Mulan/Tarzan

Finally, this day has come. We are now going to look at my two absolute favorite Disney movies, but it’s hard to say which one I like more. However, let’s get started with “Mulan,” released in 1998, a movie that is full of surprises. Among those are that it’s the first Disney movie that I know of that has ever said “cross-dresser” and “drag show,” or to have scenes where you see someone picking their nose and spitting. Also it’s the first to ever have Harvey Fierstein and Danny Osmond to co-star, but that’s another thing. What’s really surprising about “Mulan” is that it’s set in ancient China, visually beautiful and has a spirited heroine.

Even though the film is based on a famous Chinese legend, directors Barry Cook and Tony Bancroft have put in plenty of the famous Disney touches. The main character is a young girl who’s kind of like an eccentric, which is keeping in the tradition of those Disney protagonists that are slightly “different” (Belle was a bookworm, Quasimodo was deformed, and Ariel wanted to be a human). Mulan, voiced by Ming-Na Wen, doesn’t seem to fit in because she spends her time talking to animals and singing ballads to herself – don’t all Disney heroines.

After the “Reflection” song, which is one of the saddest in any Disney soundtracks ever, war has now broken out with the Huns (Moira Macdonald described them as “look quite nasty and sport dangly, Fu Manchu-style mustaches”), and Mulan’s sick father, voiced by Soon-Tek Oh, joins in the war. Like any child would, Mulan is worried for her father, so she cuts her hair, steals his armor and takes off on her horse, Khan, voiced by Frank Welker, to join the army in her place, going under the name Ping. Various adventures occur, and – no surprise there – she helps win the war because of her quick thinking and brings honor to her family. She also falls in love with Captain Li Shang (BD Wong, Danny Osmond does the singing), and becomes friends with Ling (Gedde Watanabe), Yao (Harvey Fierstein) and Chien-Po (Jerry Tondo).

Mulan is a strong, engaging character who, unlike the previous Disney heroines, doesn’t need anyone to come rescue her. Another thing that’s different is that the movie doesn’t end in wedding bells. Macdonald stated in her review, “A 9-year-old who accompanied me to the screening smiled happily at the movie's conclusion.I like that it didn't have all that mushy stuff," she said.”

Mulan’s story come second to the film’s amazing look, which all credit goes to production designer Hans Bacher and a huge team of artists.

Motivated by the effortlessness of traditional Chinese art, “Mulan” shines gently with a gray-washed palette of bright blues, greens and pinks. The first scenes of the Great Wall are dark with blues and grays. The garden at Mulan’s home is cloudy with cherry blossoms, as it looks like it was sponge-painted on the screen. Near the end, there’s a great crowd scene, where lanterns being held by viewers reveal as glowing dots of orange light. Computer-enhanced effects, mainly a fight scene where a handful of horseback Huns zigzag down a snowy hill, are just as impressive.

Not everything is serious. The other Disney trademark, also known as All Heroines Must Have A Funny and Extremely Marketable Sidekick, is in this film. As the voice of Mushu (my other favorite comedic Disney character tied with Aladdin’s Genie), Mulan’s “guardian dragon” and obviously a future action figure in toy stores, Eddie Murphy brings his style of harsh but welcome humor.

There’s also a second sidekick that is there to look cute. Cri-Kee, also voiced by Welker, a small blue-and-purple cricket who’s meant to be lucky, but wins in…well, being cute.

Here’s what Macdonald said in her review, “I could quibble with "Mulan": Matthew Wilder and David Zippel's songs are at best forgettable and at worst (the thumping "I'll Make a Man Out of You") annoying. And was it really necessary to bestow Mulan with self-esteem problems? Because she seems so confident and intelligent, her sad statement that she wants to "see something worthwhile" in the mirror comes as a bit of a shock.” I actually like the soundtrack in this movie.

These aren’t major problems. In the end, this is a great film, and is one of the best Disney animated films because of taking on serious issues of war, honor, gender roles and family pride.

