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.

What is the message behind Mulan?

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 is the moral of the story of Mulan?

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.

What is the true meaning of Mulan?

The Chinese mùlán means 'magnolia flower'. It is a short folk story comprised of 392 Chinese characters that was created in the Northern Wei Dynasty (386–534). The Ballad of Mulan has been a popular tale since the Tang Dynasty (618–907).

What does Mulan stand for?

Mulan is a feminine name of Chinese origin. While this name refers to flowers, meaning “magnolia blossom” or “wood orchid,” it also brings feelings of strength and victory. Mulan was also the name of a legendary Chinese warrior who disguised herself as a man to take her sick father's place in the army.

The HIDDEN Meaning in Disney's Mulan

Why did Disney change Mulan's name?

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.

Why did Disney change Mulan's last name?

But in the original, we see her at only one age for the duration of the film. 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.

Who is the main villain in Mulan?

Shan Yu. A physically imposing and ruthless Hun chieftain and the general of the Huns who serves as the main antagonist of the film. Shan Yu is based primarily on Genghis Khan. He is voiced by Miguel Ferrer in Mulan.

What is Mulan's full name?

Though Mulan did not have a surname in the original ballad, Hua Mulan eventually became her most commonly known name. According to Vulture, the '98 movie renamed her to Fa Mulan—a Cantonese rendering more closely related to the “Fa Mu Lan” of Chinese-American Maxine Hong Kingston's memoir, The Woman Warrior.

What is the controversy with Mulan 1998?

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.

What is Mulan's weakness?

Mulan's Character

In the animated film, Mulan's greatest weakness is entirely physical: she simply does not have the capability to do things like carry two bags of who knows what on a hike which leads to Shang kicking her out of the army.

What are the 4 virtues of Mulan?

As the title of one late 18th-century novel — The Story of the Loyal, Filial, Brave, and Heroic Mulan — indicates, the other three virtues of Mulan — loyalty (忠 zhōng), bravery (勇 yǒng), and filial piety (孝 xiào) — have been recurrent themes in Chinese versions of the story.

What are the core values of Mulan?

The 12 moral values analyzed were: honesty, courage, peace of ability, self-confidence and potential, self-discipline and moderation, fidelity and chastity, loyalty and dependability, respect, love and affection, unselfishness and sensitivity, kindliness and friendliness, justice and mercy.

How historically accurate is Mulan?

It dates all the way back to 386–581 AD at least, likely beginning in oral retellings and being written down significantly later. Unfortunately, with almost no way to verify its authenticity, no one knows if there is any truth behind the story, or if it comes from a place of fiction.

Who is Mulan's true love?

Mulan returned in Once Upon A Time's third season and the episode “Quite A Common Fairy” revealed something fans of the show had long suspected – that Mulan was in love with Aurora. Just as Mulan was about to confess her feelings, however, the princess revealed she was pregnant with Prince Phillip's baby.

How old is Mulan's boyfriend?

Mulan and Li Shang

Mulan was thought to be just 16 when she chopped off her hair and took her father's place in the army, and Shang was 19.

How did they find out Mulan was a girl?

In the animation, Mulan is injured in battle after saving Li Shang. When the doctor checks her over it becomes clear she's a woman.

Is Mulan Based on a true story?

Scholarly consensus is that Mulan is a fictional character, probably developed in Northern China in response to the greater independence women enjoyed there, whose legend was then revised in succeeding eras to reflect the values and challenges of the times.

Why does Mulan hide her chi?

At the beginning of Niki Caro's remake of Mulan, Mulan's father Zhou (Tzi Ma) tells her that she must “hide [her] gift away.” He means Mulan's chi, her life force, which is particularly strong but which, in Chinese society, is only useful to warriors—and thus to men.

Who is the fat guy in Mulan?

Chien-Po is an obese, bald camper from Li Shang's camp, most likely based off of the buddha Budai, otherwise known as Maitreya. He is shown to be very kind and is not a fan of violence. The aspects he searches for in a woman is that of a talent for cooking, as he loves food.

Why was Mushu removed from Mulan?

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.

Why does Mulan's father limp?

He was a war hero of a previous, unnamed conflict, as well as was known to the extent that Shang mentioned his name with awe when it appeared on Fa family's conscription notice, even referring to him as "THE Fa Zhou." At the time of the film, he is at an advanced age, as well as limps using a crutch due to a leg injury ...

Which Mulan movie is more accurate?

Disney's live-action remake of Mulan might be closer to the poem it's based on, but it's very different from the 1998 Disney animated classic. While both movies tell Mulan's story as she impersonates a man to join the Imperial Army, the 1998 film was an animated, musical comedy packed with jokes and memorable songs.

What was Mulan's undercover name?

Mulan goes by a different name when she goes undercover in the army. Mulan tells Li Shang her name is Ping at the suggestion of Mushu in the 1998 movie. In the new film, Mulan goes by the name Hua Jun.

Is Mulan based on Joan of Arc?

Joan of Arc seems outwardly similar to Fa Mulan, as they both donned male guise to assist them in joining/serving in their respective royal armies at times when their homelands were threatened, however, the latter preceded the former by nearly a thousand years (albeit only as an epic poem) and thus shares no direct ...