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| 6 | %% Putting a trope into a secondary bullet of another trope is against the Examples Indentation rules. Leave Badass tropes at first level, please. |
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| 9 | -->Click [[Characters/Mulan2020 here]] to see the 2020 film's character page. |
| 10 | ---- |
| 11 | The characters of Creator/{{Disney}}'s animated ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'' films. |
| 12 | ---- |
| 13 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 14 | |
| 15 | !!Title Character |
| 16 | |
| 17 | [[folder:Fa Mulan]] |
| 18 | !!Fa Mulan / "Fa Ping" |
| 19 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_mulan-disneyscreencapscom-9215_7384.jpg]] |
| 20 | [[caption-width-right:350:''"It's going to take a miracle to get me into the Army..."'']] |
| 21 | [[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Click here to see Mulan at the beginning]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1180w_600h_061918_mulans_20th_ming_na_wen_interview_780x440.jpg]][[/labelnote]] |
| 22 | [[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Click here to see Mulan as "Ping"]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/all_princess_outfits_ranked_mulan_full_armor_1.jpg]][[/labelnote]] |
| 23 | |
| 24 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/MingNaWen (speaking), Creator/LeaSalonga (singing)\ |
| 25 | '''Voiced in Latin American Spanish by:''' Maggie Vera (speaking) and Analy (singing)\ |
| 26 | '''Voiced in European French by:''' Valérie Karsenti (speaking) and Marie Galey (singing)\ |
| 27 | '''Voiced in Brazilian Portuguese by:''' Kacau Gomes\ |
| 28 | '''Voiced in Italian by:''' Creator/LauraLenghi (speaking)\ |
| 29 | '''Voiced in Hebrew by:''' Rinat Gabay\ |
| 30 | '''Voiced in Mandarin Chinese by''': Xu Qing, Ye Bei (singing)\ |
| 31 | '''Voiced in Taiwanese Mandarin by''': Coco Lee\ |
| 32 | '''Voiced in Cantonese by''': Kelly Chen\ |
| 33 | |
| 34 | '''Appearances:''' ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'' | ''WesternAnimation/MulanII'' | ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst''[[note]]as a magical summon[[/note]]\ |
| 35 | '''Appearances in alternate continuities:''' ''Franchise/KingdomHearts''[[note]]''Mulan'' retelling in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII''[[/note]] | ''WesternAnimation/HouseOfMouse'' | ''VideoGame/DisneyInfinity'' | ''WesternAnimation/RalphBreaksTheInternet'' |
| 36 | |
| 37 | A flighty young woman who is the daughter of a retired soldier, and the black sheep of her ancestors. When her father is enlisted for an oncoming war, she secretly takes his place in the field of battle under the command of young captain Li Shang as they train in preparations against the Huns and warlord Shan Yu. |
| 38 | |
| 39 | She's also a member of the Franchise/DisneyPrincess line. |
| 40 | ---- |
| 41 | * ActionGirl: One of the most battle-oriented characters in Disney, having saved China. She’s also one of the few female leads to have killed the villain herself and has the highest canonical on-screen kill count of ''any'' Disney character. She finishes off an army of fifty thousand Hun nomads with the help of a cannon and a mountain full of snow. |
| 42 | * AdaptationalAngstUpgrade: In contrast to the original ballad, where she accomplishes everything effortlessly in the army to the point of being able to return home without ever having been caught, she has obvious insecurities about not fitting into her designated role in society and living up to her family's expectations that she must learn to grow out of to become a hero. |
| 43 | * AdaptationalBadass: Zig-zagged. Disney's Mulan doesn't start off with the many skills and abilities as her ballad counterpart, making it a case of AdaptationalWimp. However, she later ''does'' gain these skills in a relatively short time. |
| 44 | * AdaptationalWimp: In the original ballad, Mulan is already skilled in archery, swordsmanship, spearmanship, bojutsu, martial arts, and various other forms of hand-to-hand combat, all of which she learned from her father. In this adaptation, while quite clever, Mulan was never taught any of those skills in the beginning. Which arguably also leads to AdaptationalBadass as she ''does'' acquire quite the combat skills in a fairly short amount of time. |
| 45 | * AdaptationNameChange: The original ballad was written at a time when women were only referred to by their surname, meaning "Mulan" was actually her surname. Her surname was later changed to "Hua" in the play "The Heroine Mulan Goes to War in Her Father's Place" with "Mulan" becoming her given name. Disney uses the spelling for the Cantonese pronunciation, "Fa". Likewise, "Mulan" is typically treated as a unisex name and the earliest case of her using an alias had her use her father's name "Hu", while here she takes the alias of "Ping". |
| 46 | * AgeLift: According to the DVD commentary, Mulan is sixteen. The first case of her age being given was in "The Complete Account of Extraordinary Mulan", which gave her age when she went to war in her father's place as fourteen. |
| 47 | * AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Mulan is initially hated by the entire Chinese Army before gaining their respect. |
| 48 | * AnimeChineseGirl: Averted on the ''anime'' part because this story takes place entirely in China before the Manchurian stuff (i.e. cheongsams). However, she does learn martial arts in the army. |
| 49 | * AttractiveBentGender: During the marching scene of "A Girl Worth Fighting For", "Ping" notices several women tending rice fields eyeing her flirtatiously and hides her face in embarrassment. |
| 50 | * AwesomeMomentOfCrowning: When the Emperor gifts her with his dragon pendant and Shan Yu's sword. |
| 51 | * TheBabyOfTheBunch: Justified in her family, as Mulan lives in a MultigenerationalHousehold, where she lives with her elderly parents and paternal grandmother. |
| 52 | * BadassAdorable: Saves China through her martial prowess, as well as topping her platoon in fitness, agility, and skill. She also does all her badass feats while retaining her feminine side and dorky, adorable qualities. |
| 53 | * BattleCouple: Becomes this with Shang in the sequel. They guard the princesses, fight off their kidnappers, and plan their wedding. |
| 54 | * BeautyEqualsGoodness: One of most beautiful characters of the film, and probably the one with the biggest heart. |
| 55 | * BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Even when she's disguising herself as a man or in battle, she still looks great. |
| 56 | * BewareTheNiceOnes: Such a friendly and family-loyal girl, and this is why she joins the army. Plus, by the end of the first film, she manages to become the only Disney princess [[spoiler: to have a body count in the ''thousands''.]] |
| 57 | * BewareTheQuietOnes: The least talkative of her comrades but is possibly the most deadly. |
| 58 | * {{Bifauxnen}}: The other soldiers comment what a handsome young boy she makes, and much to Mulan's embarrassment she receives some flirtatious looks from women. |
| 59 | * BigOlEyebrows: Mulan has smooth but thick eyebrows, which she most likely inherited from her father. |
| 60 | * BirdsOfAFeather: Opposing personalities notwithstanding, Mulan and Shang bond over their struggle to be good soldiers (shown when Mulan comforts Shang after Chi Fu antagonizes him for being a poor captain) and their desire to help their fathers. They also happen to be [[FriendToAllChildren good with children]]. |
| 61 | * BrilliantButLazy: Mulan at the start of the movie is quite intelligent, but it's shown that she tries to cheat on her matchmaker test and gets her dog Little Brother to help with her chores while she's running late. Training in the army takes away the laziness, and forces her to use her creativity in combat. |
