At present, it seems quite normal for us to watch Disney movies focusing on a female protagonist who bravely fights for her own destiny. However, back in the old days, around the 1990s, Disney princesses often waited for a kiss from a prince and hoped that he could help her overcome her misery. Thankfully, Mulan is a totally different case. She didn’t wait for a prince, she was a brave warrior who fought against invaders and brought honor to her family.
It is thanks to that compelling and moving storyline that Mulan has become one of Disney’s most classic films and is loved by thousands of fans around the world. Along with Mulan‘s popularity to this day, there have been many interesting facts and details about this movie that have gradually been revealed. For instance, did you know that Mulan is the first Disney princess to be raised by both of her parents? Or Cri-Kee almost didn’t make it into the film?
Keep scrolling down and discover 15 facts about Mulan you probably never learn about!
#1 Mulan was almost rated PG.
Source: Walt Disney Animation Studios
Did you know that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) pondered many issues before deciding to give this movie a G rating?
#2 Mulan was the first film created at Disney-MGM Studios.
Source: Walt Disney Animation Studios
Besides Mulan, Disney-MGM Studios was also responsible for animating Lilo & Stitch and Brother Bear.
#3 It was Donny Osmond who covered Li Shang’s singing vocals.
Source: Walt Disney Animation Studios
Every Mulan fan knows that BD Wong voiced Li Shang, but the character’s singing vocals were performed by Donny Osmond.
#4 The Chinese texts written on the headstones and obelisks in the Fa family shrine are a list of names of the film’s creators.
Source: Walt Disney Animation Studios
This is such a very subtle way of Disney to honor the people who worked on the film, don’t you think?
#5 Mulan OST started Christina Aguilera’s professional singing career.
Source: Walt Disney Animation Studios
Christiana began her singing career at a very young age, however, she didn’t get too much attention at the time. It was a pop version of “Reflection” from Mulan that took her career to another level.
#6 Mushu was supposed to be voiced by Joe Pesci or Richard Dreyfuss.
Source: Walt Disney Animation Studios
Eddie Murphy was the voice actor for Mushu, but did you know that he wasn’t the first choice for this role?
#7 The cannon Mulan used to fight against the Hun army was based on a real cannon.
Source: Walt Disney Animation Studios
The cannon that Mulan used is called a huo long chu shui (or “fire dragon issuing from water” in Chinese) and is considered to be the first ballistic cruise missile used in post-classical China.
#8 The backgrounds in the film were designed with “Poetic Simplicity”.
Source: Walt Disney Animation Studios
To find out a good idea to properly represent the places and people in the film, Mulan‘s animators traveled all over China for inspiration and finally, they came up with the “poetic simplicity” style.
#9 Groundbreaking crowd simulation software was developed specifically to animate the Hun army.
Source: Walt Disney Animation Studios
With this fascinating fact, you can imagine how generously and carefully Disney invest in this movie.
#10 The film was first planned to be a rom-com in the style of “Tootsie”.
Source: Walt Disney Animation Studios
Luckily, Chris Sanders successfully convinced producer Pam Coats to change this idea and keep the film more aligned with the historical legend. And then we have a brave girl we all love!
#11 Jackie Chan voiced Li Shang and sang his songs in Mandarin and Cantonese.
Source: Walt Disney Animation Studios
It is no exaggeration to say that Jackie Chan truly delivered an outstanding performance. The famous actor even helped Li Shang to be loved in the Chinese market.
#12 Lea Salonga was originally cast as Mulan, but Ming-Na Wen finally got the role.
Source: Walt Disney Animation Studios
After a rigorous audition period, Ming-Na Wen was selected to do all of the speaking dialogue, but it was Lea Salona who was responsible for Mulan’s singing parts.
#13 Cri-Kee almost didn’t make it into the movie.
Source: Walt Disney Animation Studios
Although Cri-Kee caused a lot of problems for Mulan, it’s undeniable that this character brought more interesting colors to the movie, right?
#14 Mulan was the first Disney girl to have two living parents.
Source: Walt Disney Animation Studios
It is common for Disney princesses to have one or more missing parents. However, it seems that Mulan has a very happy family, she even has her grandmother by her side.
#15 Disney animators gave Mulan and Shan Yu regionally accurate horses.
Source: Walt Disney Animation Studios
You can notice that the horses of Mulan and Shan Yu are completely different from those of the Chinese army. Shan Yu’s horse is called a Mongol horse while Mulan’s horse is a now-extinct Ferghana horse. However, it doesn’t mean that Disney animators aim to differentiate these two horses, they just want to keep the film accurate in every detail possible.
