{"id":74504,"date":"2022-08-26T00:01:15","date_gmt":"2022-08-26T07:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/?p=74504"},"modified":"2022-08-26T08:14:44","modified_gmt":"2022-08-26T15:14:44","slug":"remembering-mulan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/index.php\/remembering-mulan\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering “Mulan”"},"content":{"rendered":"\"\"\n

Suspended Animation #386<\/u> <\/strong><\/p>\n

Mulan<\/em> (1998) was the first full Disney animated feature done primarily by the Disney Feature Animation Florida studio that had previously done sequences for other Disney feature films as well as several Roger Rabbit<\/em> cartoon shorts. On its initial release it grossed $120 million in the United States and Canada combined, and $304 million worldwide, making it the second-highest grossing family film of the year, behind A Bug\u2019s Life<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"\"I was working at Walt Disney World in the animation department of the Disney Institute at the time of its production and was able to visit the animation building and see some of the work in progress.<\/p>\n

I was also able to attend an event held there in 1998 for a limited number of WDW cast members where some people involved in the film talked about it before showing the film. There was some sort of publicity tour at the time with a massive Mulan parade debuting at Disney MGM Studios featuring more performers and more expensive costumes than any other Disney theme park parade so some of the voice actors were available.<\/p>\n

Here are some of my notes. I haven\u2019t seen these quotes elsewhere although I am sure the people involved may have said something similar over the years but in the interests of documenting animation history I thought it was important to share them here.<\/p>\n

\n\"\"\n

Based on an ancient Chinese poem, the story is about a young woman who takes the place of her aged father when he is required to rejoin the army to defend against the invasion of the Huns.<\/p>\n

Fa Mulan (speaking voice by Ming-Na Wen, singing voice by Lea Salonga) disguises herself as a man and is advised in her adventures by a pint-sized, feisty talking dragon named Mushu (voiced by Eddie Murphy), who claims he has been assigned by the Fa family spiritual guardians.<\/p>\n

\"\"The film was co-directed by Barry Cook and Tony Bancroft. At the event, Cook remarked, \u201cMulan is unique among the spectrum of Disney heroines because she doesn\u2019t want to change herself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Actress Ming-Na Wen said, \u201c It has always been one of my dreams to be in a Disney animated film and I\u2019m excited that I got to do one. It has been fascinating to watch the character develop and to see my gestures and nuances become part of Mulan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been as creatively satisfying as any project I\u2019ve been a part of. By removing the make-up, costumes and sets, I\u2019ve felt more free to use my imagination than ever before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Supervising animator of the character Mulan Mark Henn added, \u201cMing-Na was a joy to work with. She brought such a spark and a life to the character and a spirit that made my job that much easier.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe created a performance in front of the microphone that helped feed my mind and visualize what I was thinking. Watching her helped me to create the performance on paper when it came time to do the animation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lea Salonga said, \u201cGetting the part of Mulan was amazing. My heart felt like it was going to burst. Not too many people get to be part of this experience and I\u2019m fortunate that this is my second time. To be involved in the making of another Disney animated feature is fantastic. And because I\u2019m Asian, this particular project is extra special. It\u2019s a really cool thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"She also provided the singing voice for princess Jasmine in Disney\u2019s 1992 animated feature Aladdin<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Tom Bancroft, supervising animator of Mushu said he watched Eddie Murphy\u2019s movies and analyzed printouts of the actor\u2019s facial expressions.<\/p>\n

Bancroft said, \u201cEddie\u2019s voice provided a lot to work with. He gave such a brilliant and hilarious reading that it challenged me to come up with something really worthy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pat Morita, perhaps best remembered for the television series Happy Days<\/em> and the movie Karate Kid<\/em>, was cast as the emperor and he joked, \u201cI think I am typecast again. I\u2019m playing a guy who is old, regal, benevolent, warm, caring and dynamic, yet simple. The emperor is a real caring guy. He rules with an iron fist but he also has a very generous heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve done some animated roles and voice-over work in the past but this is the first time I\u2019ve ever witnessed the animation process from idea to story sketch to finished art and it fascinates me.\u201d<\/p>\n\"\"\n

The presentation focused on the innovations of the Digital Production Department at Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida. Supervising animator of CGI Rob Bekuhrs said, \u201cThere are more computer generated imagery elements in this film than there ever in any Disney film before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Eric Guaglione, the film\u2019s computer animation artistic supervisor shared, \u201cThe sequence where the Huns are attacking is much more complicated than say the wildebeest stampede in The Lion King<\/em>. Not only do you have nearly 2,000 soldiers on horseback in this scene but they have different costumes, swords and spears. A variant of this software was used to have 3,000 unique figures in the Forbidden City at the end of the film.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve taken a whole new approach to creating this kind of action, and it gives us greater control over individual movements and more flexibility than ever before. Our goal is to \u2018plus\u2019 the film by using CGI\u2026to make it richer and more beautiful than ever before, but ultimately we do hope than no one will notice what we do.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want the audience to be thinking what a beautifully crafted film this is and how well all the components fit together, not \u2018Wow, what a great computer generated effect!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Cook added, \u201cWhat I like about the way CGI is used in Mulan<\/em> is that we just didn\u2019t use it on one big scene but found different applications for it throughout the film which really supported the action.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s so much that technology has improved but that directors and art directors are getting a better grasp of the tools.\u201d<\/p>\n

CGI was used to create seventeen different animated elements throughout the film including gently swaying bamboo, flaming arrows, munitions carts, a multitude of colorful banners and nearly seven thousand lit lanterns dispersed throughout the crowd for the film\u2019s finale. In nearly every case, the CGI elements were combined with hand-drawn character animation created with pencil and paper.<\/p>\n

\"\"The audience was also told some \u201cbehind the scenes\u201d information to help see the film a little differently including that caricatures of the directors Barry Cook and Tony Bancroft appear as the firework attendants frightened by Mushu in the climax.<\/p>\n

When Mulan sings “Reflection” in her father’s shrine, the writings on the temple stones are the names of the Disney animators who worked on the film written in ancient Chinese (embed below<\/em>).<\/p>\n

In the summer of 1994, several members of the production team spent three weeks in China gathering information and sketching. The animators also utilized the China pavilion at Epcot because of its architectural authenticity.<\/p>\n

Songwriter Stephen Schwartz wrote the music and lyrics for three songs for the film but left the production to work on Dreamworks animated feature The Prince of Egypt<\/em> (1998). Jeffrey Katzenberg threatened to have Schwartz\u2019s name removed from all publicity material for Pocahontas<\/em> and Hunchback of Notre Dame<\/em>. Schwartz\u2019s songs were removed from the film.<\/p>\n