her family, and she was sitting under it when she decided she was going to take her father’s place. She is her family’s protector.
@@silverblade357 Yeah, seems that he DOESN'T WANT TO DO IT. I mean he passed his cane to his wife before walking up to the scribe.
i saw a bunch of videos on that topic a few years ago the framing seems to suggest it too. the theory I saw was the dragon had allready woken up giving mulan the inspiration to defend her family in the war @@coolcat7011
"How many men does it take to deliver a message?"
"Just one."
*arrow thud noise* "you missed"
*arrow thud noise* "you missed again."
*arrow thud noise* "there you go"
I had to keep myself from laughing so hard I would have woke my roommate. Well played Doug, well played.
Could've cut to the Monty Python and the Holy Grail clip: "Message for you, sir."
10:07
They really missed a joke there:
"How many men does it take to deliver a message?"
" About five diligent men... ...or one woman."
They could've also killed both men and sent the dead men to wherever as a message, that would've been very intimidating
Yeah, after that cut to black, it made me wonder if one of them WAS killed while trying to escape.
I'm sad he skipped over; "You missed! How could you miss, he was 3 feet in front of you!"
Also, "They popped out if the snow! Like daisies!".
Also "Would you like to stay for dinner?
"WOULD YOU LIKE TO STAY FOREVER!?"
Mulan: "Okay any questions"?
Yao: "Does this dress make me look fat"? (gets slapped) "OW"!
“Cooking outdoors...” 🤣🤣🤣
The song Reflections is actually longer and you can find the full version on UA-cam. Lea salonga said in an interview that they cut it due to time and she was disappointed by that. I wish they would have put the full song in.
Fun facts about Mulan:
- The drawings in the opening were created by putting watercolor on either rice or parchment paper
- The reason why Chi Fu is a ass is because his name is a play on the Chinese word for “to bully”.
- The version of “Reflection” that made it into the movie is the short version of the original. If you look up and listen to the extended version, it’s amazing!
Fun fact: Mulan was one of the last animated movies made by the Florida Animation Studios before it closed down, along with Lilo and Stitch.
Fun fact: Mulan was actually the FIRST full-length animated film made by the Florida animation studio.
Even though this division of Walt Disney Feature Animation did create major scenes for films like “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Lion King,” and produced a few short films on their own (the last two Roger Rabbit shorts were animated entirely in Florida), they had never been given the chance to make their own full-length film. “Mulan” was that chance, and it was successful enough for the Disney executives to grant much more creative freedom for the studio’s next film, “Lilo & Stitch.”
Unfortunately, the box-office failure of “Treasure Planet” led Disney to cancel all 2-D films at Disney Animation, and make the studio produce only CG films, to better compete with the likes of Pixar and DreamWorks Animation. To prove their decision was correct, the executives purposely hurt the opening weekend of Disney Animation Florida’s third (and final) film, “Brother Bear,” releasing it on a Saturday, rather than the standard Friday/Wednesday premiere date. The entire staff was laid off the day after Brother Bear’s premiere, with only a small number of transfers being offered to the main studio in Burbank.
The facilities were immediately shut down, while the building served as a spot for Disney character meet-and-greets, before being changed to a Star Wars gift shop some years later.
Such a sad fate for such a great studio.
VCJunkie Yep. I hope to see them get the last laugh and all Disneylands and Disneyworlds into Universal Studios, and Disney out of business and Disney HQ turned into, I don’t know, a Harry Potter or Transformers gift shop.
Another fun fact : Mulan met Sofia the first and had a relationship with Sheriff Mao Mao.
If I'm being honest I think it was pretty refreshing to have a straight forward villain, not everyone needs to be hyper complex to be intimidating. His whole thing was strength etc, and thats all he did. His strategy? Brute force and overwhelming numbers.....end of strategy. His goal? Make those that think they are stronger submit, thats why he didnt just kill the emperor
@@BWMagus lol excellent point
Not to mention no plot twist villain, the Huns are evil not misunderstood victims
That said, when he lost most of his soldiers, he was quick to come up with a new strategy and did surprisingly well with limited numbers, suggesting he did at least have some sense of tactics.
Another thing. They are huns. They do not have "complex reasons"
I agree. In fact, Shan Yu is one of my favorite Disney villains. Partly because he is so straightforward. He simply wants to prove his superiority over the Emperor. That said, he's no simple brute. He's cunning, tactically brilliant, and a excellent commander. The huns under his command follow him without question and even after losing most of his army they still follow him. Also, Doug doesn't seem to realize most Disney villains are pretty straightforward characters.
Would absolutely buy a Mushu shirt that says "Dishonor on your cow".
They make them, I own one!
Shang Yu is one of my favorite Disney villains. He is intimidating in a very real, very raw way to me. Other Disney villains can be more interesting as characters, but few are as fun to watch as Shang Yu to me. I would like to note on the doll scene how cool the entire scene was to me. Because in that scene, what happens is, the Huns find the doll. They then take a look at the doll, and together come to a conclusion. That there's a village nearby, that the village houses Imperial forces, that the forces are strong and plan an ambush on the Huns. They manage to deduce all of that from a doll. This makes the Huns - and Shang Yu as the embodiment of these Huns - seem animalistic and fierce, but also really dangerous and intimidating
Same I find Shan Yu fascinating
True. He may not be the best villain in terms of character or backstory (actually he doesn't even have any of these things, lol), but he's certainly one of the scariest and most brutal ones, and that was his purpose. And that doll scene was really great and intense indeed.
18:12 it was Mushu.
