History TearJerker / Mulan

** The worst part is, she's ''right''! He IS too old to fight, and would likely not only get himself killed in short order, but likely a comrade or two as well if they had to try and protect him. And that's if he managed to get through training at all.

* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A_Rl8aQxII Reflection]]". That horrible, horrible sense of being a disappointment, of feeling false and wrong and ill-fitted to what roles your family desperately needs you to fill? Uh, yeah, it hasn't gotten less familiar over time. Made even worse by this line in the movie: "If I were truly to be myself, I would break my family's heart". For many people, they feel they wouldn't have much problem with society knowing their secrets; it's allowing their family to see them for who they truly are that terrifies them. The fact that your family are the people who you should feel most comfortable with just makes this line heartbreaking.

** What makes this especially bad is that it drives home a fundamental problem - Mulan is ''weaker'' than her male counterparts. Not in spirit or drive or anything, but physically her raw strength and stamina just doesnt measure up to the male soldiers. It's only by embracing her own strengths that she can get around this.

-->'''Matchmaker''': You are a '''DISGRACE'''! ''(Smashes teapot)'' You may look like a bride, but you will ''NEVER'' bring your family honor!

* The [[spoiler:destroyed village]] scene. Everybody's dead, the houses are in ruins, [[spoiler: they find the remains of Shang's father's army, lying dead in the snow]]. Even [[ObstructiveBureaucrat Chi Fu]] has the sense to act appropriately horrified.

** This falls into NightmareFuel as well. [[spoiler: Shang's father]] doesn't get much screen time, but [[spoiler: he's]] implied to be a [[spoiler: badass ReasonableAuthorityFigure who's also the Chinese equivalent of a FourStarBadass.]] And, judging from the way things look, [[spoiler: Shan-Yu ripped through his army like he was '''NOTHING.''']]
** Also, when Mulan takes the little girl's doll, places it next to Shang's father's sword, and says a prayer. The inclusion of the doll just screams, "There were little kids in this village!"
** And all of this for what? [[spoiler: So Shan-Yu could show his "power" and prove that the Great Wall couldn't protect China (which it was never supposed to do, it's true purpose were the warning beacons) and that the Emperor should just let the huns ravage the countryside with impunity rather than attract their full rage]]
* The look on Shang's face when [[spoiler:he finds out his father was killed in battle and not only him the leader, it was that ''every single soldier and innocent civilian'' in that village had been killed along with him. You realize that all of those dead men lying down there were someone's husband, someone's brother, someone's father/son/cousin/uncle/nephew, and now they're never going home, which was why Mulan stole her father's war things and took his place to begin with, so she didn't lose him like that. Mulan finding the abandoned doll amongst the burned wreckage -- it only drives the point home even harder: Shan-Yu and the Huns are merciless, bloodthirsty, and evil, and must be stopped.]]

* When Mulan is [[spoiler:revealed as a woman]] and Shang has to make the decision to [[spoiler:kill her]], or let one of his best friends, [[spoiler:who also saved his life]], go free. Made worse when Mulan tells him she did it to save her father's life; [[spoiler:Shang just lost his own father to the war and knows exactly how she feels.]]

* The scene following [[spoiler: Mulan's reveal. After her monologue about reflections, Mushu tries to shine her helmet in an attempt to cheer her up. He then looks into his own reflection... and admits to her that he too is a fraud. A brilliant use of the movie's ArcSymbol to highlight the similarities between Mushu and Mulan.]]

* The final scene when [[spoiler: Mulan returns to her father]]. She gives him two of China's greatest treasures as an apology for disobeying him. His response? [[spoiler: Cast them aside like trash and hold his daughter as tightly as he can, [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments because he is a dad, and she is all he wants]].]]
--> [[spoiler: '''Fa Zhou:''' The greatest gift and honor... is having you for a daughter.]]
* In ''Mulan II'', there's [[spoiler:Shang's HeroicSacrifice and Mulan subsequently breaking down afterwards.]]
** Following this, [[spoiler:Mulan offering herself to marry the eldest prince of Qi-Gong in place of the princesses. During the marriage, [[DisneyDeath Shang reveals himself to be alive]], and Mushu, disguising himself as the "Golden Dragon of Unity" marries Mulan and Shang right then and there.]]

