Mushu, Mulan In Mulan, Mushu starts out helping our titular hero for his own benefit – he wants to prove himself. Despite his best intentions, initially his attempts to help and encourage Mulan more often than not get her into trouble. However, as the story progresses, he grows into his role of supportive sidekick.
Mushu was once a guardian spirit of Mulan's family, but he has been demoted to the unappreciated position of an incense burner and gong-ringer for the deceased Fa ancestors ever since he failed to protect a family member, a soldier named Fa Deng, resulting in the soldier's demise by decapitation.
Shan Yu is then blasted to the New Year's fireworks tower and is killed in the explosion. Mulan is deemed China's bravest warrior, and as a reward for his assistance in restoring the Fa family honor, Mushu regains his job as a family guardian (to the reluctance of the First Fa Ancestor).
USC professor Stanley Rosen said the character was seen as trivializing Chinese culture by Chinese moviegoers. "Mushu was very popular in the U.S., but the Chinese hated it," they said. "This kind of miniature dragon trivialized their culture." "You have to deliver on the war of it," Caro said.
Li Shang was a popular character in the original "Mulan," and many people considered him bisexual since he was clearly drawn to Mulan while she presented as a male soldier named Ping. However, the character was cut from Disney's live-action remake. The producer Jason Reed cited the #MeToo movement as the reason.
Though the director shared that Mushu was removed to allow Mulan to better enhance her relationships with her fellow soldiers, his absence may have also been more about not offending viewers, who found Mushu to be insensitive in the 1998 animated feature.
In the 1998 film, Mushu isn't just Mulan's sidekick. He is the only speaking character who is with her every step of the way, guarding her secret. The funny dragon had 98 lines to Mulan's 102 and Shang's 57. Without him, she has no one to talk to.
A clause in Eddie Murphy's contract for doing Shrek 2 (2004) forbade him from reprising the role of Mushu in this film, therefore having his other voice actor Mark Moseley (a man best known for filling in for Murphy's characters like Mushu and Donkey in their TV and Video Game appearances) fill in for this film.
Throughout the movie, Mushu refers to Khan as a "cow," yet only once, after the Hun archers attack the cart carrying cannons with fire arrows and destroy it, Mushu calls Khan a horse. The name "Khan" translates to "prince" but can also mean "king" or "leader" in many Tuco-Mongol languages.
Mushu is a guardian dragon from ancient China who, like the ancestor spirits, protect those the High Council deems important in keeping the forces of evil at bay.
Despite being insulted that he wasn't chosen to accompany Mulan on her journey, Mushu bangs a small gong and shouts in an attempt to awaken the Great Stone Dragon's spirit, which is located inside a large stone statue outside of the family's temple.
This means that Mushu doesn't always do the right thing. However, this complexity makes him the most beloved Disney sidekick, proving a good and bad side to someone can still make them worthy of affection.
Mushu may not be the most traditional mentor, but he provides Mulan with the knowledge and confidence she needs to succeed. He encourages her to embrace her unique strengths and to believe in herself, even when others doubt her abilities.
Cri-Kee is a cricket and a supporting character from Disney's 1998 film Mulan and its sequel. He is the sidekick of Mushu and the luck charm for the Fa family. He is voiced by Frank Welker.
While the social and cultural milieu of the Northern Wei dynasty provided the context for the tale's origins, there's no corroborative evidence to confirm that Mulan was ever a real person. Over time, the story and character's nomadic and tribal origins have significantly changed from the original.
Why it was Cancelled. It was cancelled due to the extremely negative reception of Mulan II. John Lasseter called off all future direct to DVD films after being appointed as head of Disney in 2006. The production was left unfinished.
Mushu, like Donkey in Shrek corresponds to the archetype of the Trickster and retains some comic characteristics. Donkey too, in fact, supports Shrek in his business but for his personal interest. In Harry Potter, instead, Dobby represents this archetype.
Ray helps Tiana and Naveen on their journey to find Mama Odie, all the while waxing poetic about his lost love Evangeline. He even gets his own song, something a lot of modern sidekicks don't get.
It seems likely that the Great Stone Dragon, deep in his multi-century slumber, simply didn't have time to awaken before Mushu randomly murdered him. During the scene when Mulan decides to go to war instead of her father, she decides to do it while sitting on the foot of the Great Stone Dragon.
The theory says that Mushu wasn't able to awaken the dragon because the dragon was already awake; it was Mulan! If you carefully rewatch the original Disney princess animated movie from the moment that Mulan decided she will be going in her father's place, you will see a succession of dragon imagery.
Mushu, the wise-cracking sidekick dragon voiced by Eddie Murphy, and Li Shang, the captain of the Imperial Army and Mulan's mentor, voiced by B.D. Wong. Among those who love the original, there are sure to be some questions as to why these seemingly pivotal characters were removed.
