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Mulan
***
Cinema
Releases - October 16,
1998
Rated on a 4-star
scale; USA; Directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook. Written by Eugenia
Bostwick-Singer, Rita Hsiao, Philip LaZebnik, Christopher Sanders and Raymond
Singer; from a story by Robert D. San
Souci. With the voices of
Ming-Na Wen, Lea Salonga, Eddie Murphy, B.D. Wong, Donny Osmond, Harvey
Fierstein, Jerry Tondo, Gedde Watanabe.
My problem with the new Disney movie
"Mulan" is that it's a cartoon with a story that isn't best
suited to the medium. In every scene, the thought could not escape me that
this same piece, with the same structure, should be adapted into a live-action
drama. If it didn't tell its story through animated antics and slick songs,
it could be an honourable film of strength and power.
It takes place in ancient China, and the country's
emperor has called for one man from each family to serve in the army, since
the country has been invaded. Our heroine, Mulan, is the only child of Chien-Po,
who was once a great warrior but is now old and infirm. Mulan despairs when
she discovers Chien-Po has to fight, and, as he sleeps, rides off to an army
camp to take his place, wearing his uniform and cut hair, pretending to be
a boy.
Mulan has a rough time in the army at first, since
she's a clumsy fool, but quickly becomes disciplined, and then a hero. She
also falls for a muscular army captain whose life she saves, but who, inevitably,
discovers her secret. There are no great surprises in any of this, but there
is a fair amount of excitement and exhilaration. I haven't seen a new Disney
film in four years, the last one being "The Lion King", and it was nice to
see their glorious colours and hear their rousing sounds in a cinema once
again.
As I said, the film could have done with being
told straight, as a live-action drama. I kept getting images of the training
and battle scenes from "Braveheart" and "The Seven Samurai" in my head, not
to mention thoughts about the possibilities for mind-blowing production values
-- think "The Last Emperor", "Kundun". But even though they represent a missed
opportunity, the aforementioned animated antics are still a lot of fun. There's
a lot of right-on parody, as there always is in Disney movies, and Mulan
has some entertaining companions. One is a cute little "lucky cricket", and
the other is a sort of lizard or dragon called Mushu, played hilariously
by Eddie Murphy. The songs are fun while they last, but as American critic
Roger Ebert points out, the film suffers from none of them being anywhere
near as memorable as such Disney songs as "Can You Feel The Love Tonight"
or "Under the Sea".
Still, if we live with the fact that "Mulan" is
a cartoon, it's a successful one. After such cynical cinematic con-tricks
for children such as "Lost in Space" and "Godzilla", it is a welcome reminder
that some in the studio system still allow kids' pictures to be made which
are good, which are true, and give them the freedom to dream.
COPYRIGHT©
1998 Ian Waldron-Mantgani
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