* The final scene when [[spoiler: Mulan returns to her father]]. She gives him two of China's greatest treasures as an apology for disobeying him. His response? [[spoiler: Cast them aside like trash and hold his daughter as tightly as he can, [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming because he is a dad, and she is all he wants]].]]

* The very real, if concealed, anguish in Fa Zhou's voice when he responds to Mulan begs for him to be spared the conscription order. Though she's doing it from a place of love, she IS basically saying to all the world "My war hero of a father is too old and decrepit to fight." To an honourable and proud man, that must sting.

** The lines, ''I will never pass for a perfect bride, or a perfect daughter''... ''Who is that girl I see, staring straight back at me?/Why is my reflection someone I don't know?''

* Later that year on July 26, June Foray (Grandma Fa) also passed on.

* The look on Shang's face when [[spoiler:he finds out his father was killed in battle and not only him the leader, it was that ''every single soldier and innocent civilian'' in that village had been killed along with him. You realize that all of those dead men lying down there were someone's husband, someone's brother, someone's father/son/cousin/uncle/nephew, and now they're never going home, which was why Mulan stole her father's war things and took his place to begin with, so she didn't lose him like that. Mulan finding the abandoned doll amongst the burned wreckage is one of the most cruel implied aversions of InfantImmortality ever shown -- it only drives the point home even harder: Shan-Yu and the Huns are merciless, bloodthirsty, and evil, and must be stopped.]]

* The dinner scene early in the movie. When Mulan is trying to tell her father he'll be killed if he goes to war, and he, frustrated, shouts at her to learn her place, causing her to run outside and cry privately. What makes this even sadder is that, normally, Fa Zhou seems [[GoodParents really kind and caring]] towards his daughter, so it was very jarring to see him shout at her. Also, when you [[FridgeHorror think about it]], that was the last thing he said to Mulan before she ran away, so on top of worrying whether she'd die, there's also [[PartingWordsRegret quite a lot of guilt.]]
** Whether you think he's being a good parent at this point is a bit YMMV. Mulan just embarrassed a war hero in front of someone who reports ''directly to the Emperor''. Sometimes tough love is the way to go, especially if the family's honor or very lives are at stake.
* Mulan watching her father practice with his sword. [[HopeSpot For a few seconds]], he looks like a total badass, until he collapses to the floor as his elderly body betrays him. Right then and there, both Mulan and the audience know that honor is going to send this brave and decent man to certain death...
* The final scene when [[spoiler: Mulan returns to her father]]. She gives him two of China's greatest treasures as an apology for disobeying him. His response? [[spoiler: Cast them aside like trash and hold his daughter as tightly as he can, [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming because he is a dad, and she is all he wants]].]]
--> [[spoiler: '''Fa Zhou:''' The greatest gift and honor... is having you for a daughter.]]
* In the very beginning of the movie, just after the disaster with the matchmaker, Mulan returns home. Her father comes out to greet her, and she is so ashamed of her failures she hides her face behind Khan so he can't look at her.

* The [[spoiler:destroyed village]] scene. Everybody's dead, the houses are in ruins, [[spoiler: they find the remains of Shang's father's army, lying dead in the snow]]. Even [[ObstructiveBureaucrat Chi Fu]] has the sense to act appropriately horrified.
** This falls into NightmareFuel as well. [[spoiler: Shang's father]] doesn't get much screen time, but [[spoiler: he's]] implied to be a [[spoiler: badass ReasonableAuthorityFigure who's also the Chinese equivalent of a FourStarBadass.]] And, judging from the way things look, [[spoiler: Shan-Yu ripped through his army like he was '''NOTHING.''']]
** Also, when Mulan takes the little girl's doll, places it next to Shang's father's sword, and says a prayer. The inclusion of the doll just screams, "There were little kids in this village!"
* The look on Shang's face when [[spoiler:he finds out his father was killed in battle and not only him the leader, it was that ''every single soldier and innocent civilian'' in that village had been killed along with him. You realize that all of those dead men lying down there were someone's husband, someone's brother, someone's father/son/cousin/uncle/nephew, and now they're never going home, which was why Mulan stole her father's war things and took his place to begin with, so she didn't lose him like that. Mulan finding the abandoned doll amongst the burned wreckage is one of the most cruel implied aversions of InfantImmortality ever shown -- it only drives the point home even harder: Shan-Yu and the Huns are merciless, bloodthirsty, and evil, and must be stopped.]]
** Not only has Shang just stumbled upon the remains of his father, his father's battalion, and the village they were meant to be guarding, but he's there because of Mushu's fake letter. Unless Mushu told him the truth offscreen after ''Mulan II'', he believes that his father sent to him for help and he's arrived too late.
* When Mulan's family wakes to find that Mulan has run away, her father dashes out into the rain and slips in the mud, looking up to see her dropped decorative comb lying forlornly on the ground and, a little further away, the open gate -- which confirms his fear of what his daughter has done. Mulan's mother runs to him, saying they should go after her or else she could be killed. The father's reply: "If I reveal her... she will be." Their look of [[AdultFear parental despair]] is heart-rending.

