8 Reasons Why Mulan Is The Best Disney Princess

Written by Hannah Bujold

Mulan (1998) is an American animated film, directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook, that explores the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan — a female Chinese warrior that lived in the period of Northern and Southern dynasties in China. The film endeavours to retell Mulan’s history, whilst catering to family audiences, and achieves a high standard of storytelling that many Disney princess movies of its time period failed to uphold.

1. Mulan does not allow herself to be defined by her beauty

It is commonly seen throughout many Disney princess movies that the female protagonist is glorified for her unnatural beauty, which continues to serve as a pervasive asset throughout the storyline. Females are often objectified in movies such as Sleeping Beauty (1959) and Beauty and the Beast (1991), where women are devalued and derived of all characteristic traits, to instead embody thin waists, narrow wrists and long legs.

Mulan strays from this misogyny, as the main character, Mulan, disguises herself as a male in order to join the Chinese army in her father’s place. This act requiring her to obscure all her feminine traits so as to avoid execution. This allows for Disney to elaborate upon Mulan’s personality around her fellow comrades and commanders, as she is regarded as an equal and treated as such — exchanging banter and brawls without fear of gender restrictions, thus allowing viewers to connect with Mulan on a more personal level.

2. Mulan breaks stereotypes, proving women to be just as worthy an opponent in battle

Up until the 21st century, women were considered weak and unworthy in battle, a stereotype that was reinforced a large amount in the film industry. By this way, Mulan proves to be a film well ahead of its time, as the film portrays Mulan to be a skilled tactician and soldier.

Whilst venturing through a mountain pass, the small party led by Li Shang was ambushed by the Huns due to a misfired cannon, leading to an overwhelming cavalry charge that would have killed Shang’s forces, if not for Mulan. Her assessment of the mountains fragile disposition, ultimately led to the subsequent immobilisation, and death via burial alive, of the entire Hun army — that of which not even General Li, an experienced war veteran could achieve.

Mulan continues to prove herself as a worthy opponent throughout the duration of the movie, both in training and in war, managing to defeat the surviving party of Hun soldiers through the utility of her feminine aspects. Utilising her weakness, as her greatest source of strength in outsmarting her enemies — wielding their underestimation of her to get close enough to attack.

3. Mulan teaches the importance of family bonds

Mulan is one of the few known Disney Princess movies to provide living parents to the main protagonist, allowing the directors to elaborate on household relations between the following characters; mother, daughter, father, and grandmother.

Many Disney Princesses, such as Ariel, Jasmine, Belle, Anna and Elsa, Cinderella, and Snow White, exploit the loss of a parent to build character, however, this is flawed as the characters are often portrayed as feeling isolated and separated from their external world. With it being common for the character to experience social alienation, and as a consequence desperately seek relationships in any who show slight affection or interest.

Thus, Mulan differs in this perspective, as possessing a family has allowed Mulan to build those foundational connections that are pivotal in her personal growth. With family members serving as a site for support and moral influence throughout her youth — allowing her to mature into an opinionated and independent woman, despite the restrictions of her time. This, although, means that Mulan has more responsibilities and inevitably more to lose.

4. Mulan creates a realistic romance

The romantic aspect of Mulan serves as a background feature of the principal storyline, only developing partly half-way through the film between Mulan and Li Shang without impeding the main plot. It is artfully constructed and delves into the genuine truth of any real relationship — that your partner is human, and like you, is imperfect. Many Disney Princess movies fail to acknowledge this fact of life, putting pressure on attaining the ‘perfect’ romantic partner, however, Mulan unveils that a relationship comes with problems (hurdles to overcome). It also emphasises that these problems cannot be fixed by the other, rather by yourself, in other words, your partner cannot ‘fix you’ and it’s unrealistic to rely upon them in this way. To this extent, Mulan shows the flaws in relationships like ‘Beauty and the Beast’, as both characters in the film depended upon the other for their own self-worth, rather than working on loving themselves for who they are. Thus, throughout the development of Mulan and Li Shang’s relationship, they both challenge the other to become a better person, by teaching the other important lessons regarding trust, respect and honesty, per their actions and words. In principle, it rather being love at first battle than love at first sight, as they grow to love one another over the duration of the film, overcoming obstacles such as the death of comrades and one’s duty to honour.

