The era is the Disney Renaissance. The year is 1998. The film is “Mulan”.
…
Yeah, that’s pretty much the only introduction I have!
Based on the legend of Fa Mulan, which could probably be based on a true story,
Disney’s 36th animated feature deals with the story of a young woman who takes her father’s place in the Imperial Army disguised as a man to fight the invading Huns!
…
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Well, that’s pretty much the only synopsis I have as well!
This film has always been an “OK” film for me; I never liked it, I never disliked it, it was just…Ok! Maybe that’s why I don’t feel pumped to say much else about the film!
Alright, let me start over!
Mulan is a young woman who’s trying to get married via a local matchmaker.
To put it simply, this attempt fails!
After going back home and disheartening herself and her family, a royal decree sent by the Emperor arrives stating that one man from every household needs to join the Imperial Army to fight the invading Huns!
The problem is that the only male in Mulan’s family is her elderly father who’s not as strong as he used to be nor as able to walk easily as he used to.
This causes a spat between Mulan and her father. So, she decides to do what’s right…and dresses up like a man to join the Army in her father’s place.
This of course leads to “comedic situations”, and it takes a while for her to blend in with the all-male Army as well as for them to make friends with her..umm..”him”.
But she doesn’t have to go through this ordeal alone. Her dead ancestors
decide to send a guardian to help her in her journey. But, a selfish red Eddie Murphy-voiced dragon named Mushu decides to become Mulan’s guardian himself. And there couldn’t have been a worse guardian than Mushu!
He manages to get the Imperial Army to leave their position just because he feels like going!
He manages to give away the Imperial Army’s position thereby causing an onslaught of computer-generated Huns to attack the Chinese Army without mercy!
He even manages to cause a human being’s death by decapitation!
Oh Mushu, you are a good one!
Anyway, enough about the story and the character of Mushu! We’re here to discuss the forgotten/minor character. And the one for this movie is Mulan’s Little Brother!
No, I mean her pet dog named Little Brother.
He’s briefly seen and isn’t important in the slightest. But we do know that Mulan loves him and uses him quite cruelly to get the chores done.
Well, maybe not extremely cruelly! She does give him the bone in the end!
And…
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that’s about all I can say for him! He’s a cute, weird-looking dog in my opinion, but definitely forgotten/minor, hence he deserves to be recognized as such for this movie!
The Animation Commendation 
I always thought that Little Brother was a cute name for a dog.
Not a dog person myself, so I don’t think much about dog names.
Yay!! I’d forgotten about Little Brother!
Not as memorable as Penelope the Donkey, I see 😉 !
A donky in a scarf will always be more memorable! 😀
I’m dropping by to disagree again lol I love Mulan! It’s probably my favourite Disney movie! Crazy, I know. But Mushu is hilarious, and the part where the Huns start popping out of the snow is terrifying! And the songs are awesome!
But I do agree that Disney is playing it fast and loose with the term “princess” these days lol.
Lol, the movie isn’t bad. I just never liked it, maybe because I didn’t grow up with it.
I can read sarcasm all over this post Commendation. While I do remember Little Brother, he is completely useless, and has no purpose, so…….. Anyways, I don’t see how this film is worse than others like BatB and Aladdin. This was one to the films I watched the most as a kid since I only had this and Sleeping Beauty at my house. Great post.
I can’t be the only one to not like this movie…can I? Well, at least I don’t dislike it.
You are funny about your princess purity. I have no problem giving honorary princess status to Mulan for bravery in battle. I’m sure the emperor would approve. (I don’t think there are princesses in China so it wouldn’t have been possible anyway but she is basically knighted by the emperor. Close enough. Don’t be so strict 😉
I love the movie. I think it is funny, nice action, lots of engaging characters and an interesting heroine who defies a lot of Disney norms. She’s layered and smart and I like that she never needs to be rescued. The songs are good. My only flaw is the villain is kind of bland. Love it! 😉 And I was just starting college when it came out.
Nah, I’ll be a princess purist for life, lol!
ha. 🙂