Friday, June 19, 1998 | 9:36 a.m.
* Grades: Jeff B; Dave B.
* Starring the voices of: Ming-Na Wen, Eddie Murphy, B.D. Wong, Harvey Fierstein, James Hong and Pat Morita.
* Director: Barry Cook and Tony Bancroft.
* Screenplay: Rita Hsiao, Christopher Sanders, Philip LaZebnik, Raymond Singer and Eugenia Bostwick-Singer.
* Rated: G, for all audiences.
* Running time: 87 minutes.
* Playing at: Rancho Santa Fe 16, Cinedome 12 Henderson, Century Orleans 12, Las Vegas Drive-In, ACT III Boulder Station, ACT III Village Square, UA Green Valley.
Synopsis: Disney's "Mulan" chronicles the daring adventure of a young Chinese woman whose irrepressible spirit clashes with her tradition-bound society. When her country is forced into war by the invading Hun army, Mulan searches deep within herself, takes her ailing father's conscription notice and joins the Chinese army in order to save his life. Mulan disguises herself as a man, trains to become a brave warrior and brings victory to her country and honor to her family.
Dave: I have to say, not since 1992's "Aladdin" has Disney made an outstanding family animated feature. Oh sure, "The Lion King" was another achievement in animation and it looked rather spectacular, but the drama seemed a tad too serious, if not frightening, for a younger audience. "Hunchback of Notre Dame" suffered from those very elements (though it didn't make a ba-jillion dollars). As for last summer's "Hercules," the gospel songs made it nearly unbearable, save for James Woods' memorable performance. Let's not forget to mention "Pocahontas." Or better yet, lets! Now, I'm happy to announce that Disney's latest feature, "Mulan" has put them back in the right direction.
Jeff: Ladies and gentleman, it seems Dave has stumbled upon a distinct pattern in the evolution of Disney animated features: The missing piece to the puzzle is the departure of Jeffrey Katzenberg, who was the visionary behind the early success and rebirth of Disney feature animation. Disney turned its storytelling magic to a classic 2,000-year-old Chinese legend of a young woman coming to terms with adulthood. Simply put: "Yentl in China."
It has the same standard Disney plot devices: a wishful young main character wanting more in life, societal taboos, entangled romances, life lessons through song and a tolerance of everyone around her as she seeks her destiny. Disney made the right choice to have Asian-American actors voice the memorable characters. The Mulan character also gives young Chinese-Americans a heroine to look up, as well as a beautiful, authentic display of Chinese art throughout the film.
Dave:
Plus, there is always the memorable supportive character that lends guidance to our hero and comic relief for the audience. Filling that voice is funnyman Eddie Murphy, who also has another kids' flick opening next week, "Doctor Doolittle." Coincidence? (Personally, I don't believe in coincidences.) As the pint-sized ancestral dragon, Mushu, Murphy brings the film to life with a mix of hilarity and sincerity. Looking to gain respect as a guardian for the spirits of the family ancestors, Mushu helps Mulan (voiced by Ming-Na Wen of "The Joy Luck Club" and TV's "the Single Guy") as she joins the army to fight the invading Huns and honor her family name.
Jeff: "Mulan" isn't perfect. I wouldn't call it a classic. It's slow and sputtering start (taking way to long to establish our cast of characters) finally gives way when Mulan leaves home and arrives at a training camp for Chinese soldiers. There, she learns how to fight, giving some momentum to the picture. The second half turns into an astounding adventure including a show-stopping battle sequence, as the Chinese army battles the Huns among the snow-laden mountain passes of the Himalayas. The use of computers is becoming an essential tool in the animation process: The hundreds of Hun soldiers storm out of the mountains in an attack that is truly amazing. The strength of the villain, in this case Shan-Yu (voiced perfectly by Miguel Ferrer), is really the only way to judge the success of a Disney feature, and his evil disposition passes with flying colors.
Dave: Veteran Disney animators Barry Cook and Tony Bancroft (responsible for animating or supervising many Disney projects) make their directorial debuts. As expected, the animation is flawless and filled with wonderful images found in Chinese culture. The visual display of the Orient allowed the filmmakers to do something fresh, creating rich characters and colorful locales based on the legendary Chinese story. As always for Disney, there is an underlining tone that serves as the moral to the story, and that is girl power. Mulan, who does nothing more than shame her family honor as a clumsy, undisciplined woman, saves her ailing father and disguises herself as a man, ready to fight in battle. But she soon learns the lessons of bravery, honor and love when faced with life's battle.
Jeff: "Mulan" is missing one element: fun. Especially in the songs. Someone needs to tell Disney that its songs, once Academy Award-winning instant classics, have gone the way of New Coke. Enough of the Broadway-inspired songs. We don't have to have all of the story told through the songs. Mulan doesn't have to sing about every obstacle that lies in her path before she leaves home. Just leave!
