Mulan Trivia (1998)

• Add

Mulan Trivia

• The rocket Mushu straps himself to says "weixian" in Chinese, which translates into "danger" or "dangerous".
• Crickets are considered in good luck in China, hence the inclusion of one as a character.
• 'Mulan' was Disney's first ever DVD, released in November 1999.
• The first Disney animated film to openly deal with warfare.
• The first Disney cartoon to feature an Asian heroine.
• In the original Chinese legend upon which this film was based, Mulan succeeds in her deception, and leaves the battlefield with great honors. Months later, Mulan's fellow soldiers come in search of their "brother"-in-arms, and are shocked to discover that she's a woman.
• The movie's artistic supervisors spent three weeks in China sketching, photographing, and soaking up the culture. Computer animators used the latest technology to add detail and mimic camera techniques that were previously unavailable in animation, like crowd scenes of up to 30,000 people. They used a computer program called "Atilla" to make the sequence featuring 2,000 Huns on horseback.
• According to Robert D. San Souci, who retold and researched the original story, Disney didn't like the idea of putting in a dragon as a companion for Mulan; they feared it would be too big and menacing. San Souci explained to them that in Chinese lore, dragons can be any size, so a small dragon was approved. Thus, Mushu was born. This change is acknowledged when Mulan calls him "tiny" and Mushu replies, "Of course! I'm travel size for you convenience! If I was my REAL size your cow (Khan) here would die of fright!"
• In one of the original versions of the film, Mulan was engaged to Li Shang and matching Yin-Yang necklaces were bestowed upon them. Although that part was removed, the Yin-Yang necklaces survive in the sequel ( Mulan II (2004)) as wedding gifts to them after Shang's proposition.
• "Fa" is the Cantonese pronunciation of Mulan's family name. "Hua" is the correct Mandarin pronunciation, and means "flower". "Hua Ping" (Mulan's fake name) means "flower vase" or just "vase".
• The spots on Shang's horse's neck and rump are shaped like Mickey Mouse. There are also other hidden Mickeys in the film.
• In the scene where Mushu awakens the ancestors, one set of grandparents worry that Mulan's quest will ensure her family loses their farm. This couple appear to be the couple on the farm in Grant Wood's famous painting 'American Gothic'.
• This was the first full length movie animated only at the Florida animation studio.
• The scene where Mulan disarms Shan-Yu with a fan shows an actual martial art technique.
• When Mulan sings "Reflection" in her father's shrine, her reflection appears in the polished surface of the temple stones. The writing on the temple stones is the names of the Disney animators who worked on the film written in ancient Chinese.
• The story of Mulan had been told in China for almost 1,500 years before Disney picked it up and made it into a movie.