Also, the fact that Mushu is a dragon may be a nod to the fact that, while Mulan is a mighty force on her own, she requires a little bit of guidance to be whole and achieve her goals. Ultimately, this would mean that Mushu couldn't awaken the Great Stone Dragon because it was awake all along.
Although this dragon's name may have been inspired by the Chinese dish moo shu pork, the characters of his name (Mù and xū) translate to “wood” and “necessary.” Voiced by Eddie Murphy, Mushu appeared in the beloved Disney film Mulan as a wise-cracking, bumbling sidekick.
The doll will become a repeated motif in the film, as the doll represents what Mulan is being asked to become. She is not a doll. But neither is she a boy child with swords. She is someone above that, someone with compassion as her guiding light–a traditionally feminine trait that toxic masculinity ignores.
The roles of men and women should not be seen as limiting or as limitations. The story of Mulan proves that. Mulan behaves as a man to join battle and her male battle mates dress as women to serve as decoys. Mulan teaches us that gender roles are simply well-too-accepted stereotypes (that can be broken).
What Do Mu Shu, Foo Young, Won Ton Really Mean in English?
What is the main message in the movie Mulan?
Whether we interpret Mulan as a gender-bending feminist or someone who is gender-fluid, her acceptance of her identity is core to her story arc. And the message is clear: Embrace your own identity. Defy what society expects. Present your true self to the world.
University of Southern California professor Stanley Rosen, who specializes in Chinese politics and culture, told The Hollywood Reporter that "Mushu was very popular in the U.S., but the Chinese hated it." "This kind of miniature dragon trivialized their culture," he added.
Mushu was seen as trivialising the Chinese culture
USC Professor Stanley Ronsen also told The Hollywood Report that the character was seen as a trivialisation of the culture in China. “Mushu was very popular in the US, but the Chinese hated it,” he said. “This kind of miniature dragon trivialised their culture.”
If any of you watched Mulan 2, for exapmle buying it on DVD, Mushu turns evil after losing his pedastol, so he tries to tear apart Mulan and Shang, which worked.
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 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.
Mushu is named after moo shu pork, a popular Chinese dish in the United States. The characters of Mushu's Chinese name "木/Mù" and "須/xū" mean "wood" and "necessary" respectively. The latter character, as a noun, also means "beard," "palpus," or "feeler."
A small Chinese dragon, Mushu was a guardian of Mulan's family before being demoted for failing to protect an ancestor. He plots to redeem himself by ensuring Mulan's safety and success when she enlists herself in the army in her father's place, ultimately becoming her closest confidant.
It turns out that the traditional Chinese audience did not particularly think that was the best interpretation of the dragon in their culture. That the dragon is a sign of respect and of strength and power and sort of using it as a silly sidekick did not play well with a traditional Chinese audience."
China blocked the release of Disney's animated “Mulan” for eight months in the late 1990s after the company backed Martin Scorsese's “Kundun,” a film seen as sympathetic to the Dalai Lama. The animated “Mulan” bombed in China as a result.
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.
The new film's director explained that a new cast of comrades for the film's protagonist felt more realistic. Mushu may have also been removed due to criticism of the 1998 animated film's portrayal of the talking dragon, according to the film's producer.
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.
Although the whole film told a Chinese story, it actually still showed huge differences between the film and genuine Chinese ancient culture. First, in the film, there are several Chinese elements misunderstood.
Mulan teaches a whole generation of girls to keep dreaming and striving even when times are hard. She teaches us to conquer obstacles head on and achieve exactly what we want to even through trial and error and learning from our mistakes.
There are five moral values found in Mulan 2020 conveyed by the main character using the theory of Linda and Eyre (1993). Five moral values conveyed by the main character are Honesty, Courage, Loyalty and dependability, Unselfishness and sensitivity, and kindness and friendliness .
Mulan's journey represents a feminist discourse, promoting the idea that females and males can coexist harmoniously and develop together . The movie reinterprets traditional culture and showcases the development of Chinese and American cultures .