| 62 | * BroodingBoyGentleGirl: Zigzagged with Shang. Both have their own set of insecurities and doubts but comfort each other at those moments. |
| 63 | * ButtMonkey: Until she TookALevelInBadass, she is the butt of jokes and embarrassment. She's humiliated in front of her family, bullied by the other soldiers (especially Ling and Yao, who later become two of her closest friends), and suffers ''a lot'' of slapstick and AmusingInjuries. |
| 64 | * CharacterDevelopment: |
| 65 | ** Becomes more assertive and confident as the movie progresses. |
| 66 | ** A subtle example, but Mulan's time in boot camp forces her to reconstruct her LaboriousLaziness tendencies into clever ways to get the job done that don't rely on strength. |
| 67 | ** When Mulan first leaves to join the army, all she wants is to protect her family. [[spoiler:Seeing the ruins of the Tung Shao Village and the Imperial army, combined with realizing that Shang just went through the exact thing Mulan was trying to prevent for herself, turns her into a more selfless person who wants to protect all of China.]] |
| 68 | * CharacterTic: Plays with her hair after her early-movie humiliation, something her voice actress, Ming-Na, usually did. |
| 69 | * ChildSoldiers: She's sixteen. Some of her fellow recruits don't look much older. |
| 70 | * ClassicalAntiHero: Mulan begins the film insecure and awkward about where she fits in the world. She later [[CharacterDevelopment grows]] more confident. |
| 71 | * CombatPragmatist: Mulan's ability to improvise is what sets her apart from the rest of the soldiers. This gets some {{Foreshadowing}} early on when we see her using shortcuts for chores and her matchmaking session. Her "work smarter, not harder" attitude is not nearly as appreciated in women's domestic life as it is in the army. |
| 72 | * CoolHelmet: Which she stole from her father's armor. Shang journeys all the way from the Imperial City to bring it back. Although there may have been ulterior motives in there... |
| 73 | * CoolSword: |
| 74 | ** Her father's has a dragon face on the hilt. [[spoiler:Interestingly enough, she never wields it against another person. Instead, she resorts to {{improvised weapon}}s or those she can swipe from her enemies.]] |
| 75 | ** The Emperor gifts her with the fallen Shan Yu's sword. It's a long and curved weapon with a black hilt. |
| 76 | * CovertPervert: She's a sweet girl but couldn't help gawking at Shang's ShirtlessScene which revealed his HeroicBuild. |
| 77 | * CuteClumsyGirl: Early on, when she drops her father's teapot in her opening scene and later spills a cup of tea on the matchmaker, with [[DisasterDominoes predictable consequences]]. Her military training makes her vastly more coordinated. She seems to be aware of her clumsiness, judging from the fact that she bothered taking a spare cup with her before bringing the teapot to her father. |
| 78 | * DaddysGirl: She initially joins the army because she loves her father and believes that he will die if he returns to the battlefield. |
| 79 | * DeliberateValuesDissonance: In the matchmaker sequence, she unquestioningly accepts that someone else will be making the decision of whom she marries; she's distressed only that she doesn't know how to play the part very well and ultimately bungles the interview. Subverted in the sequel, where Mulan objects to the impending arranged marriages of the princesses. |
| 80 | * DudeWheresMyRespect: Zigzagged. Mulan has to prove herself numerous times to some of the characters before they'll respect her, such as Li Shang. Chi Fu, however, remains an UngratefulBastard towards her the entire time, even after she's saved his life repeatedly. |
| 81 | * EarnYourHappyEnding: She goes through a hell of a lot in the army, surviving a brutal boot camp, an injury, and coming face to face with Huns, all to look into the mirror and "see someone worthwhile". [[spoiler:Her dad says that someone had been there all along.]] |
| 82 | * ElementalMotifs: Fire is a recurring theme with Mulan -- she accidentally sets the Matchmaker on fire, killed most of the Hun army with a dragon-themed rocket, and uses fireworks as a way to kill Shan Yu. Her {{mythical motif|s}} is a dragon, a creature best known for its fire-breathing in Western folklore. |
| 83 | * EstablishingCharacterMoment: Mulan shows she is resourceful and clever by making a way for her dog to feed the chickens so she has time to get changed. Also, she is shown resorting to cheating and shows a lack of grace, even before meeting the matchmaker, suggesting that a quiet married life will not properly fulfill her destiny. |
| 84 | * ExactlyWhatIAimedAt: Mushu initially assumes Mulan was trying to hit Shan-Yu with the rocket at a closer range (practically point blank), and is briefly exasperated when she misses. Shan-Yu seemed to assume the same thing and that he managed to dodge the rocket, though Mulan’s confident grin quickly clues him in, and he turns around long enough to watch an avalanche beginning to form on the slopes of a nearby mountain, which was actually what Mulan was aiming at. |
| 85 | * ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Mulan starts off with feminine long hair, where she feels awkward and unsure of herself. She later [[ImportantHaircut cuts]] her hair to disguise herself as a male soldier. Later, she adopts a bobcut, which symbolizes her maturity and a more confident version of herself. |
| 86 | * EnlightenedSelfInterest: Her joining the army is ultimately revealed to be this, as she hoped to prove her worth there where she failed with the Matchmaker's trial. |
| 87 | -->'''Mulan:''' Maybe I didn't go for my father. Maybe what I really wanted was to prove I could do things right. |
| 88 | * ExtremelyProtectiveChild: Mulan's initial and primary reason for joining the army was to protect her father. |
| 89 | * FemininityFailure: She screws up the traditionally feminine "matchmaker" process. To be fair, the cricket shares partial responsibility and she was way too nervous from before; she would've probably done better had she managed to calm down. |
| 90 | * FireForgedFriends: With Yao, Ling, and Chien Po (though Chien Po less so, considering he didn't start out vitriolic). The first two are obviously on bad terms since their earlier misunderstanding and both sabotage and play pranks on "Ping" during the training montage. However, they eventually start to respect "him" (demonstrated with Yao gladly handing "Ping" "his" Bo Staff at the end of the montage, as opposed to tripping "him" like in the beginning) and offer to "start over" and be friends. |
| 91 | * FlowersOfFemininity: The comb in her hair has a flower decoration, which of course she has to ditch when playing SweetPollyOliver. |
| 92 | * FlowerMotif: Her name means "wood orchid" or "magnolia", which is used by [[GoodParents multiple]] [[CoolOldGuy characters]] and deliberately invoked with the flower in her hair. When she fails her matchmaker exam, her father draws a comparison between her and a flower in the garden. |
| 93 | -->'''Fa Zhou''': My, my. What beautiful blossoms we have this year. But, look, this one's late. But I'll bet that when it blooms, it will be the most beautiful of all. |
| 94 | * FolkHero: For China in RealLife. There's a ballad called "Ode to Mulan" and a large number of regions say "Mulan was born here". This is due to her demonstrating a model of filial piety, a traditionally valued virtue in Chinese culture. |
| 95 | * FragileSpeedster: Stands no chance against Shan Yu in a straight fight, but manages to win through a combination of speed and guile. |
| 96 | * FriendToAllChildren: Proven during "Lesson Number One" in the sequel, and her defense of the little girl the other boys were picking on. |
