Integrity, putting others first, and rooting for the underdog: A faith- based look at 'Mulan.'

Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Nightcrawler Experience!
Like I said at the end of my last entry, I had some new ideas on the way very soon, and here they are.
It's that time of year again: Time for my blog to renew its partnership with St. John's United Methodist Church as they do their 'Summer at the Movies' series in which they air a movie, their great pastor David Averill incorporates it into his sermon that Sunday, and I make a devotional for the screening and an accompanying entry on the Nightcrawler Experience explaining even more Scriptural messages that can be found in it.
This year, the movies selected will have an "Around the World" feel to it, and we're kicking it off with Disney's 'Mulan,' a movie which is actually celebrating its 20th anniversary this year!

Taking place in Imperial China, our story revolves around Fa Mulan (Voice of Ming- Na Wen), a young woman who desperately seeks to look after and bring honor to her family, but has little success. Everything changes when the Huns, led by the brutal Shan- Yu, begin an invasion of China, and the Emperor announces a conscription to gain more troops. In order to save her aging father from being drafted, Mulan disguises herself as a man and joins the army in his place. She is helped in her quest by Mushu (Voice of Eddie Murphy), a motormouthed dragon who used to be one of her family's guardians, and figures that by helping Mulan survive and become a hero in the war, he may be able to get his old position back. Mulan soon succeeds in her training, and through her courage and wit, manages to save all of China.

While this movie was made near the tail- end of the "Disney Renaissance" of the 90's, and thus was not as unforgettable as some of the films that came before it, 'Mulan' is still a great film that I always like watching when it comes on.

 Probably the only real problem I had with 'Mulan' was with Shan- Yu. A lot of Disney fans regard him as one of the best Disney villains ever, but I always found him to be very overrated, all shine and no substance. His physical design is creepy and intimidating, and his theme music adds to his threatening presence, but he doesn't have anywhere near as much personality as truly great Disney villains like Ursula, Maleficent, Frollo, or Hades. Plus, he has easily one of the lamest, most anticlimactic death scenes of any Disney baddie; A disappointing end for a disappointing villain.

Now that that’s out of the way, there is a LOT to like about ‘Mulan.’ The story is quite engaging, it does a marvelous job with its action sequences and fight scenes (Especially a scene about 2/3rds of the way into the film involving a massive avalanche), the animation is great, there are a lot of funny moments, and the characters other than Shan- Yu are quite enjoyable to watch.
 Mulan makes for a wonderful heroine. She earnestly wants to protect and honor her family, but is hampered by the fact that her status as a woman in China in those days keeps her from being able to shine as much with her talents. Seeing her make up for her relative lack of physical strength with her brains and resourcefulness is quite inspiring. Shang’s a pretty good male lead, too. You can tell how much pressure he’s under as the new captain of this regiment of troops, between trying to whip his rather incompetent recruits into shape, deal with the criticisms of an obnoxious bureaucrat who’s monitoring him on behalf of the Emperor, and live up to the example and expectations of the general of the army (Who happens to be his own father). Mushu is funny and pretty likable, and generally keeps from getting too annoying, a good supporting character all in all. I also LOVED the three soldiers Mulan befriends over the course of the film: Hotheaded Yao, wisecracking Ling, and the food- obsessed gentle giant Chien- Po. These guys are a hoot to watch, like a Chinese version of the Three Stooges, and they have a lot of chemistry together: You really get the sense that they’re old buddies who were drafted together and are trying to make the best of it. Also, although he is only a minor character, the Emperor of China demonstrates the sort of quiet dignity, wisdom and inner strength that you'd imagine him to have, thanks largely to the late Pat Morita's performance as his voice. Morita appears to be channeling a little of his famous role as Mr. Miyagi in the 'Karate Kid' movies into his work as the Emperor's voice here, and it works well.

Most of the songs in ‘Mulan’ are awesome, too. “Reflections” is quite pretty, and conveys the inner struggle that Mulan is going through. The marching song “A Girl Worth Fighting For” has funny lyrics and a quite catchy melody, I could imagine everyone involved in that song having a lot of fun making it. Best of all, though, is unquestionably the training song “I’ll Make a Man Out of You.” There is so much intensity and strength to this song, you’d never guess it was Donny Osmond of all people singing it. It makes for easily one of the best “Training Montage” scenes I can ever recall seeing in any film.

As for Scriptural messages that can be found in ‘Mulan,’ one I discussed in my devotional passed out at the screening was comparing Mulan’s struggles with the Huns to David’s facing Goliath in 1 Samuel 17:45- 50.

Another Scriptural message I can think of is on integrity, living out our true inner natures. The song “Reflections” is all about Mulan struggling with the fact that he can’t do well in the assignments and gender roles she has been given, and that the person she sees in the mirror (The role she takes to fit into her society) isn’t a reflection of her true inner self. Her attempting to put on the facade of a man doesn't work well, either. It's when she's honest and relies on her own gifts and true nature that she manages to shine and do great things. This is a struggle that we as Christians face all the time. We know that we need to be honest with ourselves and not try to put on false fronts to mislead people about who we truly are, and especially not about our faith. We should be consistent in how we act, so that our outer conduct is a good reflection of our inner selves and the role the Lord plays in shaping our hearts. In Matthew 23:27- 28, Jesus called out the corrupt Pharisees who were not doing this. He points out that they "Outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." May we all strive to avoid living in such a way, but rather, let how we act be a reflection of who we truly are inside.
I'd say another important lesson to take from 'Mulan' is on selflessness. A key scene is near the film's climax, when Mulan believes she has failed. Mushu comes clean to her that he wasn't actually sent by her ancestors, that he was just hoping to impress them so he could get his old job back, and says "You risked your life to help the people you love. I risked your life to help myself. At least you had good intentions." Mulan retains that selfless nature as she then learns that the Emperor's life and the freedom of all China are in danger, and wastes no time in again putting her own life on the line to do what's right and save a nation. One of my favorite verses of Scripture, Philippians 2:3-4, reminds us as believers to "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking out for your own interests but each of you to the interests of others." As followers of Jesus, we need to make a point of always trying to act in the best interests of others, putting their needs ahead of our own immediate, selfish desires. In this way, we can model the true servant's heart that Jesus showed when He came down to Earth and died for us all.
So, there we have 'Mulan,' a wonderful movie that helps us learn to root for underdogs, put others' needs ahead of our own, and live with honor and integrity that reflects our true inner selves.
That's it for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. Come back next week as I take a look at the next movie they'll be showing. Until then, God bless you all!