Now let’s go to my other favorite Disney movie, “Tarzan,” released in 1999. Felix Vazquez, Jr. started his review out by saying, “Edgar Rice Burroughs’ titular Tarzan has gone through a ton of botched adaptations over the last few decades. Speaking as a fan of the character and story arc, Disney’s “Tarzan” is probably my favorite adaptation of all time.” I know that this film does have the usual Disney quips to make it very much like a Disney movie, but it’s also heartfelt about a hero fighting for his stepfamily along with excellent performances and a great soundtrack mostly sung by the great Phil Collins. Plus, it focuses on the classic Disney themes of lost parents and having to grow up quickly.

Following the original tale closely, we go back to the 19^th Century, and see an English couple stranded on an African island after their ship burns down. While trying to adapt to the environment by making a tree house, the couple is murdered by the leopardess Sabor, leaving their newborn baby abandoned and without any chances to survive. Baby Tarzan is found by a female ape named Kala, who lost her child, and battles Sabor for her life. Deciding to raise Tarzan as her own child, she has to put together the baby in to the colony, even with the complaints of the leader Kerchak. Glenn Close and Lance Henriksen do an excellent job as the militaristic parents, both who constantly fight over Tarzan and the possibility for trouble it brings. We also get to see Tarzan, voiced by Alex D. Linz as a boy, evolve into the ape man, and how he has to prove to Kerchak, who not only hates him, but doesn’t have any respect for his abilities to survive among the apes.

Vazquez says in his review, ““Tarzan” came around during the time where two dimensional animation was on the way out, which is sad considering Chris Buck and Kevin Lima’s depiction of Tarzan’s world is fantastic.” In this film, rather than having him swing on trees, he slides and rides the tree branches like a skateboarder. Tarzan really knows his environment like the back of his hand. Paired with the beautiful animation that shows Tarzan as a kind of prehistoric human being with the physique of an ape, there are a handful of breathtaking moments of action and sweeping adventure. Tony Goldwyn voices Tarzan, passing on a sense of compassion and loss well, while also channeling the classic Tarzan cry in many areas. “Tarzan” has a lot to cover, and still feels very complete, putting in a lot of heart and humanity in to it. It even succeeds in helping you to understand the cruel arguments of Kerchak, and why he refuses to accept Tarzan, forcing Tarzan to hunt and kill Sabor, as well as learn to be cautious of outside English explorers, one who is Jane Porter.

The relationship between Jane and Tarzan is instantly the best part of the movie, as Goldwyn and co-star Minnie Driver gather some really interesting and fun romantic chemistry. They’re both extremely unknown people to one another, and their discovery of each other’s environments and personality is entertaining. Nigel Hawthorne voices Jane's father and Brian Blessed voices the other villain, Clayton. With that, Disney does put the hilarious talking characters in the movie, never satisfied with just Tarzan. Vazquez said, “While I’m fine with Tantor, Tarzan’s germaphobe elephant pal, Rosie O’Donnell is grating as Tarzan’s female ape pal Terk.” Rosie O’Donnell is a comedian who had her own talk show in the 90s, and Tantor is voiced by Newman from “Seinfeld,” Wayne Knight. In either case, even though “Tarzan” can’t escape the Disney quips, the film succeeds regardless with an excellent soundtrack by Phil Collins, great characterization, and a very graphic tone that doesn’t take away from animal or human deaths, at any point. “Tarzan” is an underrated Disney adaptation that successfully takes on a lot of elements of the Burroughs story previous film adaptations couldn’t. Vazquez ended his review by saying, “Despite the brutally boring animated series, and resulting sequels, “Tarzan” is a great treatment of the original novel, and one I revisit constantly.”

Well, hope everyone enjoyed my reviews on my two favorite Disney movies. Wait until tomorrow for more “Disney Month” where I will start doing one review per day now.