| 97 | * FriendToAllLivingThings: Has no less than three animal companions in the first film ([[PreciousPuppy Little Brother]], [[CoolHorse Khan]], and [[FourLeggedInsect Cri-Kee]]). Mushu may arguably count, although he's much more anthropomorphic than any of the aforementioned and is a mythical creature rather than a real-world animal. |
| 98 | * FromZeroToHero: Mulan comes from a respectable family, but she struggles to fit in and conform to traditional gender roles; the local matchmaker even publicly declares she'll "never bring [her] family honor" because no man would want to marry her. After disguising herself as a man to join the army, Mulan works hard to become a good soldier and ends up saving China from the invading Huns, with the Emperor himself [[KneelBeforeFrodo bowing to her out of respect]], along with everyone else. |
| 99 | * GenderConcealingVoice: Mulan makes her voice lower when speaking to the other soldiers to keep them from realizing she's a woman. |
| 100 | * GenerationXerox: Like her father, she enters into the Chinese Army and becomes a LivingLegend. |
| 101 | * GirlyBruiser: Despite disguising as a man for most of her movie, Mulan doesn't come anywhere close to renouncing her femininity, wearing dresses in her downtime and being ecstatic about getting married. |
| 102 | * GreenAndMean: Inverted. Her main color scheme in her soldier outfit is green but she's TheHero. |
| 103 | * GuileHeroine: While she achieves a degree of martial skill, her greatest achievements are by her wits. For example, using the cannon to [[spoiler:trigger an avalanche and wipe out the entire army instead of Shan Yu]]. |
| 104 | * HandicappedBadass: Shan Yu slashed her in the stomach during the mountain scene, severely injuring her. She was able to shake it off temporarily in order to save herself, Shang, Mushu, Khan, and Cri-Kee from the avalanche. However, given the [[AgonizingStomachWound severity]] of the wound, she faints from the pain and requires medical help. |
| 105 | * HeartbrokenBadass: First in the sense of just how much she's let her family down [[spoiler:when her SweetPollyOliver disguise fails]], and then in the sequel after [[spoiler:Shang's HeroicSacrifice leaves her thinking he's dead. [[DisneyDeath For awhile.]]]] |
| 106 | * HeroesLoveDogs: She has a puppy named Little Brother for a pet. |
| 107 | * HeroesPreferSwords: Downplayed. Mulan does use her father's sword, and later Shan Yu's sword, but only a couple times for a specific plan. |
| 108 | * HeroicAmbidexterity: Mulan is left handed but is seen using the sword in her right hand, so she may be ambidextrous. |
| 109 | * HumbleHeroine: When she's offered the honorable position of a member of the emperor's council, Mulan declines and says that she just wants to go home. |
| 110 | * IDidWhatIHadToDo: "I did it to save my father! It was the only way!" |
| 111 | * IdiotBall: A minor one, but the matchmaker probably wouldn't have been set on fire if Mulan hadn't ''fanned her butt while it was still smoldering from landing on hot coals''. |
| 112 | * IJustWantToBeSpecial: As she admits to Mushu: "Maybe I didn't go for my father. Maybe what I really wanted was to prove that I could do things right. So that when I looked in the mirror I'd see someone worthwhile." |
| 113 | * ImportantHaircut: Cuts off half of her hair to tie into a topknot to disguise herself as a soldier. |
| 114 | * ImprovisedWeapon: She manages to disarm the BigBad and steal his sword using a ''fan''. A flipping fan! |
| 115 | * InNameOnly: The only Franchise/DisneyPrincess to not actually be a princess, be it born of royalty or marrying into one. |
| 116 | * JeanneDArchetype: She has a lot of the elements, being devoted to her country and posing as a man to join the army, despite being based on a ''Chinese'' legend a thousand years older. |
| 117 | * KickingAssInAllHerFinery: In the climactic battle, she ditches the armor in favor of more traditionally feminine Chinese attire due to disguising herself as a concubine, and ''then'' defeats Shan Yu and saves China. Bonus points for using her attire in the fight. Fan defeats sword! |
| 118 | * KidHero: She's sixteen and she wipes out almost all of Shan Yu's army and later kills Shan Yu himself, saving all of China. |
| 119 | * LaboriousLaziness: Her EstablishingCharacterMoment is her writing cheat notes on her arm for the matchmaker exam, which makes her late for said exam, especially since she has to do her chores before leaving. To help with the chores, she recruits her dog Little Brother to feed the chickens while she gets her father's herbal tea; Little Brother means well but also leads chickens into the family's prayer temple. As her mother points out later, she could have just ''arrived on time'' when she complains the tub water is freezing. |
| 120 | * MadeOfIron: She survived getting slashed in the abdomen by Shan Yu. You know, the guy who was later shown cleaving wooden pillars in half with that same sword ? In fact, she didn't just "survive" that sword strike. She got back on her feet and running in a matter of ''seconds'', and was in peak physical condition during the movie's climax a few hours later. Then again, one could argue that, since she was crouching on the ground while Shan Yu was on horseback when he slashed at her, he only hit her with the tip of his sword and she was wearing armor at the time. |
| 121 | * MaybeEverAfter: With Shang, at the end of the first movie, [[spoiler:though they do get HappilyMarried by the end of the sequel]]. |
| 122 | * MeaningfulName: Mulan means "magnolia blossom" in Chinese. It could also mean "wood orchid". Both are fitting for a character who has yet to 'bloom' into her own person. |
| 123 | * MythicalMotifs: Dragons. |
| 124 | ** In the beginning, she is seen around a dragon statue, called the Great Guardian. |
| 125 | ** One of her animal companions is a small dragon. |
| 126 | ** Her father's sword and the medallion given to her by the Emperor have dragon markings on them. |
| 127 | * NiceGirl: She is loyal to her family and friendly to the other soldiers. Bonding through gruffness doesn't work for her. |
| 128 | * NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Based on the actress Creator/GongLi, physically. |
| 129 | * OfficialCouple: Shang becomes her husband in the sequel. |
| 130 | * OneOfTheBoys: By being [[TheSmurfettePrinciple the only woman]] in the army, and pretending to be a man. |
| 131 | * OneSteveLimit: Lampshaded and subverted. Mushu suggests "Ling" for a fake name when she's being grilled by Shang, but Mulan points out that that's already soldier Ling's name- as if it would be suspicious if they had the same name. So they end up going with ''Ping'' instead. |
| 132 | * OneWomanArmy: Single-handedly wipes out an entire army with some quick thinking and a well-aimed rocket. |
| 133 | * OppositesAttract: The rule-breaking, free-spirit Mulan falls in love with the rule-abiding, no-nonsense Shang. |
| 134 | * PinkMeansFeminine: Her matchmaker dress, in contrast to the more subdued green-ish dress that she prefers later. |
| 135 | * PlatonicLifePartners: With Yao, Ling, and Chien Po, them being her closest allies in the army outside Shang. |
| 136 | * PluckyGirl: Never throws in the towel, no matter how dire her circumstances get. Though she comes close after her secret is discovered and she is abandoned in disgrace by the army, she rallies out of her self-doubt and back into action the very second she realizes that the Huns still pose a threat. |
| 137 | * PretendingToBeOnesOwnRelative: Mulan [[SweetPollyOliver disguises herself as a man]] in order to join the army in her father's place, claiming to be Ping, her father's son that he doesn't like to talk about very much. Essentially, she pretends to be her own brother. |
| 138 | * ProtagonistTitle: '''Mulan.''' |
| 139 | * TheQuietOne: While obviously the main character of the films, Mulan tends to be the least talkative person in a room. When talkers like Mushu or the other soldiers are around, she tends to listen ''far'' more often than she speaks. |