He was shown throughout the film that he's trying to properly breath fire without success. So in that moment he was practicing and accidentally lit a fire work on.
I know hes a moron but BREATHING FIRE IN A FIREWORK CART YEAH GOOD IDEA
@@dustyrose192 you'd be surprised how many people actually do this type of stupidity.
What School Doesn't Teach You Wolfie hey mushu good boi
I always thought he sneezed or something and set it off by mistake. That's totally something Mushu would do.
@@SuperSongbird21 Which is more believable cuz u see him later sneeze around the cold weather too, after Mulan was left off by her own. But maybe its a mix of both, we dunno.
"Ugly concubines"
Daddy whats a concubine?
Missed a possible joke
I'm still pissed he didn't mention the Szechuan Sauce!!!!!
@@nicktechnubyte1184 he did. At the very start
I actually went and looked it up in the dictionary after watching this movie...
I actually got it when I was a kid
@@nicktechnubyte1184 he mentioned it..but not by name, still he showed the whole over the top douchebaggery some people did over some Sechuan Sauce..no need to get pissed.
17:47 I LOVE the whiplash I get every single time I watch this scene. We go from ,”a girl worth fighting for!” to an entire village razed to the ground. Juxtaposition like this is what I live for.
The Emperor also has the greatest clapback in Disney history.
Shan Yu: *has infiltrated the castle, taken it over, and kidnapped the Emperor* "You will bow to me."
Emperor: *doesn't give two shits* "No matter how hard the wind blows, the mountain cannot bow to it."
And dude walked away right as Shan Yu was about to decapitate him
“My 10-inch pianist.”
I am ashamed how long it took me to get this.
I thought he said penis. 🤣🤣🤣
@@-12Sided The genie with terrible hearing did too
It's all good, I'm still ashamed it took me years before I finally realized what Shen Yu meant when he asked how many messagers it took to deliver a message.
I wonder if he said "cock" he would get a little chicken.
Mu-wah!!! Goodnight, everybody!
When I hear the emperor say "And you have saved us all" after all that build up...I always get so emotional. I love this movie so much. Do have to disagree a tad on the Shan Yu front though I see what he's saying. I liked having a villain who even off screen had such a body count and was so serious. No songs...not a lot of goofy moments...he felt real and intimidating though he did deserve more screen time. Also my favorite moment with him was in realizing Mulan was the "soldier from the mountains." There's no "Whaaa??? A WOMAN???" He just went immediately into murder mode. Love it. Lol.
Ironically, I guess we could say Shaun Yu was a supporter of gender equality...both men and women were equal under his blade. XD
Cartoon Critique You’re really not far off. The Huns were nomadic and Mongolian women held higher status than their counterparts in other parts of East Asia at the time. They weren’t exact equals, but Shan Yu’s widow and concubines would have taken on the responsibility of managing his tribe/territory in his absence.
Torika Gomutsutchi Mongolian women weren’t exactly warriors who went on raids but they did have to be able to defend themselves in the even their camp got raided. Women were also expected to be able to ride horseback and hunt as everyone had to pull their weight to survive on the steppe. Mongolian women watched over the livestock while the men were off hunting (often for weeks at a time). Women could own/inherit their own property, divorce their husbands, and participate in religious ceremonies. The senior wives of tribal leaders also gave speeches and held banquets to promote loyalty to her husband, could rule in his place for several years if he died, and represent her late husband at important tribal meetings that decided future rulers.
@@Starfire861 The Mongolians were surprisingly progressive for that point in history.
There is always something intimidating about a villain who’s too jaded to play around.
10:05 I will concede that Shan Yu doesn't have as much gravitas as the other Disney Villains, but there is another scary thing about him. Unlike the other soldiers in the Chinese army, he never comments on Mulan's gender. This is shown when he has Shang at his mercy and Mulan distracts him and explicitly shows that she is "the soldier from the mountain."
Realizing exactly who he's dealing with, Shan Yu immediately switches targets to the person he feels to be the bigger threat to his plans. From when he chased Mulan through the palace to his pyrotechnic death, Shan Yu NEVER ONCE commented on Mulan being a woman.
Before encountering Shang's army, he was steamrolling more experienced soldiers before Mulan took out most of his army. When he adapted his plan and used stealth tactics, he would have killed the Emperor if it weren't for Mulan's intervention. His competence is what I like about him. Not as much as the other characters, but still enough to consider him " underrated."
I love that Shan Yu is the least sexist man in the entire movie. When he sees "the soldier from the mountain", he doesn't see a woman. He sees a legitimate threat. The way he delivers the line is perfect because it's menacing but there's a quiet respect in there too. Mulan single handedly destroyed most of his army, so Shan Yu immediately dismisses Shang, who's no threat to him, and storms after the only Chinese soldier whom he sees as a worthy opponent.
for me as a girl there is an important lesson: being a woman is a proud. mulan is my favorite disney movie
And for some of us girls that were more tomboyish, she was a princess we could look up to. One of my favorite movies too.
Mulan drinking game: take a shot every time they say honor. Happy alcohol poisoning
We could do it on avatar too. A shot every time there's a blind joke or zuko says 'honor'
@@alessandrosignore7500 16 honors from Zuko and about as many blind jokes. Considering you would have to watch all three seasons to get them all, I doubt you would even get drunk. I think there is more "honor" from "Zuko" in the NC list of the 11 best ATLA episodes.
And yes, I know it was a joke.
I'm still recovering from Zuko saying honor in AtlA.
@@alessandrosignore7500 You found something worse than the Stephen King drinking game.
You'll be passed out before they even get to the Army.
