Mulan (Disney character)
Fa Mulan is a fictional character, inspired by a legendary figure, who appears in Walt Disney Pictures' 36th animated film Mulan. Her speaking voice is provided by actress Ming-Na Wen, while actress and singer Lea Salonga provides the character's singing voice. Both her speaking and singing voice in Chinese are provided by singer CoCo Lee. Created by author Robert D. San Souci, Mulan is based on the legendary Xianbei Chinese warrior Hua Mulan from the poem the Ballad of Mulan. Her name "Fa Mulan" is inspired by the Yue Chinese name for the character, which is pronounced Fa Muklan. The only child of an aging war veteran, Mulan disregards both tradition and the law by disguising herself as a man in order to enlist herself in the army in lieu of her feeble father.
Disney had originally conceived Mulan as an oppressed young Chinese woman who ultimately elopes to Europe to be with a British prince. However, director Tony Bancroft, who was inspired by the well-being of his own daughters, wanted Mulan to be a different, unique kind of Disney heroine – one who is strong and independent, whose fate does not depend upon a male character. Thus, the relationship between Mulan and Captain Li Shang was changed to that of a minor subplot, while Mulan's bravery and strength were emphasized in order to ensure that she remained the hero of her own story. She became the eighth Disney Princess and the first one who is not actually a princess in her film, as she was not born of royalty nor did she become one by marrying a prince. While an argument could be made that Pocahontas is still technically a princess since she is a chieftain's daughter, Mulan is not, but is included in the lineup nonetheless. She also became the first one of East Asian descent as well. She is the last Disney Princess to be developed during the Disney Renaissance. Mulan's supervising animator was Mark Henn, who deliberately designed the character so that she would appear less feminine than her predecessors.
Reception towards Mulan's personality has been generally positive, with critics praising her bravery and heroism. However, her romantic relationship with Shang has been accused of compromising Mulan's heroism. Both Wen and Salonga have been awarded Disney Legends for their contributions to the role. Liu Yifei played the live-action version of the character in the 2020 live-action adaptation of the original 1998 film, named Hua Mulan.
Development
Conception and writing
Mulan was originally conceived as an animated short in 1994, in which a miserable Chinese girl elopes to the West to be with a British prince. While developing a series of treatments based on traditional stories and folk tales, children's book author Robert D. San Souci discovered the Ballad of Mulan, an ancient Chinese poem about Hua Mulan – a Chinese woman who replaces her ailing father in the army by disguising herself as a man. Fascinated by Hua Mulan's story, San Souci suggested the poem to Disney; the studio hired San Souci himself to write the film's treatment and story.Mulan explores the age-old theme of remaining true to oneself, with co-director Tony Bancroft summarizing the character's role in the film as "the story of a girl who can't help who she is but she exists in a different society that tells her who she is supposed to be." Because the Ballad of Mulan is such a beloved and well-known story, San Souci longed to maintain the character's integrity. However, certain creative liberties were taken with the story in regards to Mulan's role, such as the character neglecting to ask her parents' permission prior to enlisting herself in the army. Mulan's surname was rendered as the Yue Chinese "Fa", though this was to pay respect to the poem being originally written in that language. Finally, Mulan's true identity is discovered much earlier in the film, soon after the army's initial encounter with the enemy, whereas her comrades remain ignorant throughout their entire 12 years at war until after Mulan has returned home.
Unlike preceding traditional Disney animated feature films, the developing romantic relationship between Mulan and Li Shang is treated as more of a subplot as opposed to a traditional central plot, as observed by film critic Andy Klein of Animation World Network. Klein commented, "Mulan isn't waiting for her prince to someday come; when he does arrive, having known her primarily as a man, and having learned to admire her for her deeper qualities, the romance is muted and subtle." Throughout the movie they are constantly working towards helping each other change into better and truer versions of themselves in order to achieve their true potential.
Voice
Mulan's speaking voice is provided by actress Ming-Na Wen. Because the character "represented Chinese values" and is depicted as being "dramatic... close to her father, very respectful," Bancroft believed that Wen possessed the "perfect" voice for Mulan, which he additionally described as "very Chinese." Born and raised in Macau, China, Wen was familiar with both the legend of Hua Mulan and the Ballad of Mulan at the time of her audition for the role, having grown up being read the poem by her mother. Wen explained, "I think every Chinese kid grows up with this story," additionally likening the poem's popularity in China to that of the Western Parson Weems fable in which American president George Washington chops down his father's beloved cherry tree.Mulan served as Wen's first voice-acting role. In an interview with IGN, the actress elaborated on the recording process, specifically the fact that she was required to record the majority of the character's dialogue in isolation, saying, "I just loved the story so much and identified so much with the character of Mulan it was easy for me. I loved using my imagination. I felt like I was a little kid again, being silly with an imaginary sword and riding on an imaginary horse and talking to an imaginary dragon. So it was a lot of fun for me." In spite of the fact that, throughout the film, Mulan shares multiple scenes with her guardian, a miniature Chinese dragon named Mushu who is voiced by American actor and comedian Eddie Murphy, Wen and her co-star never actually encountered each other while working on Mulan due to the fact that they recorded their respective dialogue at separate times in separate locations.
