Mulan (1998 film)

Mulan
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Screenplay by
Story byRobert D. San Souci
Based onBallad of Mulan
by Guo Maoqian
Produced byPam Coats
Starring
Edited byMichael Kelly
Music byJerry Goldsmith
Production
companies
Distributed byBuena Vista Pictures Distribution
Release dates
  • June 5, 1998 (1998-06-05) (Hollywood Bowl)
  • June 19, 1998 (1998-06-19) (United States)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$90 million[1]
Box office$304.3 million[2]

Mulan is a 1998 American animated musical coming-of-age[3] action-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation for Walt Disney Pictures. Based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, the film was directed by Barry Cook and Tony Bancroft (in their feature directorial debuts) and produced by Pam Coats, from a screenplay by Rita Hsiao, Chris Sanders, Philip LaZebnik, and the writing team of Raymond Singer and Eugenia Bostwick-Singer, and a story by Robert D. San Souci. Ming-Na Wen, Eddie Murphy, Miguel Ferrer, and BD Wong star in the English version as Mulan, Mushu, Shan Yu, and Captain Li Shang, respectively, while Jackie Chan provided the voice of Li Shang for the Chinese dubs of the film. The film's plot takes place in China during an unspecified Imperial dynasty, where Fa Mulan, daughter of aged warrior Fa Zhou, impersonates a man to take her father's place during a general conscription to counter a Hun invasion.

Mulan was the first of three features produced primarily at the Disney animation studio at Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney's Hollywood Studios) in Bay Lake, Florida. Development for the film began in 1994, when a number of artistic supervisors were sent to China to receive artistic and cultural inspiration.

Mulan premiered at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on June 5, 1998, and was released in the United States on June 19. The film was well received by critics and the public, who praised the animation, plot, characters (particularly the title character), and musical score. It grossed over $304 million worldwide against a production budget of $90 million. It earned a Golden Globe and Academy Award nomination and won several Annie Awards, including Best Animated Feature. It was then followed by a direct-to-video sequel, Mulan II in 2004. A live-action remake directed by Niki Caro was released on September 4, 2020.[4]

  1. ^ "Mulan". The-Numbers. Nash Information Services. Archived from the original on June 27, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  2. ^ "Mulan (1998)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  3. ^ Lyons, Jessica (February 4, 2023). "'Turning Red' & 9 Other Great Disney Coming-of-Age Movies". Collider. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  4. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 4, 2020). "'Mulan' Going On Disney+ & Theaters in September; CEO Bob Chepak Says Decision Is A "One-Off", Not New Windows Model". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2020.