Mushu the dragon in Mulan is actually Erlang shen from Chinese mythology. So, I was bored and decided to re-watch Mulan with my younger brother when we noticed something concerning the side character, Mushu.
Mushu is based on a traditional Eastern dragon, which is radically different from Western dragons. Unlike their Western counterparts, Eastern dragons could control many elements and do not require wings to fly and were portrayed as benevolent creatures, oftentimes respected as gods.
Once Mulan decides to take her father's place in the war and heads off for battle, the spirits of her ancestors wake up. These ancestors awaken Mushu — a small dragon and a former guardian of the Fa family — who they then instruct to summon the Great Stone Dragon to help Mulan on her quest.
The 5 Dragons and 3 Phoenixes are a select eight of young elites who tower over all other elites and young prodigies. These youngsters are in their 20s and 30s who all have the most exceptional clan, beauty, and martial art skills.
Why did they change the dragon to a phoenix in Mulan?
"Using it as a silly sidekick didn't play very well with the traditional Chinese audience." But perhaps the most significant reason why the new Mulan film features a phoenix instead is due to the symbolism of the mythical bird for Chinese women in particular — or at least according to Caro's vision.
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.
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."
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.
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.”
Shan Yu was inspired by the real-life Attila the Hun. Though while Shan Yu died by the hands of fireworks, Attila died by choking on his own blood the night he was to be wed to his future wife, Ildico. Coincidently the name of the computer system that was used to animate the Hun army charge was called Attila.
A serpentine, flightless figure in the tradition of Chinese dragons, Mushu can breathe a little fire, but he delivers a lot more sass and humor as he helps Mulan find her destiny.
Mulan is a fictional folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century AD) of Chinese history. According to the legend, Mulan takes her aged father's place in the conscription for the army by disguising herself as a man.
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.
Even though Disney spent a lot of effort to fit the Chinese market, the reason why Mulan failed in the Chinese market is due to the stereotype and misunderstanding of the traditional Chinese culture, make-up, costumes and sceneries, and characteristics, which ultimately caused the movie to become nondescript.
Alas, there indeed will not be characters breaking out into song in this new version of the film, and producer Jason Reed explained Disney's thinking behind this particular decision: “It will not be traditional 'break into musical' [songs]. They're not going to stop their workouts to do a big musical number to camera.
And this month, keen-eyed critics noticed that part of the movie was filmed in the Chinese region of Xinjiang. Disney thanked Xinjiang authorities in the credits. The Chinese government is accused of persecuting Muslims in Xinjiang in the name of fighting terrorism. Calls for a boycott of "Mulan" have grown.
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.
Mulan and Shang, along with Yao, Ling and Chien-Po, set out with the princesses to Qui Gong. In order to protect his position as guardian, and believing that Mulan and Shang are incompatible due to their different behavior, Mushu tags along to sabotage their relationship, while Cri-Kee attempts to stop him.
For instance, a specific discrepancy in the original film is regarding Mulan's family name. It was changed from what it is commonly known as “Hua” in Chinese households to “Fa” in the film to create a character more comfortable for American audiences.
Mulan's surname is tweaked from Fa, the Cantonese pronunciation of her name, to Hua, which makes it truer to the name of the original ballad. However, both names have the same basic meaning.
While "Mulan" is only loosely based on the mythical tale of Hua Mulan, China's official Xinhua news agency said she was too "foreign-looking" in her Disney incarnation and "her complexion, disposition, and manner of behaviour were different from an [authentic] Chinese character," the BBC reported in 1999.