5. The song ‘Reflection’ analyses the deep institutionalised flaws of society

The famous song ‘Reflection’, written by artist Lea Salonga, provokes audiences to ponder the omissions of contemporary culture and the irrational expectations placed upon individuals. The lyrics, “Can it be I’m not meant to play this part?”, exhibits the internal struggle of attempting to reconcile your own desires and dreams, whilst appeasing others. Where, “why is my reflection someone I don’t know,” analyses the premeditated moulds and assumptions orchestrated by society — that a woman of 4th century China would fulfil the conventional family role of bearing sons and maintaining the household as a “docile lamb”. Mulan visibly battles against these roles, whilst still wishing to bring her family its due honour, however much it destroys her inside. Moreover, in the final line, “When will my reflection show, who I am, inside?” Mulan wipes away half of her excessive makeup, to establish two contrasting visages of one face; one of which is her true self, concealed from sight, and the other is the facade she wears. This visual representation demonstrates the constraints humans are burdened with, as Mulan is only ever seen as a pretty face, and treated as such. In summary, the ballad apprises the problem of identity, and the mask we all must contribute to society.

6. Mulan teaches that strength is all about personality, not gender

Mulan has a considerable capacity for resilience, capable of surpassing any adversities that she faces, both psychologically and physically. As seen throughout the course of her experience in the Chinese army, Mulan is faced with a multitude of complications or challenges, however, she manages to prevail each time without fail — learning how to succeed where others haven’t.

For instance, in the scene where Li Shang tasks his men with climbing a lofty pole given two weights (‘Diligence’ and ‘Strength’) are bound to each hand, each person fails, including Mulan. In spite of this, although, Mulan does not give up, recognising the task as both a logic and agility exercise, for the weights were impediments alone, but knotted together they aided rather than hindered progress.

This is just one example of many throughout the course of Mulan’s rigorous training regime, and it can be observed by audiences the visible improvement Mulan obtains — where originally she could barely run 500 metres with barrels of water, to at the end leading the pack.

7. Mulan is the most selfless Disney Princess

Selflessness is a valuable attribute commonly displayed in Mulan’s temperament, as she is illustrated to concern herself more with the wellbeing and wishes of others than her own time and time again. Moreover, in all her success Mulan never lost herself, in the end choosing her simple life over the imperial position offered to her — truly demonstrating that all of Mulan’s actions were not for self-gain.

8. Mulan manages to convey a true representation of the horrors of war.

War is brutal and impersonal, it does not discriminate and Mulan conveys this message throughout the film. The main opposition China facing being the Huns, a nomadic people, whom in historical context caused frequent and devastating raids, with descriptions typically identifying the Huns as monsters.

As a nomadic people, the Huns were experienced horseback riders, providing them considerable military strength, given their disposition to living as roamers and hunters. Hun warfare, was also built to subdue enemies, with a medley of voices (battle cries) creating a savage noise. Also being lightly equipped, as shown by Shan Yu, the Huns were enabled agility and ease of movement in battle, much like the fictional Dothraki of Game of Thrones.

In Mulan  the devastation of the Huns is emphasised by the burned landscape of a village, in which both General Li’s army and the innocent villagers were slaughtered. The abandoned child’s toy Mulan discovers functioning as a representation of loss and suffering, the inevitable cost of war — death. Soldiers are exhibited to become torn, desiring for revenge yet battling the conflict of honour, or to become manifestations of guilt and shame, struggling at the concept of taking lives. Moveover, in the first battle upon the mountain, the scene showed the helplessness of many soldiers, with group panic erupting by part of exhaustion and physical ailments.

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