Mushu

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Mushu
Mulan character
First appearanceMulan (1998)
Created byRobert D. San Souci
Voiced byEddie Murphy

Mushu is a fictional character in Disney's animated film Mulan (1998). A small Chinese dragon, Mushu was a guardian of Mulan's family before being demoted for failing to protect a family member during battle. He plots to redeem himself by ensuring Mulan's success when she enlists herself in the army in her father's place, against the instructions of her ancestors.

Although Mulan was based on the Chinese legend Hua Mulan, Mushu was created specifically for the film at the suggestion of Roy E. Disney. Inspired by Robin Williams' Genie in Aladdin (1992), the producers hoped to have Mushu voiced by a comedian, and had originally hired Joe Pesci before casting Eddie Murphy.

Development[edit]

Creation and casting[edit]

Mushu is not mentioned in the Chinese legend about Hua Mulan or the Ballad of Hua Mulan, on which the film is based.[1][2] He was created specifically for the animated film.[3] Disney chairman Roy E. Disney suggested the character of Mushu upon learning that dragons in Chinese folklore can be different sizes,[4] ultimately replacing a panda sidekick named "Moo Goo Gai Panda".[5] At one point, Mushu was intended to be two characters: a gryphon and a phoenix.[6] Producer Pam Coats said Mushu was originally featured in the film much more.[7] Inspired by the success of Robin Williams' performance as the Genie in Aladdin (1992),[8][9] the producers hoped to cast a comic actor in the role, and had considered Joe Pesci, Steve Martin, and Sinbad.[10] Pesci was originally cast, with an early version of Mushu being a serpent with two different heads and personalities voiced by Pesci and Richard Dreyfuss, respectively.[11][12]

Eddie Murphy voices Mushu.

The filmmakers had originally envisioned the character having a "New York, tough guy, streetwise kind of" accent reminiscent of Billy Crystal and Danny DeVito, but felt these traits were too similar to supporting characters from Disney's Hercules (1997) and The Lion King (1994).[13] According to director Tony Bancroft, Mushu had always been described as the opposite of Mulan's personality, and felt an African-American character would deliver the perfect contrast to Mulan's more traditionally Chinese character.[13] They started interviewing several African-American performers,[13] with Disney executive Michael Eisner ultimately selecting Eddie Murphy,[14] who had been interested in doing an animated film at the time.[8] Tom Bancroft, Mushu's supervising animator and Tony's twin brother, was unsure about how the character due to the contrast between the serious portrayal of Chinese culture against an urban voice, but ultimately felt the character would bring a dynamic chemistry to the film.[15] Murphy accepted the role partially because he wanted to make some films that his own children would be able to see, having mostly starred in movies intended for adults prior to Mulan.[16] He was also one of the few non-Asian main cast members.[17] He refused to record in a professional recording studio, insisting that Disney allow him to record his part from his home studio in Englewood, New Jersey.[18][19] Disney brought character sketches to his home.[18] Mushu was Murphy's first voice acting role,[9][20] and Tom theorizes that DreamWorks borrowed the idea to eventually cast him as Donkey in the Shrek franchise.[21]

Songwriters Matthew Wilder and David Zippel had had written two songs intended for the character to sing.[22] One of them was entitled "Keep 'Em Guessing", in which Mushu would have taught Mulan how to be convincing as a man.[23] The song was cut because Murphy was not interested in signing in the film,[24] despite several attempts to re-write it to his liking.[22] Tony felt that the songs ruined the pacing of the story.[13] They decided to replace it with humorous dialog inspired by the song's lyrics, which led to having Mushu introduce himself to Mulan in the manner of an African-American preacher because they felt they needed a big introduction in the song's absence.[13] In 2020, Ming-Na Wen confirmed that she had yet to meet Murphy, despite having voiced characters in the same film.[25] Murphy is one of the film's few original cast members who did not reprise his role in the sequel Mulan II (2004).[26]

Design and personality[edit]

Tom Bancroft, Tony's twin brother, was Mushu's supervising animator,[27] while Chris Sanders was one of his character designers.[6] Tom was hired to work on Mushu a year before production began on Mulan, when Disney had yet to cast Mushu or decide the type of character he would be.[21][28] Character designer Harald Siepermann worked drew concept art for Mushu from his studio in Germany for his first few weeks on the film.[29] The animators had considered several animals, including a two-headed serpent, before settling on a dragon.[11] Since the script was constantly being revised, Tom drew generic versions of the character, avoiding poses and facial expressions.[28] At various stages of development, Mushu was changed from two different dragons who become one dragon by the end of the film, to a phoenix, and finally a dragon.[21]