| 140 | * {{Sarashi}}: As part of her disguise she wraps up her chest. And yes, it's [[GenderReveal relevant]]. |
| 141 | * ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Her reason for going to war. |
| 142 | * SecretlySelfish: Downplayed, as Mulan's primary goal for sneaking into the army was to protect her father but admits to Mushu during her HeroicBSOD, that a small part of her also wanted to prove she could do something right. |
| 143 | * SheCleansUpNicely: Not that she wasn't good-looking before, but she looks really nice in her matchmaker ceremony dress. On an unkinder note, the matchmaker says that looking like a bride is the only attribute she has. |
| 144 | * ShipperOnDeck: In the sequel, Mulan immediately shouts with joy when she discovers that the princesses truly love Ling, Yao, and Chien Po. |
| 145 | * SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Mulan falls for the brave, honorable, and dedicated [[TheCaptain Shang]]. |
| 146 | * SmartPeoplePlayChess: Mulan makes a successful move on a xiangqi (aka Chinese chess) board belonging to two old men during the Matchmaker scene after contemplating for only a moment. |
| 147 | * TheSmurfettePrinciple: Justified. She's the only woman of the Chinese army because no one know she's disguised as a man, as the reveal would mean her execution. |
| 148 | * StealthPun: |
| 149 | ** As a soldier she goes by the name "Ping", which in Mandarin Chinese means "peace". |
| 150 | ** Also, "Fa Ping" is Chinese slang for a homosexual man; more specifically, the CampGay variety. And if Yao's comment about "Ping" being a "charmer" during the ''Girl Worth Fighting For'' song is any indication, Mulan's male persona is seen as a "pretty boy" InUniverse. |
| 151 | * StrongAndSkilled: The beginning of the movie shows that she has a strategic mind, and thanks to boot camp, Mulan is now a capable martial artist. |
| 152 | * SweetPollyOliver: Probably the most famous example. Mulan impersonates a son to her father to take his place in the war. |
| 153 | * TeacherStudentRomance: Zigzagged. She first meets with Shang when she is disguised as "Ping", and the former is the latter's military instructor. And it's implied that Shang's [[AmbiguouslyBi attraction]] to Mulan began when she was "Ping". After her gender is revealed and she saves all of China, Shang is more visibly smitten. |
| 154 | * TechnicalPacifist: Very technical, since she's a soldier who kills people on purpose. Still, with the BigBad right in front of her, Mulan uses the sword she's holding for every purpose but the one it was built for. |
| 155 | * ThisIsGonnaSuck: The instant she's called out for "speaking without permission" by the matchmaker, she knows her session is not going to go well. |
| 156 | * TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Tomboy to the princesses' Girly Girls in the sequel, because she's still a soldier. |
| 157 | * TomboyPrincess: In her movie, no, but she is this compared to the rest of the Disney Princess line-up. |
| 158 | * TomboyWithAGirlyStreak: Mulan is quite unconventional and struggles to fit into the strict gender roles in Imperial China. However she does like the makeover she gets to prepare for the Matchmaker, had actually struggled with fitting in amongst the other soldiers (and even complained that she didn't want to smell like a man), and she finds comfort in a simpler (but no less lovely) blue dress in the finale. Her girly streak grows longer in the sequel, as while Mulan is as badass as ever and [[TomboyAndGirlyGirl pretty tomboyish when compared to the princesses]], she's revealed to have a romantic side, which is best shown by how happy she was with marrying Shang and [[ShipperOnDeck how ecstatic she was]] when the princesses [[RelationshipUpgrade get together]] with [[spoiler:Yao, Ling and Chien Po]]. |
| 159 | * TookALevelInBadass: Justified; it ''is'' in boot camp, though her improvement to being equal to or perhaps even more skilled than [[FourStarBadass Shang]] really stands out. |
| 160 | * TrueBlueFemininity: Her disguise as a concubine incorporates two different shades of blue. |
| 161 | * TurnTheOtherCheek: To Chi Fu. Despite him treating her with nothing but condescension at ''best'' and [[spoiler:openly prodding Shang to execute her "per the law" when she's discovered]] the most she does in response is smile at a joke Yao tells about him. [[spoiler:And even if she turned down his job because she wanted to go home, the fact remains that with she as the savior of China and in good standing with the emperor, and he in disgrace for being extremely disrespectful to said savior of China, she could have easily made his situation quite nasty. She's more interested in seeing her family and her father, though.]] |
| 162 | * WeakButSkilled: Even if she took to her training well enough to become a hardened badass quickly, muscle development takes a while, and she's still thin as a stick compared to the rest of the cast. Nonetheless, through planning and skill, she saves all of China, and is instrumental to the defeat of the Huns. |
| 163 | * WellDoneDaughterGirl: Mulan just wants to make her family proud. She just can't do it as a girl. |
| 164 | * WhatsUpKingDude: ''Very'' [[DownPlayedTrope downplayed]]; Mulan just as respectful to the Emperor as any other Chinese citizen of her time would be, but she can't refrain from giving him a big hug after he acknowledges her as the savior of China and respectfully bows to her. In RealLife, merely ''touching'' the Emperor of China without permission was considered [[SeriousBusiness an offense worthy of execution]]; thankfully, the Emperor depicted in this movie is both a good man at heart and a ReasonableAuthorityFigure and, given his reaction to Mulan's hug, it's clear that he's obviously touched by what would otherwise be considered an act of blasphemy. |
| 165 | * WhatTheHellHero: In the sequel, Mulan gets rightfully angry at Mushu when he confesses to sabotaging her and Shang's relationship in order to keep his job. |
| 166 | -->'''Mulan:''' You mean you got between Shang and me so you could ''keep your job''!? |
| 167 | * WomenAreWiser: Downplayed. None of the male soldiers are dumb, but it's Mulan who comes up with the intelligent, crafty plans none of them thought to do. |
| 168 | [[/folder]] |
| 169 | |
| 170 | !!Mulan's Friends and Allies |
| 171 | |
| 172 | [[folder:Captain Li Shang]] |
| 173 | -->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/BDWong (speaking), Donny Osmond (singing); Creator/YamilAtala (speaking) and Cristián Castro (singing) (Latin American Spanish dub); Renaud Marx (speaking) and Patrick Fiori (singing) (European French Dub); Göran Rudbo (Swedish dub); Creator/JackieChan (Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese Chinese and Taiwanese Chinese dubs); Claudio Galvan (Brazilian Portuguese dub); Lior Ashkenazi (speaking), Ilan Leibovitsh (singing) (Hebrew dub) |
| 174 | [[quoteright:230:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/275610_1248840948819_full_4540.jpg]] |
| 175 | [[caption-width-right:230:''"Leader of China's finest troops -- no, the greatest troops of all time."'']] |
| 176 | |
| 177 | A Chinese Army captain and the son of General Li, the head of the Chinese Army. |
| 178 | ---- |
| 179 | * TheAce: He is the most capable and elite of all the soldiers in the army. |
| 180 | * AdaptationNameChange: Traditionally, Mulan's love interest and commanding officer are two different characters, with the earliest cases of them having names being "Wang Qingyun" and "Xin Ping" respectively, though the 1964 film "Lady General Hua Mu-Lan" did have her love interest as "Li Guang". |
| 181 | * AmazonChaser: He compliments Mulan by saying "you fight good". |
| 182 | * AmbiguouslyBi: It's been pointed out throughout the webosphere that his presumably slowly-building interest in Mulan began when she was assumed to be a male soldier. |
