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| (Image via Disney Wikia) |
Released
in 1998, Disney’s Mulan was an
unexpected and dynamic treat. The main character, Mulan, is considered a
“Disney Princess” even though she isn’t actually one. She starts out living
with both parents, who are still alive, and her grandmother. At the end of the
movie she’s become the hero of all China, having defeated a rather intimidating
conqueror named Shan Yu. She was favored by the Emperor, had gained honor for
her family, made friends, and her movie did not
in anyway rely on a romance.
The
early setting is simple. Mulan has a solid relationship with her father, who
understands her better then she does herself. Her mother and grandmother
attempt to help her win the matchmaker’s favor, and Mulan fails at his
horribly. In her society marriage was traditionally the only way a woman could
bring her family honor, and she was an only child. Her father was a veteran of
a war, but he was injured in battle, and this allows for what follows.
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| (Shan Yu, the leader of the enemy army. Image via Disney Wikia) |
China
is at war, and the Emperor has decreed that each family must send one man to
fight. It is not long after Mulan’s fiasco at the matchmaker, and her father
was the only one able to comfort her. He is also the only male in their family,
and so he’d be the one forced to fight, or would be. Rather, it is fear of
losing him that drives Mulan to her choice. She runs off in the night,
disguises herself as a boy, and joins the army.
While
previous Princesses have been the heroines of their features (Belle and
Pocahontas), they didn’t go to war. Mulan trained to become a warrior, and
while she was not the physically strongest, she proves herself by being clever
and thinking outside the box. She earns the admiration of the other men in her
camp, and is able to use previous knowledge (how she climbed a pole to get to
the top) to save the Emperor (used the same method to climb the colums of the
palace).
Even
at her lowest, when Mulan realizes there is a need to rise up and push past it,
she does. To me this is key in the evolution of a Disney Princess. When
Cinderella’s spirit was crushed, it took a fairy godmother and a magical
solution to fix her up. When Mulan’s secret has been revealed, and she’s been
abandoned in the mountains, she is at her lowest. But there is no fairy
godmother for her; she sees that a dangerous enemy is on his way to slay the
emperor and conquer China. So Mulan gets up, dusts herself off, and pushes past
her despair in order to save the land.
As
for the topic of romance, Mulan’s is not direct. In the original movie, there’s
no exchange of affections on screen. She and Shang connect as comrades in arms,
and gain a mutual respect for each other. Of course, there is very strong
suggestion that they will pair off at a later date, but it’s saved for the
audience to decide, or for the direct to video sequel. She is supportive of him
when he loses his father, and also when he doubts himself. They may not have sparked
a romance yet, but their connection is already an incredibly strong bond.
Brave,
independent, clever, and able to move forward through her worst moments, Mulan
is an ideal role model. She accomplishes her goal of saving her father (and
winds up saving the country) without fixating on romance or a happy ending. She
is noble and adaptable, and proves herself more then capable to deal with
life’s obstacles. While she may find love, she does not need a man to complete
her. While I’m willing to listen to all argument, I find it difficult to find
flaw in her choices.
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