FOR liberated mommies of impressionable young daughters, every new animated movie by Disney brings on mixed emotions of great joy and consternation -- and I don't mean the initial exhilaration when the long line begins to move into the theater. Disney finally gets it
right with ‘Mulan’First, the plus side for parents in general.
It's one of the few G-rated films in a seamy sea of PGs, PG-13s and Rs. There's no swearing, sexual innuendo or gory violence here.
The artwork is sublime, the dialogue fun and witty, and the tunes catchy. And best of all is the so-called happy ending.
But the Disney Co. has not been a favorite among feminists, at least for the way it has traditionally depicted its heroines.
They are always beautiful, long-haired, hour-glass-shaped, borderline-helpless babes, even the historical figure Pocahontas.
Ariel gave up her ability to speak (how symbolically significant!) to become human and hang out with the prince in "The Little Mermaid." And the title characters in "Sleeping Beauty" and "Snow White" were, let's face it, wimps.
But Disney's latest offering, "Mulan," breaks the mold. The story is about a feisty, take-charge woman who manages to stop the invading Huns, saves her country, brings her family honor and learns some useful life skills in the process -- like learning to rely on her brains instead of brawn.
The movie good-naturedly mocks the ancient practice of arranged marriages. When Mulan and other "eligible" young ladies get dolled up for the village matchmaker, the ensuing madness pokes fun at the still-ongoing, female-oppressing practice.
The barrier breaking doesn't stop there. "Mulan" defies racism as well. Asians, who have typically been depicted as slanty-eyed bad guys on both the big and small screen, are this time portrayed as multifaceted characters with tremendous depth and unpredictability.
Captain Shang is a sensitive, grieving hunk. The Emperor is regal but vulnerable. Mulan's father is a brave warrior who is physically challenged due to past battles and age.
And while Mulan's associates in the volunteer army are, at first, shocked to find that she is "merely" a girl, they rally to her side and even manage to get in touch with their "feminine" side.
Island residents can relate to this movie. When Mulan oversleeps one morning and exclaims, "Ai-ya!" the local audience bursts into knowing guffaws. In fact, there is so much prolonged laughter in the theater at times, some of the lines can't be heard.
Oh well, that just means having to go back and seeing it again. Use the kids as an excuse.
Just hope that the little ones don't notice too much. For example, even though Mulan is the bona fide hero of the day, she only gets to embark on the adventure by disguising herself as a guy. One of the songs promises to make "a man out of you." And even at the end of her travails, she swoons over Shang to the approving and relieved looks of mother and grandma. Ai-ya.
Meanwhile, on the un-PC front, comic Eddie Murphy does the voice of Mushu the dragon like a street-smart black dude. Talk about an African-American stereotype.
Yet these are manini nitpickings compared to the major problems that plagued the Wonderful World of Disney in the past. So, from this liberated mommy of an impressionable young daughter, a bona fide thumbs-up for the saga of "Mulan." You go, girl!
Diane Yukihiro Chang's column runs Monday and Friday.
She can be reached by phone at 525-8607, via e-mail at
DianeChang@aol.com, or by fax at 523-7863.