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LowComDom Performances Presents
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Film Review - Mulan
Perhaps what it takes these days for me to enjoy a Disney movie is to have no prior knowledge of the subject. If you have followed my reviews for some time, you would recall my unhappiness at Disney Politically Correct bastardizations of classic stories.
I was completely unaware of the legend of Mulan until I saw the film. I have no idea what liberties have been taken. What I do know is Disney really toned down the Political Correctness (thank goodness) and the music was kept to a minimum.
The animation (superb at times) is as you would expect. However, as I have mentioned in reviews of other later Disney animations, it has become uneven. This began with Aladdin. There were one or two shots animated with a computer to better simulate the randomness of sand and snow. In those couple of shots you knew something was different. In Beauty and the Beast, the flying shot through the ballroom as the couple danced was betrayed by the rendering of the chandelier. The number of computer animated shots have been increasing in each picture.
The problem is the computer rendered shots look like slick computer rendered shots, and handpainted pictures look like hand painted pictures; the two don't cut seemlessly together. This is my problem with this picture.
An interesting turn of events in Mulan is her family. It's complete with two parents and a grandmother. Try to remember how many Disney films have two parent families. It ain't many.
As for story, it's simplistic, but enjoyable. The editting moves the plot along. It's a fairly fast film.
Film Facts
Directed by
Tony Bancroft
Barry Cook
Released in 1998
MPAA Rating: G
Reviewed by Mongo