The first act of Mulan is decent enough to get the viewer interested, the second act is where it starts to pick up. The second act is by far the best part of the film. However, once we get to the third act, it all falls apart and becomes a boring mess. Still, great music and Eddie Murphy's voice talents are charming.

As older Disney cartoons go, this is one of the better ones. The animation, characters, and story are all well-done and entertaining. This movie is funny and dramatic. There's a fun montage in there and a dragon. The only things really holding it back are some historical inaccuracies (we watched this move in Global when we were learning about China's history in high school and the teacher made sure to point out how much this movie got wrong) and some stupid moments. Overall this movie is very entertaining and I'd recommend it.

Although Mulan seems to be nonsensical when she cuts her hair off and joins the army pretending to be a man, she demonstrates courage and bravery by taking her elderly father's place to defend China against the treacherous Huns. When the Huns climb the wall built to keep them out and kill all the guards present, the horror that China is about to face becomes evident. Why the Huns want to seize China is unknown, but they are on their way to the capital to do so. Like many third world countries, China requires that one man from every family enlist to strengthen their numbers. Of course to propel the movie, Mulan's family does not have any young boys, so her father is forced to join. Concerned for her father who is elderly, Mulan begs the recruiters to pardon him from enlisting because she knows that in his old age he will die training for and fighting the war. Her father, however, is disgraced by Mulan's begging because he feels it is his duty to defend his country. He is honored to fight and die for China. Of course, Mulan plays the hero. Determined to keep her father out of the war and uphold her family's honor, she chops off her hair and enlists.

We all have heard of many different Disney princesses. However, this one probably takes the cake. First of all, she is Asian (hooray for Disney being more culturally diverse) and she is like many women who just are not the type who adore being girly and feminine. This story follows Mulan, a girl in ancient China who is having a hard time blossoming into a so called 'woman'. China is freshly at war, and hence are recruiting a man from every single family to fight it. As Mulan's father is old and sick and there are no other males in her family, she decides to take the risk, dress up as a man and take his place. This is one of the first Disney films that addresses gender roles, and how they do not necessarily need to be followed to be a good man or woman. The movie is directed in a light-hearten fashion, with quite a bit of comedy and a lot less romance. It also is a story of personal development, and how rough experiences can teach you things you would never imagine. Great for anyone, even if you are not a fan of Disney!