| 183 | * AscendedExtra: Since "The Heroine Mulan Goes to War in Her Father's Place", Mulan's love interest has gotten a larger role beyond a guy who is only known by his surname and only appears at the end to marry Mulan. Of course, being combined with Mulan's commander Xin Ping probably has a lot to do with it for this adaptation. |
| 184 | * BadassCape: Because of his rank, he wears a stylish cape. |
| 185 | * BadassInDistress: A few times, such as [[spoiler:the avalanche and when fighting Shan Yu]]. |
| 186 | * BadassOnPaper: He is promoted to captain based on his success as a student (and the fact that his father is the general). He has no actual combat experience, which is a sore spot Chi-Fu likes to poke. |
| 187 | * BadassTeacher: This guy was able to turn recruits like "Ping", Yao, Ling, and Chien Po into competent soldiers--as shown during "I'll Make a Man Out of You", where they start out clumsy, clueless and weak, but end up skilled soldiers thanks to Shang's training. |
| 188 | * BattleCouple: Becomes this with Mulan in the sequel. They guard the princesses, fight off their kidnappers, and plan their wedding. |
| 189 | * BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Shang first opens up to "Ping" when the latter gave him comforting words that he was a great leader. He also opens up more when "Ping" gives Shang condolences for the death of his father. |
| 190 | * BigOlEyebrows: Has thick, black eyebrows not unlike Mulan's. |
| 191 | * BirdsOfAFeather: Opposing personalities notwithstanding, Mulan and Shang bond over their struggle to be good soldiers (shown when Mulan comforts Shang after Chi Fu antagonizes him for being a poor captain) and their desire to help their fathers. They also happen to be [[FriendToAllChildren good with children]]. |
| 192 | * BroodingBoyGentleGirl: Zigzagged with Mulan. Both have their own set of insecurities and doubts but comfort each other at those moments. |
| 193 | * ButtMonkey: In the sequel, due to Mushu's initial wacky schemes comically injuring him. Not to mention the crazy expressions he gets. |
| 194 | * TheCaptain: Promoted to leader of the new military unit in his first scene. |
| 195 | * TheChainsOfCommanding: Not only does he have to stay captain at all times, he has the obnoxious Chi Fu hanging around, ready to report him to the Emperor. |
| 196 | * CharacterDevelopment: |
| 197 | ** Shang held some sexist beliefs in the first film, especially noted in some of his lyrics in "I'll Make A Man Out of You" and was initially dismissive of Mulan's claim that Shan-Yu is alive because of it (although it was also mainly due to her lies). But, by the end, he lets go of sexism and was ready to attack Chi Fu when he made sexist insults at Mulan despite saving all of China. |
| 198 | ** He loosens up considerably during the sequel and starts thinking of his own interests instead of just those of his country. |
| 199 | * CharlesAtlasSuperpower: Implied. He was able to carry more weights than the other soldiers and take on the much stronger Shan-Yu, despite losing in the end. |
| 200 | * ChickMagnet: Played for laughs in the ending when he follows Mulan home. Without even trying he charms ''three different generations'' of the Fa family. |
| 201 | -->'''Mulan:''' Would you like to stay for dinner?\ |
| 202 | '''Grandmother Fa:''' ''[offscreen]'' Would you like to stay forever? |
| 203 | * CompositeCharacter: Traditionally, Mulan's love interest and commanding officer are two separate characters. |
| 204 | * CoolHorse: He has a WhiteStallion, but unlike Mulan's it doesn't have a name. |
| 205 | * CurbStompCushion: When fighting [[spoiler:Shan Yu, he manages to hold the latter down long enough for Chien Po to rescue the Emperor, right before Shan Yu unleashes a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown on him]]. |
| 206 | * DeadpanSnarker: ''Most'' of the time he can meet any situation with dry wit, but when love or family is involved, he becomes awkward or locks down and becomes TheStoic. |
| 207 | * DeathSeeker: One interpretation of his leading his men into a hopeless battle against an army that is larger in numbers and strength than his own. He doesn't even have a sword after using his to make the memorial for his father. Thankfully, Mulan's quick thinking wins the day, and he is grateful (and astonished) that she saved his life. |
| 208 | * DebtDetester: [[spoiler:Shang saves Mulan's life after she dishonors the Chinese Army in return for her saving his life during the Hun attack.]] |
| 209 | * DecompositeCharacter: The first case of Mulan's commanding officer having a name had it be "Xin Ping". While the surname goes unused, the given name is given to Mulan as an alias. |
| 210 | * {{Determinator}}: [[spoiler:Your father just got slaughtered by the Huns?]] Lead your men against the much stronger invaders. [[spoiler:The Huns survived AN AVALANCHE and just absconded with the Emperor?]] Break down the door! [[spoiler:Just woke up, because your last fight with Shan Yu got you a [[HardHead concussion]]?]] Fight him again, because Mulan's right behind you. [[FauxActionGuy Complaints]] [[BadassInDistress where they are]], the guy can still back up his rank. |
| 211 | * DisneyDeath: [[spoiler:In ''Mulan 2'' due a Heroic Sacrifice and others thinking it killed him.]] |
| 212 | * DrillSergeantNasty: "You're a spineless, pale, pathetic lot and you haven't got a clue, but somehow I'll make a man out of you." He's not kidding: one of the exercises consists of him shooting ''ArrowsOnFire'' at the recruits, and he's shooting to ''hit'' (as Yao finds out when an arrow gets him on the butt). It works, and by the end of the TrainingMontage they are capable soldiers (and Yao evades all the flaming arrows when Shang gives them a repeat). It's also clear that [[KnowWhenToFoldEm Shang knows when to quit,]] since he failed the teenaged and underperforming "Ping" and told him [[BrutalHonesty "he" wasn't cut out for war]]. |
| 213 | * FauxActionGuy: He's introduced as a badass, fights circles around his recruits, trains them to perfection... and from that point on becomes consistently less competent than Mulan. That being said, [[OvershadowedByAwesome his badassery is genuine, just outclassed]]; Shan Yu is far stronger than he is, and Mulan's more creative, flexible approach is better suited to working under a disadvantage (plus she's the main character). |
| 214 | * FriendToAllChildren: Implied during his interaction with girls Mulan is training and saying that there could be as many children at his and Mulan's wedding in the sequel. |
| 215 | * GoodIsNotNice: As is to be expected from a military captain on the hero's side. Notably, he also doesn't treat the "son" of the esteemed Fa Zhou any differently from the other recruits (and in fact tells Mulan to go home when it seems that she won't catch on). |
| 216 | * GoodIsNotSoft: Hellish as his training might be, it's to make his recruits into top-class soldiers and also to drive home the point that if they can't handle his TrainingFromHell, then they won't last very long in ''real'' war. And if it looks like someone genuinely can't hack it, he'll cut her from the team for the good of everyone. |
| 217 | * HardHead: Subverted. He takes a headbutt from Shan Yu during the climax and is promptly knocked unconscious. While he wakes up quickly, he's not in any shape to fight afterward. Fortunately, by then Shan Yu is more interested in killing Mulan. |
| 218 | * HeartbrokenBadass: Shang falls into despair after seeing not only the remains of a burned village raided by the Huns, but also finding out his father died in the battle. |
| 219 | * HeroesPreferSwords: Shang is the tritagonist and uses a sword for combat. |
| 220 | * HeroicAmbidexterity: Shang is possibly ambidextrous. He tends to do a lot with his left hand as well as the right. |
| 221 | * HeroicBuild: The {{Tritagonist}} and he has a broad, muscular build. |
