1. Who is Mulan?
2. What's the correct spelling of her name? Does it mean anything?
3. Who's writing the songs?
4. Who's doing the voices?
5. How's work going on the film? When will it be released?
6. Who else is working on the film?
7. How will Disney change the story? [Speculation and fun facts]
1. Who is Mulan?
Mulan is the heroine of a famous Chinese poem. In the poem, Mulan disguises
herself as a man to serve in the army in her father's place. While serving, she
is recognized as a courageous soldier and offered a government post. She turns
down the position in favor of going home and living a peaceful life with her
family. After she returns home, she changes back into her lady's clothes--and
totally shocks her fellow soldiers, who didn't know she was a woman during all
that time on the battlefield.
For more information about the original story of Mulan, check out the
following two Web pages:
- http://www.hk.super.net/~shung/favorites/mulan.html
http://www.tcp.com/~miyazaki/nausicaa/mulan.html
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2. What's the correct spelling of her name? Does it mean anything?
In the original poem, the heroine's name is "Mulan." According to the Chinese-
English dictionary I looked at, the name means "lily magnolia." Mulan is often
given a last name, "Hua," which means "flower." The Chinese pinyin spelling of
the name is "Hua Mu-Lan." (Last names come first in Chinese.) Some people write
the name as "Fa Mulan" (which I've been told is the Cantonese spelling). I have
also seen the name spelled "Fa Muhk Laahn." It seems anything goes. :)
On a related note: there is to be a dragon named Mushu in the film. The
dictionary I used listed "wooden comb" and a kind of plant as definitions for
that particular spelling. A friend of mine suggested that the name is
probably a twist on the word "moshu," which means "magic" and seems more
appropriate for a dragon. :)
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3. Who's writing the songs?
Originally, Stephen Schwartz ("Godspell," "Pippin," "Pocahontas") was
announced as the composer-lyricist for the project. Schwartz wrote a few songs
for "Mulan," but he has since left Disney for Dreamworks. His songs will not
be used in the film. New numbers were written by lyricist David Zippel ("City
of Angels") and composer Matthew Wilder.
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4. Who's doing the voices?
Mulan's speaking voice will be provided by Ming-Na Wen ("The Joy Luck Club,"
TV's "The Single Guy") and her singing will be done by Lea Salonga ("Miss
Saigon," "Aladdin"). Mushu will be voiced by Eddie Murphy (!). Mulan's parents
(she has two!) are played by Soon-Teck Oh and Freda Foh Shen (both of Stephen
Sondheim "Pacific Overtures"). Other cast members include B.D. Wong ("M.
Butterfly"), Ching Valdes-Aran, and James Hong.
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5. How's work going on the film? When will it be released?
The film is already in production and scheduled for a summer 1998 release.
Character designs are being finalized and animation has begun.
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6. Who else is working on the film?
The film's director is Barry Cook and the producer is Pan Coats. As far as
supervising animators go, Mulan herself is in very good hands. Her supervising
animator is Mark Henn. Henn was the Florida supervising animator for Belle,
Jasmine, and Young Simba and first animator for Pocahontas.
[Top of FAQ]
7. How will Disney change the story? [Speculation and fun facts]
The legend of Mulan has already been expanded and altered in various stories,
plays, operas, films, etc. The original poem doesn't get into detail about how
Mulan went undetected for so long, or how and why she was such a great soldier.
So Disney get add a lot without getting into trouble with the purists. :) Here
are some interesting variations I've heard, which Disney may or may not end up
using:
THE BIG SOLO. In one opera version of "Mulan," a bunch of soldiers are sitting
around and one guy says something like, "Men have all the worries and
responsibilities. Women don't do anything." Mulan, of course, stands right up
and has a nice big solo in which she sings about the contributions women make
in daily life. (Talk about your modern woman... :) )
ROMANCE. It wouldn't surprise me if, over the years, OTHER Chinese stories of
girls in disguise worked their way into Mulan's story. One legend has a girl
disguised as a boy so she can attend school. She falls in love with a classmate
who considers her his best friend. She (as a guy) tells him, "I have a sister
who's just like me." :) Eventually the boy finds out about her and falls in
love with her. Unfortunately, this tale ends tragically--something prevents
their marriage and they both die. After death, they turn into butterflies and
are finally reunited. But anyway...some versions of the Mulan tale have Mulan
fall secretly in love with a fellow soldier, whom she marries after he finds
out the truth about her. :)
ROMANCE (?). Yet another Chinese tale (roughly translated as "The King's Son-
in-Law") has a girl disguising as a boy so she can take an exam at a school.
She comes in first place and finds out that her prize is the princess's hand in
marriage. :) Needless to say, this causes all sorts of problems. Fortunately
for the girl, the princess let her off the hook. So in some versions of the
Mulan tale, Mulan is offered marriage to an official's daughter. The official
must have wondered why "the young man" so adamantly refused. :)
MAGIC. I read in a post quite a while back that there is a version where Mulan
has magic powers which helps her fight all sorts of armies and magical
creatures. Since Disney has put in a dragon (which are usually magical), maybe
Mulan has a bit of help in the film. Who knows? :)
As I said before, these are just variations I've heard. What Disney does
remains to be seen. :)
[Top of FAQ]
(FAQ last posted to rec.arts.disney 16 February 1996.)
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