The songs are, at first, rooted in a Chinese musical style that blends well with the film, then abruptly turns into a rock song, as during the training of the Chinese soldiers. That's a good way to strip your gears, changing musical directions like that. It didn't work. But despite its flaws, "Mulan" still entertains, inspires and entices the imagination into the mystic ancient mythology of China, a feat that only the magic of Disney animation could achieve. "Mulan" is marvelous.
MOVIE BUZZ
"Rambo" returns?:
Could America's favorite anti-hero be coming back to the big screen? Dimension Films, a division of Miramax, has hired a screenwriter for a fourth "Rambo" installment, hoping Sylvester Stallone will reprise his role as the one-man army named John Rambo. Sources close to Stallone, while saying that "no discussions" had yet taken place, left the door open for Stallone to return. This isn't the first time another "Rambo" film has been proposed: An earlier script by Scott Rosenberg, who previously wrote "Con-Air" and "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead," apparently had John Rambo infiltrating a milita group bent on overthrowing the government.
A "League" of their own:
Twentieth Century Fox has acquired the rights to "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen." The project, a "Victorian fantasy-thriller," teams a group of the late 19th century's most infamous characters in an epic adventure. Set in 1898 England, Allan Quartermain ("King Solomon's Mines"), Dr. Henry Jekyll (alter ego of Mr. Edward Hyde), Captain Nemo (creator of the Nautilus), John Griffin ("The Invisible Man") and Mina Harker (survivor of "Dracula" ) are brought together to take on the evil Dr. Fu Manchu. The film is based on a comic book by Alan Moore.
Spielberg and "Ryan" get special treatment?: According to The Hollywood Reporter, Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" is so graphic that it could have easily garnered an NC-17 rating. While the film got an R, its depiction of a D-Day invasion scene was described by the Motion Picture Association of America as "intense, prolonged, realistically graphic sequences of war violence." Reports from early screenings of "Saving Private Ryan" indicate that many were overwhelmed by the level of graphic violence in the film. There are some who felt that any filmmaker other than Spielberg might have been slapped with an NC-17 rating for such on-screen brutality.
VIEWPOINT
Earlier this week, the American Film Institute announced its list of the 100 best American movies of all time. AFI polled more than 1,500 critics, fans, filmmakers and actors to come up with the magic 100.
Not surprisingly, "Citizen Kane" topped the list, with "Casablanca," "The Godfather," "Gone With the Wind" and "Lawrence of Arabia" rounding out the top 5.
Out of the 100, however, there were a few inexplicable entries ("Unforgiven," "Tootsie"), and more than a few glaring omissions ("The Exorcist," Mel Brooks' "The Producers," "Blue Velvet"). Perhaps the worst travesty of all was the CBS special that unveiled the list. Why is that almost every TV special that salutes the movies always seems so cheesy? The AFI special was certainly no exception.
Hosted by Jodie Foster, Sally Field and Richard Gere, the entire show was basically a countdown of the top 100 films, featuring commentary on each one from prominent members of the film industry -- Steven Spielberg, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Martin Scorcese and ... Cher? This is what really ruined the program. What genius decided that Cher, Julia Roberts, Chevy Chase, Halle Berry and Candice Bergen were qualified to talk about classic films? These people may have been in movies, but that doesn't make them film experts. Most of their comments were in the "I really loved it ... it was great" vein.
When Steven Spielberg spoke about "Lawrence of Arabia," you could hear the awe and passion for the film in his voice. When Julia Roberts talked about "Casablanca"... well, you get the idea. Yawn. These celebrities' shallow comments were devoid of any reverence or intimate knowledge of the material. The 100 greatest American films off all time deserved better treatment.
NAME THAT FLICK
"I don't know why he saved my life. Maybe in those last moments, he loved life more than he had ever before Not just his life -- anybody's life. My life." Our winner this week is Chris Nelson, who was the first to call and identify the quote spoken by Harrison Ford in "Blade Runner." When Chris called, he thought someone had already guessed it. Never give up, Chris. You won!
Now, for this week -- Who said this and in what film: "You're a woman who's been getting nothing but dirty breaks. Well, we can clean and tighten your brakes, but you'll have to stay in the garage all night." Does it sound familiar? If you think you know, call The Movie Guys Hotline at 225-9026 or e-mail us at [email protected]. (Close cover before striking.) Be sure to spell your name and leave your daytime phone number, and if you're the first correct caller/e-mailer, we will print your name right here in our column for the entire Las Vegas Valley to read.
See you next week.
THE MOVIE GUYS, starring Jeff Howard and Dave Neil, appears every Friday in the Sun (additional material provided by Thomas Feeney). You can also read their capsule reviews of movies in Scope magazine and watch their reviews every Friday on Channel 3's 11 p.m. newscast. Plus, check them out online at: www.lasvegassun.com/sun/sunlife/movies.
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