Mulan Discussion

[Prince Eric]

Uh, no. Would you like a 90's Broadyway-style rundown?

1.) Aladdin
2.) The Little Mermaid
3.) Pocahontas
4.) Beauty and the Beast (#3 and#4 fluctuate and switch places from time to time)
5.) Mulan
6.) The Lion King (When I first joined the board in 2003, this was my #2 animated classic of ANY era/genre, but obviously it hasn't aged well with me.
7.) Hercules
8.) The Hunchback of Notra Dame

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

Honestly, I hold them both in high esteem, higher than The Lion King. ( ) I think Pocahontas will one day be appreciated for the glorious piece of art it is.

And The Lion King didn't have beautiful art?

Mulan would definatly beat Pocahontas for me. I thought Mulan was better in almost everyway!

Better songs, more likeable characters, better animation, cooler villian and a better ending.

I mean Pocahontas wasn't terrible, but it was a bit boring at times with not very many highlights in it(except for maybe the villian songs).

[Isidour]

Mulan or Pocahontas being better than Sleeping Beauty?! no way!

Any of those is not even as Sleeping Beauty, and for me, Pocahontas is kind of weak

[Alan]

Sleeping Beauty is a classic, a gem in animation history

Pukeahontas is not.

[Escapay]

For me, I'd have to say Pocahontas is better than Sleeping Beauty and Mulan.

The Story:
Sleeping Beauty has a wonderful story, but is rather disjointed as you're not entirely sure WHO is the main character. Mulan is a wonderful story as well, but Mushu simply ruins it for me. Pocahontas is a story rich in metaphor and though it's historically inaccurate in ways, it succeeds in portraying the attitudes of the times with rich characters and wonderful and subtle comic relief.

The Music:
Sleeping Beauty's classical music is great, but sometimes I feel it puts me to sleep. Mulan's songs are all memorable, but with the exception of "Reflection", aren't really jawdropping sweeping-me-off-my-feet music. Pocahontas, IMO, has the best Disney score and songs of all the animated classics.

The Characters:
Sleeping Beauty, as mentioned before, has a plethora of characters, yet the only one people mainly remember is Maleficent. Mulan suffers the same thing, except in its case, they remember Mushu. Pocahontas simply has realistic characters.

The Art:
Both Sleeping Beauty and Pocahontas were drawn in such a way that as Prince Eric said, you could hang it on a wall in a museum. Mulan has wonderful art as well, but I feel Pocahontas defeats both of them when it comes to color palettes and sheer visual effects.

Escapay

[GhostHost]

is mulan some kind oif diguised women empowerment flick or is it actually good?

[Prince Eric]

Honestly, I hold them both in high esteem, higher than The Lion King. ( ) I think Pocahontas will one day be appreciated for the glorious piece of art it is.

And The Lion King didn't have beautiful art?

Did I say it didn't? Wow, this must be another criticize Prince Eric's opinion days. Anyway...I think Sleeping Beauty is in the same boat as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The are beloved because of their historical contexts and not because they are great FILM.

[GhostHost]

And The Lion King didn't have beautiful art?

Did I say it didn't? Wow, this must be another criticize Prince Eric's opinion days. Anyway...I think Sleeping Beauty is in the same boat as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The are beloved because of their historical contexts and not because they are great FILM.

Snow White and Sleeping Beauty are cinema at its finest and are much more than good films because of their historical context. Snow White is the best animated movie ever made and maybe the best movie ever made.

[bennyb98]

I too just saw Mulan for the first time this summer and I have to admit had the 2 disc SE had more extras, I would have bought it right away.

[Disney's Divinity]

I don't consider Pocahontas anymore an artistic achievement than Mulan. In fact, I think less of it as art than Mulan. I just don't find it appealing at all. It's nearly as ugly as Atlantis was, whereas Mulan's was much more beautiful. I also think Mulan's got a lot more going for it than Pocahontas does (Mulan fighting in a war and stopping it; Pocahontas stopping a war that she caused to begin with her getting Kokoum shot), and I certainly think they both had much better story's than Sleeping Beauty.

In fact, Pocahontas had a lot of people against it to begin with because the character wasn't made of legend or folk tales, she actually lived and breathed at one time. Besides that, for me, at the end of the day I'd choose Mulan over both of them because, for one thing, it doesn't bore me to tears and, for another, if I wanted to watch a romance, I'd pick up Beauty and the Beast.