Tom referenced many aspects of Chinese culture when designing the character, including wood block print artworks and sculptures in Chinese temples.[30] Although Disney had drawn several European-style dragons before, Mushu was the studio's first Chinese dragon, and worked to differentiate the character from his predecessors.[21] He discovered that Chinese dragons are very different from European dragons, describing the former as "thin and snake-like while the European dragons were often thick and more like a crocodile".[31] Tom also researched dragon characters from previous Disney films, including Elliott from Pete’s Dragon (1977), Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty (1959), The Hydra from Hercules (1997), as well as The Reluctant Dragon (1941) to see how animators approached a simplified, humorous dragon during the 1940s.[32] The animator said Mushu is arguably most similar to the latter.[32] Tom was also inspired by the cartoonish work of animator Eric Goldberg, who had briefly sketched Aladdin's Genie turning into a dragon.[32] He described the final design of Mushu as a combination of many different animals, possessing "whiskers like a catfish, scales like a fish, cow ears, the hairy lip of a camel, horns like a goat and talons of an eagle".[30] Although the animators had wanted Mushu's tale to be purple, a Disney executive insisted that they make it red like the rest of the character much to the chagrin of Tony.[33] As an act of protest, they secretly colored his tail purple in one scene in the film.[33]

Tom then refined his facial expressions and poses once the character's personality was determined and Murphy was cast.[21][28] Murphy's performance greatly influenced Tom's drawings, claiming he would spend up to a week animating a particular scene while listening to tape recordings of Murphy's recording sessions.[28] He was also inspired by Murphy's work in Trading Places (1983) and Saturday Night Live, specifically his facial expressions, line delivery, and how he uses his hands.[28] He maintains that the character is very similar to Murphy personality-wise, despite their difference in outward appearance.[21] He claims he learned from friends working at DreamWorks that their animators had reviewed animation footage of Mushu when developing Donkey for Shrek, who was also voiced by Murphy.[21]

Reception[edit]

Critical response[edit]

Several reviewers compared Mushu and Murphy's performance to the Gene from Aladdin, voiced by Robin Williams.[34][35][36]

Murphy received positive reviews for his work in Mulan.[37][38] Film critic Richard Corliss found him "very funny".[39] Essence considers Mushu to be one of his most iconic roles,[40] and Entertainment Weekly ranked it the 11th best performance of his career.[35] Variety ranked Murphy's performance as Mushu the 11th best voiceover performance in a Disney film.[41] Mushu is also noted to have begun a family-friendly period of the actor's career,[35] which he followed with appearances in several other family-oriented films.[42] Writing for Paste, Josh Jackson said "It seems like all of Eddie Murphy’s best comedic performances since Coming to America are animated".[43] Tim Grierson of Cracked.com ranked Mushu his second-best performance in a family film, citing it as a precursor and inspiration to his long-running role as Donkey in the Shrek franchise.[44] According to a Metacritic article published in 2023, Mulan was the sixth best-reviewed film of Murphy's career to that point.[45] After Mulan, the actor did not appear in an R-rated film until 2019.[35]

Film critic Todd McCarthy described the character as jarring and off-putting, despite finding his lines amusing at times.[36] Writer Mari Ness found Murphy to be an irritating, unnecessary addition to the film, criticizing his reliance on anachronistic humor and deeming him an obvious but unsuccessful attempt at replicating the success of the Genie.[46] The Animated Movie Guide author Jerry Beck called Mushu "the wrong character in the wrong film", explaining that his jokes clash weaken the film and clash with its otherwise serious subject matter.[47] Anthony Brett of The Daily Telegraph panned Mulan II for undoing Mushu's character development by having him attempt to sabotage Mulan and Shang's wedding.[48] He also criticized Disney for replacing Murphy with white actor Mark Moseley, calling it "voiceover blackface".[48]

Legacy[edit]

Mushu has been called a beloved and fan-favorite character from the Mulan franchise.[3][49][50][51] Several publications consider Mushu to be among the greatest dragons in popular culture, including MTV News,[52] USA Today,[53] Polygon,[54] and Comic Book Resources.[49] In an article for The Guardian, young adult fiction author Julie Kagawa ranked Mushu the sixth best dragon across films and books,[55] while The A.V. Club ranked him the ninth best movie dragon.[56] The character's popularity has led him to appear in various tie-in media, including sequels, video games, and theme parks.[56]