* Later that year on July 26, June Foray (Grandma Fa) also passed on.

** This falls into NightmareFuel as well. [[spoiler: Shang's father]] doesn't get much screen time, but [[spoiler: he's]] implied to be a [[spoiler: badass ReasonableAuthorityFigure who's also the Chinese equivalent of a FourStarBadass.]] And, judging from the way things look, [[spoiler: Shan Yu ripped through his army like he was '''NOTHING.''']]

* The look on Shang's face when [[spoiler:he finds out his father was killed in battle and not only him the leader, it was that ''every single soldier and innocent civilian'' in that village had been killed along with him. You realize that all of those dead men lying down there were someone's husband, someone's brother, someone's father/son/cousin/uncle/nephew, and now they're never going home, which was why Mulan stole her father's war things and took his place to begin with, so she didn't lose him like that. Mulan finding the abandoned doll amongst the burned wreckage is one of the most cruel implied aversions of InfantImmortality ever shown -- it only drives the point home even harder: Shan Yu and the Huns are merciless, bloodthirsty, and evil, and must be stopped.]]
** Not only has Shang just stumbled upon the remains of his father, his father's battalion and the village they were meant to be guarding, but he's there because of Mushu's fake letter. Unless Mushu told him the truth offscreen after ''Mulan II'', he believes that his father sent to him for help and he's arrived too late.
* When Mulan's family wakes to find that Mulan has run away, her father dashes out into the rain and slips in the mud, looking up to see her dropped decorative comb lying forlornly on the ground and, a little further away, the open gate - which confirms his fear of what his daughter has done. Mulan's mother runs to him, saying they should go after her or else she could be killed. The father's reply: "If I reveal her... she will be." Their look of [[AdultFear parental despair]] is heart-rending.

* When Mulan is [[spoiler:revealed as a woman]] and Shang has to make the decision to [[spoiler:kill her]], or let one of his best friends, [[spoiler:who also saved his life]], go free. Made worse when Mulan tells him she did it to save her father's life;[[spoiler:Shang just lost his own father to the war and knows exactly how she feels.]]

The death of Creator/MiguelFerrer, the voice actor of Shan-Yu, on January 19, 2017.
Later that year on July 26, June Foray (Grandma Fa) also passed on.

The death of Creator/MiguelFerrer, the voice actor of Shan-Yu, on January 19, 2017.

** Not only has Shang just stumbled upon the remains of his father, his father's battalion and the village they were meant to be guarding, but he's there because of Mushu's fake letter. He believes that his father sent to him for help and he's arrived too late.

!! The Film

The death of Creator/MiguelFerrer, the death of Shan-Yu on January 19, 2017.

!! The Film

** Following this, [[spoiler:Mulan offering herself to marry the eldest prince of Qi-Gong in place of the princesses. During the marriage, [[DisneyDeath Shang reveals himself to be alive]], and Mushu, disguising himself as the "Golden Dragon of Unity" marries Mulan and Shang right then and there.]]

** This falls into NightmareFuel as well. [[spoiler: Shang's father]] doesn't get much screen time, but [[spoiler: he's]] implied to be a [[spoiler: {{Badass}} ReasonableAuthorityFigure who's also the Chinese equivalent of a FourStarBadass.]] And, judging from the way things look, [[spoiler: Shan Yu ripped through his army like he was '''NOTHING.''']]

* The Matchmaker [[TheReasonYouSuchSpeech publicly chewing out Mulan]] after their disastrous engagement courtesy of Cri-Kee getting loose during their meeting.

* In the very beginning of the movie, just after the disaster with the matchmaker, Mulan returns home. Her father comes out to greet her, and she is so ashamed of her failures she hides her face behind a horse so he can't look at her.