Another predictable Disney flick, although this one has some very good *Moments*I didn't enjoy this Disney release nearly as much as critics across the country have. This film, about a Chinese girl who dresses as a boy to take the place of her father in a war has a problem with tone; the begining of the film seems like good old slapstick.Only problem is, I wasn't laughing. For the first act, I was bored silly. The songs in this film hardly work, and the animation is sometimes spectacular, and sometimes less than average. It's very hard to take a film about a war seriously when it's all broad slapstick. "Mulan" works best after it's first 30 minutes when it finally settles down and gets serious. The animation is spectacular when Mulan joins a fight against what seems like hundreds of soldiers stampeding over a mountainside in a sequence that's the centerpiece of the film; it works and it's thrilling and it's unfortunate that the rest of the film couldn't be as good as this set; but thankfully the film stays serious towards the end. It's two halfs of decent work. For most of the opening act, I was highly bored by the film's jokey attitude, and then baffled as it suddenly changes tone completely from slapstick to somber. What I did like was Eddie Murphy's little dragon character. It really has no place in the film, but simply, it was one of the few things that kept me interested. It's unfortunate also that "Mulan" takes absolutely no risks. Every scene feels calculated for political correctedness and probably researched days and nights by a team of marketers. Overall, I liked 20th Century Fox's "Anastasia" last fall far better. Even though the films aren't the same in plot, "Antastasia" was far faster, far more entertaining, and nearly perfect in pace. If only "Mulan" was as good as it's middle section, it would be a fantastic film. As is, I just felt it was fair as animation goes.Disney still doesn't really impress me lately.
eFilmCritic.com: Australia's Largest Movie Review Database. Privacy Policy | HBS Inc. | | All data and site design copyright 1997-2010, HBS Entertainment, Inc.