"Why else would I come back? You said you trust Ping. Why is Mulan any different?" One of the most powerful lines in the movie.
That was her best line in the film & her expression is excellently animated with Ming-Na’s vocal delivery. Mulan called out the b.s. on ignoring her because she is a woman yet she fought like a man
Personally I thought Shang's cold shoulder was less about her being a girl and more of her lying to him, which Shang took as a betrayal. But I see your point. ☺
@Sarah Yes I'm aware of that. The reaction of the folks she tried to convince about the Emperor being in danger proved that they were dismissive of her because she's a woman. But we are talking about that line she said to Shang and the rest of the army. Yes I know that a part of their dismissal of her was because of her gender, but (especially for Shang) it was because of the feeling of betrayal. It isn't right, but the it is there nonetheless. And I think that's why Shang did not trust Mulan at the time. Not just because she was a girl, but more of because she lied to him as Ping and he's taking out his anger and hurt in a petty way that nearly cost the Emperor his life.
Of course it ended fine so it's all good. 😊
Powerful... But also strange when you think about it. Hear me out:
"Why is Mulan any different?"
Why IS Mulan any different? Toss out the gender part, and look at it this way. Shang and the others saw Ping as a brave (though kind of crazy) comrade in arms, they fought and defeated the Huns together. Turns out she was an imposter who joined the army and decieved them all. With good reason/intentions certainly, but it was still that she lied to them that would have made it harder to accept her back.... Along with the fact that if not for Shang repaying his debt, he WOULD have had to execute her. Which in all honesty is probably the bigger reason he was trying to get her to leave. HE spared her life, but if word got out about her infiltrating the army, she might have faced execution again and Shang wouldn't be able to help her that time. Also, everyone was clearly shaken by it. They were being hailed as heroes and yet none were even smiling or looking up, much less celebrating.
@@Kamina.D.Fierce Well said! I never saw it that way before but your interpretation really made sense!
I think that if 'Mulan' _where_ royalty; she would _not_ be called "princess", instead she would be known as "empress"
Just saying.
Well that would only work if She inherited China's empire, if she were royalty she would most likely still be just a princess. As an emperor/empress is the title given to a person ruling an empire, prince/princess is reserved for either the heir to a Kingdom, or the ruler of a Principality.
I can't believe you didn't mention the scene where mulan finds a doll in the snow
The whole point of Girl worth fighting for is that the real girl worth fighting for is the villager girl that was killed in the invasion
Exactly, I don’t know how he missed that
You just made that bit pointless for him since you described it best.
I'd say "a girl worth fighting for" is one of the strongest songs. It acts like a funny ego song after training hard and is so cheery that you get whiplash seeing the reality of what the villans can do, making the scene more powerful
I'm ex military. We literally do this just without the musical number. It is 100% accurate.
There is also the fact that the meaning of the song changes within a millisecond. It first starts out like a song for a really pretty girl then changes the girl to be a defenseless little girl who couldn't fight back against the hun army.
It's a great song indeed! But my favorite is make a man otta you
@@h.rtheater8321 Oh dayum I never made that connection.
Best of all? After that song, there are no more musical numbers in the entire movie
I still get a chuckle out of the "Dishonour On Your Cow!" Line, it's just so random :)
well not really random, since the line might as well have been "Dishonor on your horse!" It's just the detail that Mushu for some reason thinks the horse is a cow. In context, there is sense to it.
Out of context... it does sound random
Oh it's one of the best in the movie lmao
still quote it to this day
I still say it to this day and random variations of it. I remember watching the "True to Your Heart" video when Disney would play it during commercials its still my favorite song.
@@kevinmitchell6466 I think it's becoming one :)
I give defense to Shan Yu: he is a generic villain, with an army. Most of the other villains needed to prove why they were evil or worth considering a threat, but he simply the looming evil from the start. I personally think they did him justice by making him seem cold, ruthless and efficient.
Also I admit it helps that the Hun’s theme is really good
He’s Thanos
When he screamed at hello fresh, "Let Me TALK!!!" Idk why but I died 🤣
My main defense with this villain is that he is probably the closest thing to a monster the real world can offer us. I'm not saying mulan is in any ways realistic, but for me personally, the scariest part about shan yu was the fact that people just like him existed. Ghengis khan, hitler, Vlad the impaler, these are people who have taken countless lives. For different reasons, sure, but they are all warlords in their own right. Monsters and demons in human form. Shan yu was the one that made me realize that the fiction spawned from these men were merely watered down tales of their true brutality.
You really know your history kid
This post makes me wonder what Khan really did and how bad his legacy was smeared.
at one point a man shot him in the eye, he pulled the arrow out, ate his fucking eye and told the archer "That was a good shot, join my army."
that's just one of his many tales, but at the same time, russia had tried really hard to suppress his memory and stuff. Because he was seen as such a hero and badass for mongolia, his name was banned, all sculptures, statues, and painting of him were destroyed and all textbooks about him were burned.
didja know ghenghis khan wasn't even his real name? the word Khan itself means "ruler" in a way similar to saying "King so and so."
There are even legends that say when he was born, his hand had already taken the shape of a fist! As if he was already planning on taking over all the known world! he DECIMATED persia, united the warring nomadic tribes of mongolia, and even used corpses as weapons to try and give their opponents plague!
if you ever wanna know more about him, the internet is a huge, huge wealth of knowledge. The king of mongolia was undoubtedly a fierce and ferocious man!
