Mulan (1998)
- Tony Bancroft, Barry Cook originally wanted a completely different ending for the film, but test audiences preferred the one we see today.
- The original script for Mulan was written over a decade before production finally began in 1998.
- Eagle-eyed viewers have noticed a hidden easter egg referencing Tony Bancroft, Barry Cook's previous film in the background of the opening scene.
Mulan is a 1998 American animated musical action film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook. Based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, the film follows Fa Mulan, a young Chinese woman who disguises herself as a male soldier named Ping to take her aging father's place in the Imperial Army when the Huns invade China. Accompanied by her family's tiny dragon guardian Mushu, voiced by Eddie Murphy, and a lucky cricket, Mulan must survive military training, prove herself in combat, and ultimately save the Emperor — all while concealing her identity in a society where a woman masquerading as a soldier is punishable by death.
Mulan represented Disney's most action-oriented animated film, with the avalanche sequence — in which Mulan single-handedly triggers a mountainside collapse to bury the Hun army — ranking among the studio's most spectacular set pieces. Eddie Murphy's Mushu provided comic relief in the Robin Williams tradition, though the character's anachronistic humor was more divisive. The film addressed themes of gender identity and societal expectation with more complexity than most Disney films of its era, presenting Mulan's journey not merely as disguise but as self-discovery.
Jerry Goldsmith's score blended Western orchestration with Chinese musical elements. Mulan earned $304 million worldwide and was the last Disney animated film produced at the Florida animation studio before its closure.