| 222 | * HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:In the sequel. It involves a breaking rope bridge, Mulan trying to hold them both up as they dangle from a rope, and the rope about to snap. To Mulan's horror, he lets go so that she can pull herself up, and it takes her awhile to learn that he [[DisneyDeath survives the fall]].]] |
| 223 | * IOweYouMyLife: Mulan/Ping saves him when the avalanche knocks them both off a cliff. When her gender is revealed, he merely expels her rather than execute her as the law and honor would require. |
| 224 | -->'''Shang:''' A life for a life. My debt is repaid. |
| 225 | * JerkassBall: Happens to him in the sequel because of the stereotypical "men won't ask for directions" bit. He reverts to normal by the climax. |
| 226 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Shang lives by discipline and expects his men to do the same, but he has purely good intentions and will be there when you need him. |
| 227 | * LawOfChromaticSuperiority: During the second half of the movie, he wears a red cape. |
| 228 | * LeeroyJenkins: While he and Mulan are equally capable, his tendency to rush into things and rely solely on his own strength and martial prowess generally makes him fail where Mulan, who utilizes her environment and quick thinking to her advantage, succeeds. |
| 229 | * LoveMakesYouDumb: He is usually TheStoic but when he tries to talk to Mulan after Shan Yu's defeat, he doesn't have a clue what to say. |
| 230 | * MadeOfIron: Shang has shown a high pain tolerance. He pulled an arrow from his shoulder and took a number of beatings before getting up relatively easily. |
| 231 | * MaybeEverAfter: With Mulan, when he agrees to stay for dinner. |
| 232 | -->'''Grandma Fa:''' Would you like to stay forever? |
| 233 | :: : By the sequel, [[spoiler:[[RelationshipUpgrade they're going strong]], but getting HappilyMarried takes a while]]. |
| 234 | * MilitaryBrat: His father's the general. Chi Fu gives him a barbed comment about only getting his captaincy through nepotism, but Shang seems competent enough. |
| 235 | * MrFanservice: Mulan [[EatingTheEyeCandy can't keep her eyes off him]] because he takes his shirt off for the TrainingMontage. According to the [=DVD=] commentary, when the scene was screened, "you never heard so many female animators catcall." |
| 236 | * MyCountryRightOrWrong: His refusal to go against the Emperor's orders causes most of the tension between him and Mulan in the second movie. He eases up by the end. |
| 237 | * {{Nepotism}}: It may have had some influence in Shang's promotion, but his father justifies that Shang was the best in his class and well-versed in training techniques. While this may not warrant such a high rank, Shang would, on this merit, be reasonably qualified to train the new conscripts. |
| 238 | * OfficialCouple: Proposes to Mulan in the sequel and they marry by the end. |
| 239 | * OhCrap: He has this reaction when [[spoiler:Mulan goads Shan Yu into chasing after her, and Shang is too beaten up from the NoHoldsBarredBeatdown to follow and help]]. |
| 240 | * OppositesAttract: The rule-abiding, no-nonsense Shang falls for the rule-breaking, free-spirit Mulan. |
| 241 | * PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Shang makes sexist remarks in "I'll Make a Man Out of You" and is dismissive of Mulan after her reveal as a woman. He comes to change his viewpoints, going so far as to threatening Chi Fu for continuing to make misogynistic remarks towards Mulan despite her heroism. |
| 242 | * RageBreakingPoint: How Shang feels with Chi Fu in the end when the latter [[UngratefulBastard continues to demean Mulan despite her saving all of them]]. He's just about to give him a well-deserved clock-cleaning for it when the Emperor comes down. |
| 243 | -->'''Chi Fu:''' Stand aside! That creature's not worth protecting!\ |
| 244 | '''Shang:''' She's a hero.\ |
| 245 | '''Chi Fu:''' ''[snidely]'' 'Tis a woman! She'll never be worth anything!\ |
| 246 | '''Shang:''' ''[angrily grabs Chi Fu]'' Listen, you pompous--! |
| 247 | * RankScalesWithAsskicking: No matter what Chi Fu says, this guy has got the skills to back up his rank. |
| 248 | * TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: He almost gives one to Chi Fu. |
| 249 | * RedIsHeroic: Sports a red cape and is a true hero. |
| 250 | * RescueRomance: It's implied that he falls for Mulan after she saves his life [[spoiler:twice]]. |
| 251 | * ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: He would rather break the laws of China, [[spoiler:specifically the law demanding death to any woman who joins the army]], than kill someone [[IOweYouMyLife to whom he owed his life]]. Much later, he prepares to [[spoiler:defend her to the Emperor after she defeats Shan Yu]]. |
| 252 | * SergeantRock: In terms of his actual assigned duties, Shang is closer to this rank than captain.[[note]]Sergeants are usually the ones in charge of training new recruits.[[/note]] |
| 253 | * SinkOrSwimMentor: As Mulan and the others find out the hard way, when training his recruits, he does NOT hold back. |
| 254 | * SmileOfApproval: He smiles more around Ping after the latter completes the arrow challenge, and improves vastly in training. In the climax, he gives Mulan a rewarding smile when she incorporates the lessons from the arrow challenge into her plan to rescue the Emperor. |
| 255 | * SociallyAwkwardHero: Despite his skill at military affairs, he seems to be somewhat lacking in social skills, as he has trouble telling Mulan about his romantic feelings for her, or even properly congratulating her following her success in saving China, managing only an awkward "you fight good." |
| 256 | * TheStoic: When in command, Shang takes a no-nonsense attitude. |
| 257 | * SupportingLeader: he's the titular protagonist's commanding officer and LoveInterest. |
| 258 | * SweetOnPollyOliver: Implied to be confused about his attraction to "Ping". |
| 259 | * TeacherStudentRomance: Zigzagged. He first meets with Mulan when she is disguised as "Ping", and he's her military instructor. It's also implied that Shang's [[AmbiguouslyBi attraction]] to Mulan began when she was "Ping". After her gender is revealed and she saves all of China, Shang is more visibly smitten. |
| 260 | * TechnicianVersusPerformer: As the Technician, he knows exactly how it's supposed to be done, and he's a good teacher, but Mulan's more flexible Performer thinking is ultimately what wins the day. |
| 261 | * TrainingFromHell: One example is running through a field of flaming arrows and another is climbing a pole with heavy weights attached to one's wrists. |
| 262 | * {{Tritagonist}}: In both movies he is the third center character, after Mulan and Mushu. |
| 263 | * UptightLovesWild: Shang is TheComicallySerious no-nonsense type. And he falls for the rule-breaking PluckyGirl Mulan. |
| 264 | * WalkingShirtlessScene: Takes it off for the TrainingMontage. |
| 265 | * WellDoneSonGuy: One of the reasons he joined the military was to please his father. |
| 266 | * WellTrainedButInexperienced: First in his class, and TheAce in every art a soldier should know, but he's never taken command and thinks 'too rigid' and 'too small.' Mulan, not as indoctrinated into how things 'should' be done, is the only who comes up with the winning strategy against the Hun army. |
| 267 | * WhiteStallion: His mount of choice, being a commander and supposedly higher social status than his soldiers. This contrasts with Mulan's horse, who is black as ink and doesn't actually belong to her. |
| 268 | * WorthyOpponent: Shan Yu all but calls him this, accusing him of taking away Shan Yu's "victory". |