@@KokNoker Genghis Khan? The guy who conquered all of central and continental east asia? Whose empire stretched from Minsk in Russia to Shanghai? His legacy hasn't been smeared, it's been watered down, He butchered the population of Samarkand after they surrendered. He razed Bukhara to the ground, and the sacking or Urgench is considered one of the largest massacres in human history. You don't conquer all that land by being a good person.
@@VanguardJester "There are even legends that say when he was born, his hand had already taken the shape of a fist!" This must be the least impressive legend about him considering all babies have a natural instinct to ball up their hands into tiny fists to keep warm, especially if he was born in a cold yurt.
I agree that Shan Yu is a pretty generic bad guy, but I actually feel that's part of his menace. He has no goofy moments, when he's on screen, he's legitimately intimidating, and, let's be real.
Would you really buy it if he were more... well, animated? The other Disney villains have more character, yes, but I feel that that detracts from their menace. A villain like Shan Yu is perfect for this movie. He's a warlord. In a movie about a war, that's what's needed. I can buy captain hook leading a ship of rowdy pirates, but I couldn't take Jafar seriously if he were, say, leading an army.
Shan Yu was the right call for THIS movie.
I agree. They did him with the 'less is more' approach in mind and I think it works well. It's all shadows and hints but it let's you imagine horrors well beyond whad other Disney villains ever did... Also...his voice is perfect as it's calm, borderline amused, while really intimidating.
@@mayaklast6334 "Shadows and hints" is a great way to describe him, and I agree that *not* showing what he's capable of makes him more intimidating in the same way horror movies not showing the monster clearly is more intimidating (i.e. Alien) as it's far more effective to let the audience's imagination fill in the gaps.
I'm glad other people like him too. I always felt he was underrated.
He's the DCeU version of a Disney villain. He obviously enjoys what he's doing as much as Cruella or Ursula. In fact given he never lists a motive, I would say he's even darker than even Frollo. He was "invited", he's just savoring the kills and slaughter with no one standing toe to toe against him because there's almost a cannibalistic or sexual edge to his violence.
He kind of reminds me of an iceberg. Easy to overlook surprisingly, Nostalgia Critic did, but destructive as hell.
I’m more than certain its just simple animation to make him look menacing but I for the longest time, I was under the impression that Shan Yu was some sort of demon of all the Huns, especially the eyes, his towering hugely built appearance, the fact that he’s destroyed some man-made structures with his bare hands, oh and the fact that he survived a huge devastating avalanche that would normally kill almost anybody. All of that, for the longest time use to put me under that impression.
I’m loving the Critic doing stuff he actually likes.
A bit disappointed by the Critic on this review.
The villain - yes, boring, but he looks and sounds impressive. Moreover, it seems to me that the idea was that he was just a huge, terrible strong man, and the fragile Mulan was to fight against him. And, moreover, I like the fact that we are not shown his atrocities. We just see the burnt village, the girl's doll, and we understand that he is cruel and immoral, any compassion is alien to him.
The final battle in Mulan is really different from the others, but it's also great about it. In general, I often notice that the Critic loves action more, even if the film is not about it. In Mulan, action in the finale is not needed, because that is not the main thing. Mulan is a woman and does not use force as men are used to. She won not because she became stronger physically, but thanks to her intelligence and ingenuity.
I also have nagging, but they are not so significant. In short, the Critic of the cartoon looked like half an eye.
Same here. This is honestly one of his weaker reviews in my opinion. I'm never a fan when he reviews more mainstream movies, I think he works better with easy targets like A Troll in Central Park or Son of the Mask. But I really think he missed a lot of what made this movie good. And while I am biased, this is my favorite Disney movie, he still didn't get a lot about this movie. Which isn't entirely on him, he didn't grow up with it like a lot of people. But this isn't one of my favorite reviews of his.
Nobody seems to notice that when Mushu accidentally sets off that rocket, he saves everyone's lives. If they had kept on marching, they would have been caught in the center of the valley with archers on one side and the ground troops on the other. This led to the decimation of the archer squad by rocket death, and forced the Huns to charge towards the largely undamaged enemy, instead of waiting for the survivors of the arrow attack to come to them.
...Ok, in retrospect, what is with this dragon's head count!?
“You should accept it for what it is instead of what you want it to be.”
That is waaaay too true for pretty much everything these days. Whether it’s movies or video games, it still counts for it all.
I agree to a point, but there have been some movies and video games that were clearly meant to piss people off on purpose, and those should be called out for their b.s.
But generally, yea, people need to learn to chill. If a remake or adaptation isn't a 1:1 copy of the beloved original, that's not anything to start riots online over (again, exceptions for those that change things just to piss off the fans of the original), mainly because there's no real point in doing a 1:1 copy in most cases. What a lot of people seem to forget is that they're not going to die if something gets made or remade that they don't like. There's nothing wrong with just saying, "Eh, I didn't like it as much as the original," and moving on with their lives - not everything needs an overblown, hyperbolic "They ruined my childhood!!!" declaration to the heavens.
@@Dargonhuman omg yes especially the part about over exaggerating about their childhood movies, it's not like the movie suddenly goes away because they remade it. It still exists, you can still make your kids watch it. Believe or not, it's the original that will stick around for years, not really the remake. Although I'm glad their remaking more realistic and historically accurate version of Mulan. It's looks really, really good.
To avoid this I go into games, movies, events, and life in general with no solid expectations of what I will get. That way I am never disappointed and almost always satisfied with what I get.
Shame he doesn't apply that to the Sonic movie...
Fun fact: Jackie Chan sing a Chinese version of make a man out of you. Which makes the song even more awesome
No, Jackie Chan is a sleazebag. Never understand the hype around him in western media.
