He is voiced by Eddie Murphy in Mulan, but he did not reprise his role in the sequel. Initially, he helped Mulan so as to get his position as a guardian for the Fa family back, but later he helped her simply because he wanted to.
After suffering a demotion before the events of the film and accidentally destroying the Great Stone Dragon, Mushu is bent on ensuring Mulan does well as she masquerades as a man in the Chinese army -- and in doing so, he actually saves the day.
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.
He strives to be one of the family guardians again and selfishly comes to Mulan's aid to turn her into a war hero, believing this will get him back on the "top shelf." However, he eventually comes to realize the error of his ways, admitting to Mulan that he risked her life to further his own goals.
"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.
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.”
While dragons do play a large part in Chinese art and culture, it's clear that the animators of the film were using these dragons as a storytelling technique. They symbolize Mulan as the protector of her family, a pillar of strength, and they foreshadow her eventual success at the end of the film.
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.
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.
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.
Shan Yu is the main antagonist of Disney's 1998 animated feature film, Mulan. He is the ruthless leader of the Hun Army, who are responsible for mass genocide and general havoc across China.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“Loyal, Brave, True” (忠勇真) are the three words engraved on the Hua family sword, comprising Mulan's central motif that in turn reflects this live action remake's reexamination of what constitutes Chinese feminism.
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.
Some speculated that the filmmakers were trying to downplay the homoerotic undertones of the relationship between Shang and the disguised Mulan. In reality, the filmmakers claimed that they were influenced by the #MeToo Movement, finding it inappropriate for Mulan's love interest to be her commanding officer.
The talking guardian dragon Mushu isn't in the Disney Mulan remake but there's a few good reasons. When fans heard that Mushu wouldn't be a part of the Disney Mulan remake there were cries of “dishonour on you, dishonour on your cow!”.
However, while government restrictions and Disney's history of releasing films not aligned with Chinese politics didn't help, one of the main reasons "Mulan" bombed at the box office was because audiences thought Mulan was too "foreign-looking."
The biggest issue is this film features way less action than it's predecessor and way less Mulan (she practically disappears in the middle of the film). Mulan's bickering with Shang is also very badly written. Yet, minor complaints. Overall a decent film.
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.