Chinese viewers are reported to have disliked the character.[57] According to University of Southern California professor Stanley Rosen, the character was well-received in the United States, but accused by some Chinese audiences of trivializing their culture.[58][59] When the trailer for the 2020 live-action adaptation of the film was released, several fans complained on social media that Mushu was not featured in the preview.[60][61][59][62] By July 2019, the Twitter hashtag "There’s no Mushu dragon in Mulan" had been viewed over 310 million times.[63] Director Niki Caro confirmed that the character would not appear in the remake, and dispelled theories that the phoenix was an "an updated version of the character".[64] Producer Jason Reed explained that Mushu was omitted because "the dragon is a sign of respect and of strength and power and sort of using it as a silly sidekick did not play well with a traditional Chinese audience".[65] Believed to have been written out of the film due to being "deemed culturally inaccurate and racist",[66] some academics and culture writers defended Disney's decision to remove Mushu, describing it as their attempt "to represent Chinese culture and history in a more authentic manner".[67] Tom also appreciated that removing the character from the remake would allow its team to create their own version of Mulan without the pressure of adapting Mushu, a character he created.[27] However, Jeva Lange of The Week reported that Chinese fans also voiced their disappointment over Mushu's exclusion on the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo.[68] Lange opined that Mushu's absence deprives the remake's version of Mulan of meaningful conversation by removing the supporting character with whom she shared most dialogue on her journey, suggesting that that he could have "been updated along with Mulan to have a more serious part; he could have even been re-imagined as a female dragon, or another sort of character entirely, just so long as Mulan had someone to engage with on her journey".[68]

Disney Rewards described Mushu as "One of the most beloved sidekicks in Disney history".[69] Sketches and concept art of Mushu was featured in Tom's book The Art of Disney's Dragons (2016).[70][71]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Desta, Yohana (December 5, 2019). "Mulan Looks Like a High-Flying Epic that Will Pack Dangerous Levels of Nostalgia". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on May 28, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
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  4. ^ Gray, Tanis (2021). Knitting with Disney: 28 Official Patterns Inspired by Mickey Mouse, The Little Mermaid, and More! (Disney Craft Books, Knitting Books, Books for Disney Fans). United States: Simon & Schuster. p. 103. ISBN 9781647221805 – via Google Books.
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  37. ^ "Eddie Murphy". Biography. September 13, 2022. Retrieved April 29, 2024. He provided the voice of Mushu the Lizard in Disney's animated picture Mulan (1998) to enormous critical praise
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  49. ^ a b Fincher, Annalyssa (October 6, 2022). "10 Best Dragons In Movies". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
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  54. ^ Volk, Pete; Radulovic, Petrana; Robinson, Tasha. "Our favorite dragons from movies and TV". Polygon. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  55. ^ Kagawa, Julie (May 5, 2016). "Top 10 dragons in fiction". The Guardian. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  56. ^ a b White, Cindy (March 28, 2023). "9. Mushu from Mulan". The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  57. ^ Larson, Tara (September 4, 2020). "The Real Story of Hua Mulan Is More Impressive Than Any Disney Version". Esquire. Retrieved April 26, 2024. any Chinese viewers disliked his character
  58. ^ Ford, Rebecca (February 26, 2020). "Inside Disney's Bold $200M Gamble on 'Mulan': "The Stakes Couldn't Be Higher"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  59. ^ a b Francisco, Eric (February 20, 2024). "The cultural reason Disney's Mulan remake got rid of Mushu". Inverse. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  60. ^ Evans, Nick (July 8, 2019). "Disney's First Mulan Trailer Doesn't Have Mushu, And The Internet Is Freaking Out". CinemaBlend. Retrieved April 26, 2024. Reactions to the lack of Mushu and the other changes made to the film ranged from disappointment, to anger, to sadness.
  61. ^ Evans, Mel (January 15, 2020). "Disney fans still livid Mushu is nowhere to be seen as stunt-heavy sneak peek of Mulan is released". Metro. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  62. ^ Vaughan, Claudia (July 19, 2019). "In Defense of a Mushu-less Mulan: It's Time to Take Asian Leads Seriously [OP-ED]". ColorLines. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  63. ^ Davis, Rebecca (July 11, 2019). "China Loves New 'Mulan' Trailer, Except Its Historical Inaccuracies". Variety. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  64. ^ Mustafa, Filiz (January 14, 2020). "Mulan director reveals whether Disney remake features Mushu". Digital Spy. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
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  66. ^ Tomicic, Imogene (September 3, 2020). "The duties of 'Mulan' (2020): Addressing 'Mulan' (1998) criticism". The Stanford Daily. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  67. ^ Ng Yong He, Gregory (September 2, 2020). "What Can We Expect From a Mulan Without Mushu?". Vulture. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  68. ^ a b Lange, Jeva (September 4, 2020). "The real reason Mulan needed Mushu". The Week. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
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  70. ^ "The Art of Disney's Dragons". BiblioCommons. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  71. ^ Bancroft, Tom (2016). The Art of Disney's Dragons. United States: Disney Editions. ISBN 9781484747162.
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