Based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, Disney's 1998 animated film Mulan takes place during the Chinese Han dynasty and follows the titular Fa Mulan as she impersonates a man in order to take the place of her ailing father and fight against the Hun invasion. The screenplay was a collaborative effort, written by Rita Hsiao, Philip LaZebnik, Chris Sanders, Eugenia Bostwick-Singer, and Raymond Singer, and the film features original music by Matthew Wilder and David Zippel. The characters were voiced by Ming-Na Wen, Eddie Murphy, BD Wong, Miguel Ferrer, James Hong, Harvey Fierstein, and George Takei.
Mulan was both a critical and financial success upon release. It was nominated for one Academy Award: Best Score. At the Golden Globes, it was nominated for Best Original Score and Best Original Song, "Reflection." Critics also loved the film. Roger Ebert wrote of the film, "Mulan charts a new direction for Disney's animation studio, combining the traditional elements (brave heroine, cute animal sidekicks) with material that seems more adventuresome and grown-up. Like Fox's Anastasia, this is a film that adults can enjoy on their own, without feeling an obligation to take along kids as a cover." Financially, it was also massively successful. On a budget of $90 million, it made $304.3 million at the box office.
Mulan has proven to be a culturally important film and is still exceptionally popular to this day. A live-action adaption of the film, directed by Niki Caro and starring Liu Yifei as Mulan and Donnie Yen as Commander Tung, is scheduled to be released in 2020.