@@tofufighter2142 how is Jackie chan a sleazebag?
@@tykamen5588 He cheated on his wife gazillion times, has an illegitimate daughter with one of his flings but refuses to acknowledge her existence, and supported the commies.
@@tofufighter2142 I have never heard about any of that stuff
@@tykamen5588 Now you do and a quick search on google will show you what a scumbag he is. People from his homeland hate him. Not sure why it's not publicized in the west.
22:27
Critic cut off the funniest line in the movie!!! It should have been:
Mulan- Would you like to stay for dinner?
Grandmother (offscreen)- *Would you like to stay forever?!*
Everyone is like "oh mulan has gender problems." Actually no, she has problems with the roles for the genders. She conplains about "shes a woman so should this". She never said "i wish i was a boy" she said "i wish i wasnt doing this role." So there people.
Yeah plus That’s a sexist view anyways, to say Mulan is trans or the equivalent of man because she doesnt confirms to gender roles is just plain misogyny. I can’t stand this woke sexism anymore. People still to this day can’t just accept some women are powerful and complex, a combination of masculinity and femininity but it’s doesn’t make any LESS of a woman
Honestly the way I see it is that at first she doesn’t feel right but can’t exactly figure out why, but it’s through disguising herself and joining the army that she discovers that she’s a transgender male.
@@parisknight1840 I didnt think anybody would agree with me.
TheTheatreQueen yeah because if a woman is strong and capable it must mean she is really a man inside🤦🏾♀️ why can’t see you the obvious sexism in this statement
I think the woke views on gender are more sexist than the traditional views. A strong woman must actually be a man on the inside? Like women can’t wear dresses AND kill monsters? Er, no, she’s just a strong woman. A man doesn’t enjoy the pressures of society expecting him to throw his life away in war? Clearly he’s a woman, throw him in a dress! A woman doesn’t want to get married to a specific man? Gasp! Must mean she’s a lesbian! Really, people. This is a story about filial piety, not being a transgender.
"She's not technically a princess, though."
Finally, someone is brave enough to say it!
She’s better than a princess...she’s a hero
Yes. But Disney's criteria for who gets to be considered a princess is so vague that they could literally pick anyone.
Like Kuzco
Warrior princess?....
Disney's criteria of "must be royalty to sell merchandise" is ridiculous.
Especially when its characters are POC. I know there were vague attempts made with Esmeralda but what about Nani & Lilo? They were the best sister duo before Frozen came out with....royal sisters 🙄
Lea Salonga will forever be the greatest disney princess ever.
As both Mulan and Eponine.
She is also Satsuki and Mei's mother in the newer US Disney English dub of My Neighbor Totoro.
She has a different voice actress in the older Hong Kong Fox Searchlight Pictures English dub.
But Disney still recycled most of the Hong Kong dub script with some alterations for their English dub.
The GKIDS release out now as well as released internationally by French company Wild Bunch is the same English dub as Disney, the Hong Kong dub is now unavailable unless you pirate.
I think the reason why Mulan plays out more like a comedy is because it came out soon after “Pocahontas” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” which were relatively really dramatic Disney animated films. Those films were not the money-makers Disney had hoped for so they may have mandated Mulan to be more comedic to avoid being the disappointment those two films were
"Say that to my face! You limp noodle!"
Kid me: Hahaha! He called him a noodle!
Adult me: *laughing even harder*
oH MY GOD-
I just understood that-
i-
I GET NOW!!
Me, just realizing what else that means: *W H E E Z E*
I think I get it but I’m not really sure if it’s the same thing you guys are thinking. 😐
I JUST GOT IT 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 LOL
No joke on granny’s “would you like to stay forever?” Hands down the best line and character in the film!
Imagine the awkward conversations parents had with their children explaining what Mushu's "couple of things I know they're bound to notice" line. LOL
“You will never bring your family honour!”
My brain: say it.
Me: No.
My brain: You know you want to.
Me: *HONOUR DIED ON THE BEACH.*
I don't know the reference
julian martinez it’s from ‘Ghost of Tsushima’
“My eyes can see straight through your armor “ RATED G 😂😂🤣💀💀
Dragon get slapped.
🐲
The MPAA was much more lenient back then.
In fact, most of these old animated films would at least be PG today.
Meanwhile Frozen: Who cares about shoe size?
Rated PG
@@Zinervawyrm Tarantino cares, people. Tarantino cares.
Shoot, even the lake bath scene was risque for a Rated G movie.
4:15
To quote Azula: "Don't you know fans only make flames stronger?"
Ah. I see you too are a man of culture
When did she say that?
@@Rhaivanna996 the episode is called Appa's lost days. The scene with the Kyoshi Warriors.
I commented on the Lilo and Stitch episode that I had my students watch it and answer some questions on it, and how well-suited the movie was towards that. Honestly, Mulan was the one that convinced me to try Disney movies for "reading" comprehension work--Mulan is a GREAT movie to talk about theme with. It's a good introduction because, once guiding the students through character arcs, and noting that Mulan, Mushu, and even Shang (somewhat) go through the same character arc of having to prove themselves, and only doing so by deviating from expectations/tradition that they succeed. Plus it has some really solid symbolism moments. I loved the sound of triumph in one student's voice when she said "Mulan IS the rice!" after the movie cut from the Emperor saying one grain of rice could tip the scales to Mulan balancing a grain of rice.
Chien Po's "...Feel better?" still makes the rounds in my family, usually after someone says an extended nonsensical sound while stretching or dealing with something frustrating. Something about him picking up Yao bodily and rocking him back and forth while chanting as he rages is just utterly hilarious.