| 269 | * YoungAndInCharge: He's barely older than Mulan but is put in charge of an entire military unit. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in that he is the capable son of a legendary commander, and the Chinese army was quickly losing other suitable leaders to the Huns. Also, Shang was mainly responsible for ''training'' the new recruits and then join up with his father and the main Imperial forces later. [[spoiler:After the general and his squad are wiped out he's put in charge of the military.]] |
| 270 | [[/folder]] |
| 271 | |
| 272 | [[folder:Mushu]] |
| 273 | -->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/EddieMurphy; Mark Moseley (''WesternAnimation/MulanII''); Creator/EugenioDerbez (Latin American Spanish dub); Creator/JoseGarcia (European French dub); Mario Jorge Andrade (Brazilian Portuguese dub); Creator/KoichiYamadera (Japanese dub); Tomer Sharon (Hebrew dub), Chen Peisi (Mandarin Chinese), Jacky Wu (Taiwanese Mandarin), Eric Kot (Cantonese) |
| 274 | [[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mushu_1309.jpg]] |
| 275 | [[caption-width-right:220:''"My little baby, off to destroy people."'']] |
| 276 | |
| 277 | A small dragon who is Mulan's companion. He was once a guardian spirit of Mulan's family, but he has been demoted to the supposedly humiliating position of an incense burner and gong-ringer for the deceased Fa ancestors ever since he failed to protect a family member. He hopes to make Mulan a hero in order to become a guardian spirit again. |
| 278 | ---- |
| 279 | * AccidentalTruth: He fakes a message from the Imperial Army saying they're in dire straits and need all the recruits to come immediately for backup. Turns out he was actually right about them being needing help, [[spoiler:but by the time they arrive they're too late to offer any due to the Huns having already massacred them.]] |
| 280 | * AesopAmnesia: In the first movie, Mushu laments that he took on the mission for his own sake. What does he do in the second? Try to sabotage Mulan's engagement for his own sake. |
| 281 | * AllForNothing: Whether it was going to happen or not, in the sequel's ending, [[spoiler:Mushu is still able to keep his pedestal once Shang brings his family's ancestors to combine with Mulan's. Since Mulan told Shang about Mushu, it was possible Shang only did so because it would help Mushu. It's unclear if he was going to do it anyway had she not told him about Mushu's existence.]] |
| 282 | * AllOfTheOtherReindeer: The Ancestors like picking on Mushu and show nothing but respect to the other guardians. This is not because of some trait that he can't help (as in the straight version) but because it was his fault Fa Deng ''lost his head''. They give him his dues when he helps Mulan save China, though revert back to hating his guts in the sequel, this time for [[JustifiedTrope the justified reasoning]] of how doubly arrogant and spoiled he acts towards them now he's in a position of power. |
| 283 | * BigBad: Downplayed. He's basically the villain of the second movie, as he does everything he can to make sure Mulan doesn't marry to keep his current position as a family guardian intact, using Mulan and Shang's differences as an excuse to do so. While the plot's conflict is technically started by the leader of the Mongols, the guy never appears and Mushu probably wouldn't have acted any differently. He gets better at the end of it, though. |
| 284 | * BigShadowLittleCreature: Invokes this to intimidate Mulan at their meeting. |
| 285 | * BreathWeapon: He can breathe fire. Early in the first movie all he's capable of is smoke and a few sparks, but by the end he torches Shan Yu's falcon with a torrent of flames. |
| 286 | * CharacterDevelopment: Zigzagged. He has quite a bit throughout the first film, as he sees Mulan as more than a way to earn back his status, coming to genuinely care for her. But he loses it in the second film, as he tries to sabotage her and Shang's relationship to keep his status, but confesses after getting some ObliviousGuiltSlinging from Mulan and redeems himself by the end. |
| 287 | * DeadpanSnarker: His trademark sassiness and wisecracking personality along with Eddie Murphy's over-the-top expressiveness when portraying him makes him hilariously snarky but at same time, not completely deadpan. |
| 288 | * DeadPersonImpersonation: Pretends to be The Great Stone Dragon so he can help Mulan. |
| 289 | * DelightfulDragon: Well, "Delightful" might not be the right word to describe Mushu, but he's certainly on the side of the heroes, and eventually he grows to care for Mulan. |
| 290 | * {{Deuteragonist}}: In both of the movies, he has his own character arc and similar story focus as Mulan. |
| 291 | * EarNotch: Missing a part of his right ear. |
| 292 | * EstablishingCharacterMoment: His first words upon awakening are [[IncomingHam "I LIIIIIIVE!"]] |
| 293 | * FairyCompanion: Allowing for cultural differences, he might count as this. |
| 294 | * FieryRedhead: Literal on the "fiery" part and technically red-scaled. |
| 295 | * GuardianEntity: Tries to sell himself as such to Mulan when they first meet; after she is outed, he confesses that it was all a lie. |
| 296 | * HouseFey: Mushu ''used to be'' a GuardianEntity for the Fa family but now he's been demoted to a mere servant. In this case, it's for the family rather than the building it lives in. |
| 297 | * HypocriticalHumor: Is quickly forgiven for lying about being Mulan's guardian, but is shocked that Cri-Kee lied about being lucky. |
| 298 | * IncomingHam: |
| 299 | ** '''"I LIIIIIIIVE!"''' |
| 300 | ** '''"DID I HEAR SOMEONE ASK FOR A ''MIRACLE''?"''' |
| 301 | * InsistentTerminology: He's a ''dragon,'' not a lizard. (He doesn't do that tongue thing.) |
| 302 | * IronButtMonkey: He's invulnerable enough to survive slamming into a mountain while riding an exploding cannon-head, but his immortality provides him little in the way of being able to actually help fight most of the time. |
| 303 | * ItsAllAboutMe: The only reason he went to help Mulan because he thought doing so would make him a guardian again. It gets worse in the sequel, when he was willing to sabotage Mulan and Shang's relationship to save his guardian position. As such, it's his main FatalFlaw. |
| 304 | %%* {{Jerkass}}: Initially, but he grows out of it. |
| 305 | * JerkassRealization: In the sequel where Mushu purposely sabotages the relationship between Mulan and Shang in order to keep his job. When Mulan tells him that he's a good friend who always looks out for her, he felt the guilt becoming too unbearable and admits to what he did. Mulan does not take it well. |
| 306 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Eventually. As mentioned above, his original intentions in the first film are to obtain a high position among the guardians. Over the course of it, he becomes protective and supportive of Mulan. In the sequel he's more of a straight-up {{Jerkass}} for most of the film, only redeeming himself at the end. |
| 307 | * LargeHam: "Who am I? ''WHO AM I?'' I am the guardian of lost souls, the powerful, the pleasurable, the indestructible Mushu!" |
| 308 | * LawOfChromaticSuperiority: Inverted. While his skin is red he is the lowest of the Fa family's familiars and in terms of the story he's a Sidekick. |
| 309 | * LetMeAtHim: Mushu has to be held back by Cri-Kee when he sees Shang grab Mulan by her shirt collar during “I’ll Make a Man Out of You”. |
| 310 | * TheLoad: In-universe, the ancestors see Mushu as barely competent enough to ring a gong. Mulan herself often seems to see him as not helping her, although she obviously appreciates him. |
| 311 | %%* MotorMouth: He sometimes goes into this. |
| 312 | * MyGodWhatHaveIDone: In the sequel, [[spoiler:after succeeding in making Mulan and Shang break up]], Mulan's kind words to him eventually become too much for his conscience to bear that he [[spoiler:confesses his involvement in their break up.]] Mulan is ''not'' happy one bit. |
| 313 | * MythologyGag: His name. In the 1903 play ''Mulan Joins the Army'', "Mushu" was the name of Mulan's cousin, a coward who chickened out of taking his uncle's place, resulting in Mulan having to go in his place under the name of "Hua Mushu." |
