Jim on Film
Page 6 of 9

Mulan is an interesting character. Physically, she’s very different from other Disney women from this generation, but she’s still very beautiful with her realistic proportions. As for character development, she doesn’t quite have the depth of some of the more complex characters, such as Quasimodo and the Beast, but neither is she left at the fairy tale development level. She is the perfect balance of character development and complexity for this movie, making for another rich Disney character.

There is also a significant difference in Mulan’s emotional development in comparison to other films from this time period. Whereas Quasimodo and Hercules both have a down period followed by a pep talk that changes them, making them ready for the battle, Mushu and Crickee only cheer Mulan up. It isn’t until she proves to everyone that she is something worthwhile that she completes her emotional change. It’s a key difference between these films.

Mulan’s three friends are interesting because their relationship with her is never fully developed. They have strong personalities, but there’s never really ever anything that develops them as friends until the very end. To achieve this, there should have been a scene where they bonded together-the water scene doesn’t work because it’s played for laughs and it’s too short. But in the end, when they join together to save China, they bond through their incredible experiences.

In this viewing, something else interesting became apparent. Crickee is not a sidekick for Mulan. He actually has very little contact with Mulan, particularly after she sets him free. Crickee is Mushu’s companion because he has a lot of interaction with Mushu and is of more use to Mushu than Mulan.

Like Disney’s earlier pictures, in the films from this generation there is also a dependence on non-verbal characters. There’s Khan, Pegasus, Djali, Meeko, Flit, Percy, Ed, Carpet, Phillipe, and Marahute. This is interesting because these films were scripted and yet the artists have found places in their stories for these silent characters who communicate largely through their beautifully animated actions.

Musically, Mulan is a testament to the importance of using a variety of people in these films because the music feels very different from the other songs in the recent films, which is probably due to the use of Matthew Wilder and David Zippel. Reflection is like the introductory ballad of films and stage musicals stretching back to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but the other three songs have fresh placements and sounds to them.

In Mulan, the use of computers is more subtle, though there are a few poorly integrated elements. As mentioned earlier, the flags waving in the wind, as well as the statue used as a battle ram, have unmistakable computer-generated appearances. But on the flip side, not only is the invading Hun army descending down the ridge beautifully animated, they look like hand-drawn characters. It’s an amazing, gasp-worthy scene.

In design, Mulan is also beautiful in its China-inspired design elements, from the elegant line of the opening image to the beautiful soft backgrounds of the Fa garden, to the handsome character designs. Again, Mulan is like a feast for the eyes. It’s another lovely film.

Tarzan marks several advancements for the studio. Like Meg before her, Jane Porter is another hilarious human character, and while it is difficult to compare something like humor, Jane is considerably more amusing than either Terk or Tantor, who would be the supposedly typical humorous elements. Not only does Jane get some great lines, she’s given a strong character actress for a voice and is animated with glee as supervised by Ken Duncan. This trend develops throughout The Emperor’s New Groove, Atlantis: The Last Empire, Lilo and Stitch, and Treasure Planet, where human characters provide most of or much of the comic relief. In a recent article, David Stainton talked about how Rapunzel would be a fully comedic character, but the author credited this to Shrek. However, with characters like Meg, Jane Porter, Yzma, Vinny, Audrey, Lilo, and Dr. Doppler, Disney has already explored the use of comedic characters rooted in human forms (or forms closely resembling human). Rapunzel will only be the first fairy tale from the studio to use that development.

Jane’s development is also different because she’s allowed to live within the social mores of her time. Whereas Mulan and Belle are exceptions to the rule within their respective time periods, Jane is very much influenced by her culture. She resists Tarzan not because she doesn’t like him but because her culture decrees a certain way for men and women to interact. So when Tarzan leads Jane through her first swing on the vines, she lets go of herself and swings freely, then blushes when she realizes that she has done this in front of a man. Tarzan, of course, being from a completely different cultural setting, continually puts her into these awkward moments where she must maintain her upbringing. Jane holds onto these social moors until the end, when she finally decides to remain in Africa.

For the first film in a long time, the characters in Tarzan are animated in a more caricatured style despite their realistic design. Even in Hercules, the human characters would have a great broad visual style but would be animated within more realistic human movements. Jane and Porter are such extremely fun characters, and they move in a very caricatured fashion, such as when Jane mimics Tarzan’s movement or when Porter freezes at Clayton’s warning. Despite these more caricatured performances, these characters seem very natural and realistic to the viewer.