Mulan -- A Film Review by Oliver Bollmann
Nearly Spoilerless
Mulan is the latest Full-Length Feature Animated Movie to emerge from the Disney studios. Being an avid fan of many Disney movies (having seen _Lion King_ in the theatres 5 times, etc) I went to see Mulan on opening night, and again a week later to better formulate my feeling for this movie. I will admit, I was really, really looking forward to this film, and as such, it may have coloured my final impressions of it. Looking at recent Disney films, TLK and then Hunchback both raised the bar in terms of not only visual style and animation quality, but also the (for the lack of a better word) matureness of storytelling, the characters involved and the issues tackled. In three of cases (BatB, TLK and H) they were followed by films that were both less than serious and less successful overall. It was thus in great anticipation and hopes that I entered Mulan, to be dazzled by what I had heard to be the most adult Disney film to date.
If there's a film that better exemplifies the schizophrenia of the Disney full-length feature animation department, I'm not sure I know one. In a word, yes, I am disappointed. The dichotomy that stands as the culprit that hurts this film is that it is torn between being a 'serious' film or being a film like Hercules. It is as if there were two factions within the scriptwriters department that were fighting, each stealing parts of the script to write it in secret of each other, then returning it. The end result is a movie that does not balance the elements of humour and depth, but instead flip-flops between the two, a situation that left the movie, for me, far to Hercules and not enough Mulan.
Hercules was an amusing, if not great film. How it invades in Mulan is seen in the amount of slapstick, caricatures and what I term 'unnecessary toonage' bits, coupled with the ever-classic "out-of-context" references and humour that spoil, in my opinion, what was otherwise building. Rather than a balancing act, it overwhelms the film, preventing any solid and serious thread from developing and dampening the good parts of the film.
And good parts do abound in the film as well, do not get me wrong. There are some very intense scenes that are quite advanced for Disney; this is, after all, a war movie. The destruction of a village, the murder of guards and for perhaps the first time, blood is shown (on a major character) as a result of an injury. Make no mistake here, behind the farcical facade there is a serious movie trying to get out. (Which almost leads me to speculate if they didn't include so much farce to feel they would then be justified to show more serious) The scene where Mulan decides to take her father's place is a wonderfully powerful sequence. The solemnness of the burnt-out village, and the death of the main army. These are both well-handled where did the film go wrong?
What may be the reason struck me during the second viewing. Mulan is not a character-driven movie, as it should be. Instead, it is event-driven. The characters exist only to move the action ahead to the next scene, or to the next joke. Actions or realizations take a half a second to occur, are dwelled upon for about 30 more, then zip ahead to what's next. All Disney films are short, true, but not all _feel_ short. Mulan felt brutally short at its total of 89 minutes. There is very little sense of character growth, of character's motivations, of character continuity.
Perhaps the greatest victim to this is the Hun leader, who is presented just enough to give the impression he's a mean SOB, but who's drive isn't expressed enough to make us want to fear or loath him. He's evil, pure and straight, so we can't like him. Hmmm. Scar had the motivation of wanting to take power that he felt was denied to him. Gaston wasn't necessarily evil, just selfish, but BatB takes the time to show us how shallow he is, how he would protect his ego above all else. In Mulan, a simple 'because it was there' (literally!) mentality is all that is offered us to dislike the villain. Mulan herself also suffers from the 5 second treatment, whether it be the instant decision to take her father's place, and her instant realisation later on what the truer reasons may be behind it.
Of course, one of the most talked about characters is the ever- present sidekick, in this case, Mushu. Mushu does have a twist, however, compared to most other Disney sidekicks, and in this case, it is that he himself is on a quest, a quest of redemption. In the end, however, this does not really change much in the way of the behaviour or use of the sidekick. Make jokes, get character in trouble most of the time, but be there just in time to save the day. (What's worse, btw, is that I found many of the jokes about posing as a man pretty much standard fare, items that have been used before and hence, relatively predictable) Mushu shall forever be compared to the Genie in Aladdin as to who is the more wild sidekick. Problem is, wildness isn't what this film required.
Another aspect that could quite well have been left out is the songs. Yes, this is not a new argument by many, dating back many Disney features now, but with Mulan, the songs just add to further fragment the already tenuous story thread. (Unintegrated might be a good word to invent for this situation) Only one song did I find worthwhile, and by no surprise, it was the main-piece song by Donny Osmond. The score, on the other paw, is amazing. Jerry Goldsmith may not have been as skillful as Hans Zimmer in integrating various themes and music typologies together, but the score does flow and flow strong when needed. The soundtrack is on my to-get list, and will be gotten by this evening.
Unsurprisingly, the main beauty for this film comes from the animation. Breathtaking in many places, the computer-gurus at Disney have managed to integrate their wares almost seamlessly into the main pictures, leading to some very jaw-dropping visuals. In the middle realm, we have the use of the computer as a layout-tool, allowing many more sweeping visuals and camera/angle changes than have been seen before. Finally, at the "hands-on" realm, there are some gorgeous backgrounds created in a Chinese-watercolour-like style and atmosphere, the quality of which makes me want to own many of the cells and hang them on my wall. Not to be outdone here, though, the warring factions (I mean those at Disney, not he Huns and the Chinese) pepper the film with caricatures and odd-balls that serve to firmly root one in their seat, rather than becoming enveloped in the world being shown on screen.
In the end, even Mulan isn't able to save herself. No, instead, she relies on the help of her trusty sidekick to put her plan in motion. A very quick wrap-up, and she is home for the final indignity, that of having to follow in the lines of all Disney heroines and have her life made complete by getting the guy. (Forget all that stuff about discovering who you are, or having achieved honour through your actions, hey, the REAL honour is that now you can get married!)
The premise of Mulan is ripe with opportunities and could very easily have been the most mature Disney film to date. I'm not sure who to 'blame' for the result, but I just wish so badly they'd continued the drive towards a meatier animated feature. To say I dislike Mulan, or that I do not recommend it would be wrong, as oddly as that might sound after this review. The harsh words I type above are there simply because of this burning disappointment I felt after seeing this movie. But buried behind Hercules is the real Mulan, IMHO, and what shows through is enough to make me believe in this film. I would never call Mulan the best Disney film ever made, not even close... but it certainly isn't the worst Disney film made in recent memory either.
Out of 5 stars....
If you can pick-and-choose what you grasp in the movie, and can fill in some blanks on your own
* * * .75 / * * * * * (ie, can see what it could have been)
Overall Rating:
* * .5 / * * * * * (2.5 / 5)
Oliver Bollmann kannik |at| madcoyote.com obollman |at| chat.carleton.ca
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