Mushu: Did you see those Huns? They popped out of the snow, like daisies! (I love that line)
I think why Mulan resonated so much with me as a kid was because it was the first time I'd seen a Disney heroine take real agency and her goals had nothing to with romantic interests, but saving her family. The movie also highlighted what made her a good soldier wasn't necessarily her strength with weapons, but using her mind to problem solve, hence the montage coming to a climax with Mulan using the weights to help her climb the pole rather than how the others treated them as additional obstacles against their brute strength to climb it. All of the obstacles in the film are solved by using her mind and the resources around her (including making her fellow soldiers dress in drag to distract guards.) But that's just me.
Also, Mulan isn't one of those "I want" princesses, since Mulan herself doesn't know what she actually wants other than making her parents proud that is. That is so relatable, since most of us have no idea what they want to be at 16 year old.
I agree. :-)
It could be because it was before your time, but for me, that "break out princess/heroine" was Jasmine. The moment when Aladdin and Abu's jaws drop learning that Jasmine can perform the same pole vault as them without aid. Finally, a princess on the level of the guys. This is why Jasmine is my favorite. Her character is further developed in the series, and I wish we saw *that* Jasmine in the live action remake. Jasmine had a dream of starting a school for the kingdom-
@@pinky75910 Eh, no. I am most likely older than you. Hence Jasmine being allowed to do a stunt didn't impress me all that much. I mean, she isn't even the protagonist of the movie. All I like about Jasmine came from the TV show.
But Disney still dropped the ball in Mulan's agency when they basically hooked her up with Shang at the end and then have them as a couple in the sequel. She hadn't shown any hint of attraction to him the entire movie. She respected him as her military leader. Instead, we had to wait until Moana before the lead woman and man end up with no romantic angle (as far as Disney royalty goes). For the praise of Moana not having an attraction subplot (in part because she's what, 14? in a movie made in an age where people are a lot more conscious of that sort of thing), Mulan was thiiiis close to doing it first but fell inches from the finish line.
There is actually a deleted scene where Shun kills one of his men for being too merciful.
@@tornadodee148 Doesn't Disney have history of having the most BRUTAL villain deaths in cinema?!?
Tornado Dee Yeah cuz genocide on an entire population of animals is kid friendly.Still wonder why they deleted the scene where the falcon that Shan Yu owns killed a bird that survived the fire, even though falcons have a diet made 80% OF BIRDS!
Dark
Gene Wilder "IT.COULD.WORK!!"
Everyone 1 week later: Well that didn't work
*Mistakes were made*
Why in gods name is that a link!
@@suchomimustenerensis Someoene Will Have To Click It.. Wish Me Luck....
@@suchomimustenerensis SO IT WASN'T, BAD
5:11
This. This alone explains why Mulan is my all time favorite Disney animated film. Thank you for actually summarizing what it meant to me for so many years. If I ever get better at singing, I'm absolutely covering Reflection with my transition progress, photos and videos.
I'm willing to say: if Shan Yu had been the "Evil Plans, backstabbing etc." kind of villain, it'd been "He was kinda a rip off of Maleficient/Frollo/etc.
I think he works fine for what he is, the leader of the Xiongnu invading China. Could he have been written better? Yes. But he IS NOT a schemer or backstabber, rather he is the "(Mostly) Sadistic, little non-sense Warlord" kind of guy.
"All he says is 'kill people' and his army kills people!" is in my opinion Appropriate, considering how the Huns and Mongols acted in their invasions. Utterly ruthless when faced with resistance.
He is a strong fighter and leader, and for hte kind of villain, that is utterly serviceable. If he had been like Jaffar, or Scar, or Frollo etc. IN MY OPINION it wouldn't really have fit into the story.
Shan Yu btw isn't an actual name... Shanyu is basically the Xiongnu equivalent of Emperor.
In the comparison with Hunchback: I'd say that also partly boils down to the difference in Setting. Hunchback is basically a maniac of a villain, here the Villain and the hero have a much more personal connection...
Mulan is a war, Shan Yu is the villain because he leads the Xiongnu, not because of some connection with Mulan, and seeing the destroyed village for the first tiem WITH the heroes, as part of hte mood whiplash after the song, imho is more powerful than KNOWING that they are too late.
Also, something not a lot of people seem to notice... he was one of the few people that didn't really seem to have an issue with Mulan being female. He was surprised, sure, but he never made a misogynist remark or acted differently towards her. It just didn't matter to him.
@@johnking9943 xiongnu society apparently was RELATIVELY lax on gender roles
@@johnking9943 Yeah, if anything he was pissed at Mulan for being the soldier who caused the avalanche that almost killed him and his forces.
@@undertakernumberone1 plain and simply, he's a brute. May not make for an interesting character per say, but it's enough for what the story requires him to be. Besides, not like Disney can show the kind of atrocities his army, or himself, are committing.
While i do agree with all of this i do kinda wish we got more from him in this movie. He doesn't always feel like the constant issue in the film. Other Disney villains are constantly popping up and or planning in certain scenes but shan yu never really has a scene where he is involved for more then a minute. Because of this I'd watch this movie and then when he showed up I'd be like "who is...oh right main villain." I get it was a 90's kids movie so they couldn't go way overboard but honestly it felt like the movie kinda neutered him as a villain.
"Would you like to stay for dinner? :)"
"WOULD YOU LIKE TO STAY FOREVER?? 8)"
Fun Fact: Lea Salonga, Mulan’s singing voice, was originally going to be her speaking voice, but she could not make her voice deep enough when Mulan posed as a man, making her sound unconvincing. So Ming Na Wen was chosen to be her speaking voice.