Upon being cast as Mulan's speaking voice, Wen was informed by Disney that she would not be providing the character's singing voice. She took no offense to this decision, commenting jokingly "I don't blame them." The directors hired Filipina singer and actress Lea Salonga to provide Mulan's singing voice, heard in the film's songs "Reflection", "I'll Make a Man Out of You" and "A Girl Worth Fighting For." According to Thomas S. Hischak, author of the book Disney Voice Actors: A Biographical Dictionary, Salonga was originally cast to provide both Mulan's speaking and singing voices. However, the directors eventually felt that her attempt at impersonating a man in the form of Mulan's male alter-ego "Ping" was rather unconvincing, and ultimately replacing Salonga with Wen. Six years prior to Mulan, Salonga provided the singing voice of Jasmine in Disney's Aladdin on behalf of American actress Linda Larkin. While auditioning for Mulan, Salonga asked jokingly, "Why do I have to audition?... I was already a princess before. Wasn't that enough?"
Characterization and design
The film's screenplay was constantly being revised and re-written. Naturally, so was Mulan's characterization and role in the film. The writers wanted Mulan to represent a "different kind of Disney heroine," specifically described as one who "didn't need a tiara, but was still just as much as graceful, strong, and courageous." Between the two, Bancroft and his twin brother Tom, an animator who also worked on Mulan, have a total of seven daughters. This further inspired the filmmakers to portray Mulan as a unique heroine who is "not another damsel in distress" in favor of having her resemble "a strong female Disney character who would truly be the heroine of her own story" instead, essentially a "female role model. The characteristics of strength and courage were a must for Mulan." In an interview with The Christian Post, Bancroft elaborated on the way in which he, as the film's director, continued to consider the well-being of his two young daughters while working on Mulan, having "wanted to make a unique heroine that hadn't been seen before" and provide for them "someone who would be strong on her own, without a prince saving her." Addressing the way in which Mulan differs from traditional Disney heroines and princesses, Bancroft explained, "Most Disney heroines have an outside source that comes in and helps them change. Mulan stays consistent. From the first frame all the way through the end of the movie, her personality, her drive it all stays the same."| "When we drew her, we had the opportunity to actually adjust her design a little bit so that when she was disguised as Ping, as a soldier, that she was physically a little different in how we drew her than when she was herself as Mulan ... That was something we took advantage of. So, certainly, that was a challenge to have her disguised as a boy whereas she's still a girl who doesn't understand what being a boy is all about or about boys move and act, and that's part of how she learns ... that was part of the fun and the challenge of doing Mulan. You have essentially two characters to play with." |
| — Henn, on animating Mulan as "Ping". |
Visually, the animators were influenced by both traditional Chinese and Japanese artwork. In the specific case of Mulan, "The characters' simple lines... resemble classic Asian painting". Chinese artist Chen Yi mentored the animators, "helping to come up with these designs." Mark Henn served as Mulan's supervising animator. Animating the character in her male disguise as "Ping" offered an unprecedented challenge for Henn. In order to solve this unique dilemma, Henn was provided with "the opportunity to adjust her design a little bit so that when she was disguised as Ping, as a soldier, that she was physically a little different in how drew her than when she was herself as Mulan." Physically, Mulan was also designed to appear less feminine than preceding traditional Disney animated heroines, specifically Pocahontas from Pocahontas and Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, because "you can't pass as a man in the army with a Barbie-style figure."
Henn revealed that he was drawn to "Mulan's story was so unique and compelling that it just captivated me from the beginning". Animating the characters' distinct emotions using the traditional Chinese style turned out to be somewhat challenging for Henn. The animator explained, "We don't create realism in the sense that if you're doing a human character, it's not going to look realistic... the balance is finding an appealing way of drawing using the visual tools that you have in the design to convey the believable emotions that you want to get across." In addition to Mulan, Henn was also responsible for animating Fa Zhou, Mulan's elderly father. He described the complex relationship between the two characters as "the emotional heart of the story". Fathering one daughter himself, Henn drew inspiration from his own emotions as well as past personal experiences while animating several intimate scenes shared by the two characters.
Several film critics have described Mulan as a tomboy. Andy Patrizio of IGN observed, "In this slightly modernized version of the story, Mulan is something of a rebel and a tomboy. She has no interest in being a good little subservient wife, despite her sighing parents' wishes." Jo Johnson, in contribution to the book Queers in American Popular Culture Volume 1: Film and Television, wrote that "Unlike other Disney heroines, Mulan is immediately coded as a tomboy," observing the way in which the character speaks using a full mouth. Johnson additionally noticed several ways in which Mulan's design and personality differ from those typically associated with traditional Disney heroines and princesses, citing the character's clumsy, awkward demeanor; broad shoulders and muscular limbs; unruly single strand of hair; and choice of everyday attire which usually consists of loose, baggy clothing concealing her "traditionally slim Disney waist." Additionally, Mulan's intelligence has been observed in several professional analyses, with critics often citing the character as "brainy."