Oh, and I wouldn't count much on artistic success anyway. Because, if you haven't noticed, a lot of these later films (Mulan, Hunchback, Hercules, Atlantis, Pocahontas) all were very beautiful and unique in their own ways compared to most Disney films. But I don't see them on people's favorite lists or in number one movie lists as often as less artistic successes such as the Fab Four.

[Escapay]

Snow White and Sleeping Beauty are cinema at its finest and are much more than good films because of their historical context. Snow White is the best animated movie ever made and maybe the best movie ever made.

Can you honestly say that with a straight face?

Snow White, while groundbreaking in that it was the first animated movie in the US, is a nice movie that deserves its merits, but hardly the best movie ever made. That honor belongs to Casablanca, IMO.

Sleeping Beauty is wonderful visually, but mediocre when it comes to story and characters.

Escapay

[Prince Eric]

Snow White and Sleeping Beauty are cinema at its finest and are much more than good films because of their historical context. Snow White is the best animated movie ever made and maybe the best movie ever made.

Can you honestly say that with a straight face?

Snow White, while groundbreaking in that it was the first animated movie in the US, is a nice movie that deserves its merits, but hardly the best movie ever made. That honor belongs to Casablanca, IMO.

Sleeping Beauty is wonderful visually, but mediocre when it comes to story and characters.

Escapay

I found a new best friend!

I really don't feel like defending my taste anymore. Comments like Alan's are just meant to chide people into arguements. Oh, and Ghost, Mulan is not a girl-empowerment movie. People who think so are missing the point. It's actually a good movie. Oh, and the last time I checked, good cinemaa didn't involve ME constantly checking my watch. People give too much credit to Sleeping Beauty's score. It's adapted for crying out loud!

[Isidour]

Yep, because all the Sleeping Beauty´s music is an adaptation of the Original Ballet Score

Gladly Disney changed the name of the evil sorcerer to Maleficent

[Gwildor]

Well it seems that I am one of the few who actually loves Pocahontas!

[Eatmorchiken]

IMO, Mulan is a much better movie than Pocahontas. Although, I do like both of them. Mulan has better music, a better villain, and I believe a better main character as well. As far as the "sidekicks", I think pocahontas has a leg up in that category. Mushu is just annoying, and although Crikey is cool, he barely shows up. And Meeko and Flik are just a really good part of Pocahontas.

Overall, Mulan definitely takes the cake.

[so it goes]

I just watched Mulan for the first time today and it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. It's quite alright in fact. I didn't think I would like Mushu at all but he turned out to be one of my favorite parts.
The songs, however, I did not like. I thought they where some of the worst. I couldn't get into them at all.
But, over all a better movie than I thought it would be.

[Alan]

oh god, pocahontas was boring....

Maybe I'm biased, but Mulan interests me because I'm Chinese, and it was an interesting look at Chinese civilization through Disney. I actually liked it a lot. It was funny, smart, clever. The opposite is true for pocahontas.

[Escapay]

The opposite is true for pocahontas.

Because you're neither Native American nor English?

Comparing animated movies seems like apples and oranges once you think about it. They're all unique in their own way, each is an acquired taste. I'm not The Lion King's biggest fan, even though it's revered worldwide by a lot of people. Sometimes I'd prefer watching Robin Hood over Snow White, simply because Robin Hood has more "funness" (for lack of a better word) to it. If I want to be swept off my feet by the music in a movie, I'll head for Beauty and the Beast or Pocahontas. If I want a nice romantic date movie, I'll put in Sleeping Beauty or The Little Mermaid. Every animated classic is unique in its own way that cause people to decide what they think is the best and worst. Just because I think Pocahontas is better than Mulan doesn't make Mulan any less of a movie, nor does it make Pocahontas any better of one. All the movies have their flaws as well. Seriously, is there anyone here who really enjoys that shrilly voice of Snow White?

Escapay

[MickeyMousePal]

Alan still thinks Pocahontas is boring..................

[Escapay]

Alan still thinks Pocahontas is boring..................

It's not like reading six or seven posts here and rewatching the movie will change his mind, Pals. He got Bambi for the slipcover, and likely this movie too. That should be a hint that he wasn't interested in the movie in the first place.

Peeps here could write 30 pages about the perfection of The Lion King, and I can read it, but it won't change my opinion of the movie, nor will it make me like it any more than I minimally do. I like some elements but I find the movie to be completely mediocre for my taste and far overrated. It's my least favorite Animated Classic.

Escapay