Personally, Mulan has may absolute favorite disney song of all time. And that "I'll make a man out of you". Not to mention that aside from Belle, one of the toughest and most badass heroines in all of disney, that doesn't need to be "saved by a man" at the end, and does the actual saving. Especially before the 2000's.
A reverse damsel in distress she was. Granted, it was based on an actual story of historical characters, but props to disney for STILL making her kick ass.
I think Shan Yu is a villain but not the antagonist.
He is the one who causes the plot and the people they are to fight against but he isn't the one who blocks Mulan's path or is a foil to her.
I'd say that goes to Chi-Fu, the advisor. He is dumb where Mulan is smart. He is stubborn when she is flexible. He is a man in a position of power and she is a woman just trying to save her family.
Re: Mushu accidentally killing the other dragon: I don't know if it matters to your review, but I read that the reason Mushu wasn't able to wake the other dragon and ended up destroying its statue was because Mulan herself *became* the dragon in her preparations to go to war in her father's stead, highlighting all the dragon imagery in her armoring sequence.
That's exactly what happened. Like, the Stone Dragon is supposed to be the protector of the Fa family. We first see him in Reflections when Mulan literally leans on him for support before going to unmask herself before her ancestors. The next time we see him, she is sitting in his lap in the rain and then she moves to become the protector. Stoney's already awake and gone. Mulan is the Great Stone Dragon. Mushu is superfluous in waking him up. The imagery in the previous scene is screaming it. It's AWESOME! I love that scene.
Speaking about Mushu and why he is not in the movie. HE IS IN THE MOVIE! But his depiction of cartoon was made by people not understanding Chinese culture and basically treated as comic relief. Zhuque from the movie is a type of the dragon and way closer to actual believes. Plus he could be actually funny if they give him trolling sage personality, without being a joke. We will see as people tend to hate on this movie without actually watching it.
HOLY COW THATS AWESOME!!!!
I just watch the movie and they fuck it up! They remove all interesting elements of they original story and at the same time give Mulan magical powers turning it into classic safe chosen one flick 0_0 So how I would make it to not suck:
First of movie of course would be more serious, so vastly limit songs. But I think ones could stay when she making a choice and movie should make emotional focus on that! She was still a girly girl back then so it would not stand out. For example her singing Reflection on the lake. That was whole point of the original story! Yes, she was always bad ass, but she shouldn't want go to war. She was forced to make a choice what could discredit her family in order to save her father. That should be whole focus on the movie! I would also keep ancestors
arguing over that in underworld (though without direct interaction with her) to give perspective for how unusual that was in context of the tradition. Then Zhuque intervene making few funny smart ass liberal comments and prohibiting them from action. She make a choice and end in band of misfits, but train hard to learn how to fight case she maybe weak but she still bad ass, also motivating other misfits to become better soldiers. No magic powers but underdog story for at least whole first arc with her making brave but also smart stand out with causing avalanche. But Shan Yu survive and thanks to witch, it is when magic wuxia stuff start playing major point. Not before (people speculation over stuff if she is actually hallucinating and dying, is what make Disney work). Then we could have usual wuxia jumping heroes after she is saved by the Zhuque (who she still concussion call mumbling Mushu) and thanks to her bravery given task of saving Emperor (it is also when we make clear that Zhuque gender is ambiguous. It is dragon-bird after all, what is also why he/she chose her). After some jumping action she save the day and as in original story Emperor who is asshole (what is also something Chinese wouldn't mind as they dislike Empire) sentence her to death. Because she totally was killed for having boobs when saving China 0_0. But then Zhuque intervene shielding her from Execution squad. And jump cut to her going back to the family. And again, play on ambiguity what actually did happen (as she totally could be dead). Be smart Disney like in the past! Or at least like with Cinderella and Jungle Book! Because fanboys are unappreciative assholes, it doesn't justify not trying 0_0
Plot Twist: Mulan is Maleficent
Imma point out that Mulan wasnt really against the arranged marriage tho, she went along with it and no indication that she was really planning going against it
I showed our Chinese exchange student this movie and the first thing he said was "why does the dad have a Japanese accent?"😂😂😂
Which is funny because isn't the guy voicing the father Korean?
I guess by Disney standards, it's essentially: "Asian, close enough."
If you think thats harsh, wait til you play Virtua Fighter 5 game where Shaolin Monks have Japanese voice actors "I mean game is kickass so it makes up for it i guess"
@@Sparrows1121Or any Japanese fighting game that has Chinese people.
what I love about mushu is his relationship with mulan. how it slowly evolves from him being a self-serving ass to genuinely caring about mulan. my favorite moment is when he confesses to her that her ancestors didnt really send him, and when they hug after he tells her things will work out. they started it together, and they'll end it together. that's friendship.
and i do see what you mean about Shon Yu, but come on, wasnt it bad ass and intimidating when he survived a freakin avalanche and dug his way out of the snow?
The line, “the little girl will be missing her doll, let’s return it to her” was fucking terrifying
@@PmpknHead why
@@joshentertainment2 it was just obvious he was gonna go kill her. Whats not scary
@@PmpknHead And it's heavily implied that in that burned village they did kill that little girl.
Mulan 2 ruined his character. That movie can burn
I didn't get Reflection when I was younger, but I get weepy at it now
Omg saaame, also the girl singing this song was straight up fantastic, it always Is and will always be one of my favorite Disney songs
This song reminds me of Hinata Hyuga from Naruto, her identity to uphold the main Branch's reputation can leave a heavy burden on her.
Oh please
I always remember thinking "reflections dont work like that."
I think the song suffers a bit for feeling like it was designed for a pop crossover while it was written. Compare it to the two version of the title track from Beauty and The Beast, who's two versions are completely different with the end credit version being worse. There Will be Miracles from Prince of Egypt also feels like the writers always intended for Mariah and Whitney to have that end credit version, since that had become a cliche at that point.
Doug: *sarcasm* CANCEL DISNEY. Let me me how well that goes
Twitter: Hold my gluten free, dairy free, soy milk frappuccino
Not that it's gonna get them anywhere, but let them have their fun
SeRgEaNt RaNdOm oof I’m lactose intolerant so guess I’ll just have to stick with those twitter suckers 😂
(I have dishonored my cow)
I'm disappointed Doug didn't give any praise to that awesome 80s synth track montage of Mulan's transformation. That's the best scene of the film.
Um, Critic? It's not that Fa Zhou is too old. He IS elderly but he's also permanently crippled.
It's like how I'm not allowed to join the Army because I have Epilepsy
@@mikewarns and I can't join because I'm a Diabetic
@@Sonichero151 I can’t join because I am deaf
@@mikewarns oh hey epilepsy twins!! Hope you haven't had any episodes recently :)
Let’s be honest, most of us had to go listen to “I’ll make a man out of you” after watching this review.
TUNE
Sabrina Jaine I did that and the song has never left my head since. Big mistake. Now I have an everlasting earworm. But…I have no regrets. ✅
Yeah
I did, but listened to the version sung by Jackie Chan.
Calling me out like this
in the legend of Mulan had a younger sister and brother and she already knew how to fight. I am really glad that she had to learn to fight like every one else, it allowed alot of growth for her and raised the stacks. Also the 2009 live action Mulan is amazing and really draws from the legend, and also really draws on the scarifice of doing what is right for your country. Unlike another movie cough cough Mulan 2.
Mulan 2 made Mulan out to be so selfish. I hated it.
Hey Critic, I for one loved our out of place red Dragon, because in German he's voiced by Otto Waalkes, a very renown musician/comedian/filmmaker from here, who appeals to old and young and has a very unique style of talking and laughing, which he applies for Mooshoo as well, and thus kinda breaking the fourth wall, in a way.
Anyway, loved the review of one of my favourite childhood movies, next to Hercules and Hunchback of Notre Dame. I just hope the Remake is remotely good..
With the reallife/cgi adaptations track record, I fear for the worst
"She is going into a fight not knowing how to fight" - yea just like every miserable peasant ever drafted into a lords army, the difference is she is doing it by choice (kinda since her father was basically drafted) . For me the funny thing is that they actually sparing time and resources to train the commoners, beyond "here is a spear, the sharp end is towards the enemy" if you survive and by some miracle are not maimed by the meat grinder you will go back into basically two steps above slave labor.
I think the nuance here is that the men, no matter their background or livelihood, has been through some sort of strength conditioning or some delving into combat training. Some nations do in fact require all men at some point to serve some military service. In this case, likely no women at all were ever expected to fulfill that role and were especially defenseless. Even as somewhat a tomboy, you could tell Mulan wasn't more physically adept than other females. So, she was truly at a disadvantage compared to everyone else. Even at the end, she was never physically superior in strength, but in cunning and flexibility instead.
@@pluna3382 Peasant Men and women were required to work the fields at that time which I think counts as a training, women were drafted only at most dire circumstances as they were deemed more valuable than men, but there a cases that it happened. Mulan was low nobility which put her at disadvantage. Her only advantage is her plot armor and wits. My point is that her volunteering doesn't make he more brave than a regular peasant who is forced to fight by his lord and wanting to protect his family. But hey It is based on a fairy tale so suspension of disbelief applies.
The soldiers in ancient china do get training before being sent to the battle ground, especially during big war.
@@jf8350143 The ordinary troops were conscripts or captured soldiers; convicts could also be pressed into service. There were also volunteers, typically young men from noble families who joined as cavalrymen looking for adventure and glory.
The had organised army that required training but, as everywhere where else in a feudal society the lowest class of soldiers were trained minimally. the training probably consisted of fighting in formation, learning to follow orders and that is about it, the officers were professionals. Mulan (of the film) probably should have joined the cavalry not the grunts . And the typical strategy against the Huns and the like was cavalry based at the time.
@@RIlianP During the Han Dynasty, at the reign of Emperor Wu and after, there was a rule of conscription that every peasant who comes of age gets trained for s year and serves one more year in the army. They were usually placed in the Northern Army and everyone who decided to go career get sent to the Southern Army.
So they did have a year's worth of training and the professional Southern Army keep getting trained since they are career soldiers. Their training, as of the Han Dynasty, more than likely consisted of firing a crossbow (which was standard issue), getting into formations and how to maintain the complex and sensitive trigger mechanism to make sure it works.
I really enjoy Mushu. He's one of the best parts of the whole movie. He never got on my nerves even once.
Mushu is the best.
See the 2nd movie. You'll hate him.
Same here. A lot of his lines got a chuckle outta me.
For example:
"If I was my normal size, your cow here would head for the hills.(chomp!) Down Betzy!"
"Look you get portage. And it's happy to see you.(Criki pops up) Hey! Bit outta there! Don't you have any manners?!"
"You missed! How could you miss he was 3 feet in front of you!?"
@@raahim11 There was no second movie. What are you talking about, their is only one.
Prime Eddie Murphy.
“Does this dress make me look fat?” 😂 Yao
Another missed opportunity for NC