| 314 | * NiceJobBreakingItHero: His ill advice got one of Mulan's ancestor's killed. Then he literally breaks the dragon statue meant to house a dragon guardian to look after Mulan. |
| 315 | * NighInvulnerability: He's indestructible, not that this [[UselessSuperpowers helps Mulan much]]. |
| 316 | * NoIndoorVoice: Doesn’t talk in a level voice too much. |
| 317 | * NonHumanSidekick: A dragon (not a lizard!) for Mulan. |
| 318 | * NoodleIncident: He was demoted to gong-ringer by the family's ancestors after his previous attempt to help a member of the Fa family ended with said member getting decapitated. |
| 319 | * NotHyperbole: He introduces himself to Mulan as being "indestructible," which first comes off as him simply being braggadocious. However, he survives being on a rocket when it explodes and triggers an avalanche without a scratch on him, so he isn't actually exaggerating on that front. |
| 320 | * OurDragonsAreDifferent: He is a 'travel size' dragon while the Great Stone Dragon is as big as a horse and less serpentine. |
| 321 | * PapaWolf: As one of the family guardians, Mushu is fiercely protective of the Fa family. His introduction is him demanding to know who has wronged the family so that he may avenge them. He repeatedly takes offense for people insulting or getting rough with Mulan. At one point, he has to be held back from confronting Shang for being rough with Mulan during her first day of training. |
| 322 | * PaperThinDisguise: Somehow, he manages to convince the Ancestors, and then, ''all of China'', that he's a powerful entity just by standing behind a statue of said entity. |
| 323 | * PlayingWithFire: Being a dragon, he can breathe fire. At the beginning, he can only make a little ember, but near the climax of the movie, his flames are hot enough to burn all the feathers off Shan Yu's falcon. |
| 324 | * PluckyComicRelief: His most frequent contribution is sarcasm and making [[HilarityEnsues hilarity ensue]]. |
| 325 | * PrimaryColorChampion: A red-scaled dragon with a yellow belly and blue horns. |
| 326 | * QuakingWithFear: After accidentally destroying the Great Stone Dragon, he trembles at the knees in fear for his life. |
| 327 | * RedIsHeroic: Has red scales and is one of the good guys (despite being a bit of a {{Jerkass}} initially. |
| 328 | * RedOniBlueOni: The red to Cri-Kee's Blue because he's louder and more aggressive and excitable. |
| 329 | * RelationshipSabotage: In the sequel, he ''really'' doesn't want Mulan and Shang to marry and tries to break off their engagement. |
| 330 | * ReligiousAndMythologicalThemeNaming: Despite being a tiny Chinese dragon, he's named after [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mušḫuššu a red-scaled Babylonian dragon]]. |
| 331 | * ServileSnarker: Doesn't have a problem showing his bosses, The Ancestors, his snarky side. |
| 332 | * ShieldSurf: During the avalanche with a stolen Hun shield. |
| 333 | * ShoulderSizedDragon: He even lampshades this. |
| 334 | -->'''Mulan:''' You're, um...\ |
| 335 | '''Mushu:''' Intimidating? Awe-inspiring?\ |
| 336 | '''Mulan:''' Tiny.\ |
| 337 | '''Mushu:''' That's right. I'm travel-size for your convenience. If I was my real size, your cow here would die of fright. ''[indicating Mulan's horse]'' |
| 338 | * SnarkyNonHumanSidekick: A sarcastic, wise-cracking dragon for Mulan. |
| 339 | * SoProudOfYou: When Mulan is finally able to beat the Huns, defeat Shan Yu, and save the Emperor. |
| 340 | -->'''Mushu:''' My little baby is all grown up and... ''[[TearsOfJoy (sniffles)]]'' ...savin' China! |
| 341 | * SpannerInTheWorks: If it wasn't for his intervention and faking the report that backup was needed, the Huns would've succeeded in their takeover. |
| 342 | * SpeaksFluentAnimal: He can understand and translate both Cri-Kee and Khan. |
| 343 | * TalkingAnimal: Unlike Cri-Kee and Khan, he can talk. This is likely because, unlike them, he's a supernatural creature. |
| 344 | * TokenEvilTeammate: In the sequel, where he's kind of an antagonist and he starts most of the trouble for Mulan and Shang. |
| 345 | * TookALevelInJerkass: In the first movie, he gradually loses his selfishness and grows to care for Mulan. By the sequel, his ego becomes bigger than the Great Wall and he tries to sabotage Mulan's marriage for the sake of his job security, having become such an annoying and egotistical jerk to the Ancestors in his higher position that they actively conspire to get rid of him through LoopholeAbuse. |
| 346 | * TheTrickster: His attempts to help Mulan during Boot Camp amount to trickery (putting a pomegranate on her arrow during an archery exercise and finding a fish for her during a fishing exercise). |
| 347 | [[/folder]] |
| 348 | |
| 349 | [[folder:Cri-Kee]] |
| 350 | -->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/FrankWelker |
| 351 | [[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/49135_100000182552647_8323_n_9846.jpg]] |
| 352 | |
| 353 | A "lucky" cricket who follows Mushu and Mulan. |
| 354 | ---- |
| 355 | * AmplifiedAnimalAptitude: Is incredibly smart, and can write (by working as a typewriter including sounds, no less). |
| 356 | * ArtisticLicenseBiology: He has four legs, chirps with his mouth instead of his wings, and uses the Matchmaker's cup as a hot tub. |
| 357 | * TheAtoner: It's implied that part of the reason he follows Mulan around and helps Mushu help her is out of guilt for sabotaging her visit to the Matchmaker. When Mulan first releases him, he's ready to go until he hears her singing sadly about being a failure, looks extremely sad, then seems to dedicate his life to watching over her. |
| 358 | * BeleagueredAssistant: To Mushu, both in his [[LargeHam theatrics]] and general trickery. |
| 359 | * BornLucky: Zig-zagged. He was purchased by Grandma Fa for luck, but he causes disaster for Mulan during her meeting with the Matchmaker. He then helps Mushu help Mulan when she joins the army, which also causes a lot of problems. However, Mulan eventually flourishes in the army and successfully defeats the Huns, and then both Cri-Kee and she survive the avalanche (after which Mushu actually calls Cri-Kee a lucky bug) and later fireworks. |
| 360 | * ButtMonkey: He has his moments, mostly in ''Mulan II.'' When he desperately tries to stop Mushu from ruining Shang and Mulan's relationship, only to get effortlessly smacked away. |
| 361 | * TheConscience: To Mushu, especially in the sequel. He ''tries'' to act as Mushu's voice of reason and stop his selfish schemes, but to no avail. |
| 362 | %%* FourLeggedInsect: See ArtisticLicenseBiology. |
| 363 | * IntelligibleUnintelligible |
| 364 | -->'''Cri-Kee:''' ''(chirping noises)''\ |
| 365 | '''Mushu:''' What do you mean, a loser? How 'bout if I pop one of your antennas off and throw it across the yard? Then who's the loser, me or you?\ |
| 366 | '''Cri-Kee:''' ''(chirp chirp)'' |
| 367 | * {{Foil}}: To Mushu, who is selfish and rude, whereas Cri-kee is selfless and polite. |
| 368 | * LiteralMinded: When Mushu decides that they should "take this war into our own hands", Cri-Kee takes a moment to stare at his hands. |
| 369 | * ALizardNamedLiz: "Cri-Kee" sounds quite a bit like "cricket" which is the type of insect he is. |
| 370 | * MundaneUtility: Mushu uses it for Mulan's alarm clock. |
| 371 | * NiceGuy: Polite and very selfless. |
| 372 | * NonHumanSidekick: Serves as one to Mulan and Mushu, and does stuff for him like [[SpannerInTheWorks forging the letter to Shang]] and giving it the idea of making Mulan a warrior. |
| 373 | * PluckyComicRelief: Less so than Mushu, however. |
| 374 | * RedOniBlueOni: The blue to Mushu's Red, because he's calmer and and more polite. |
| 375 | * RidiculouslyCuteCritter: There are only a few animated works that have drawn a cricket this cute. |
| 376 | * SidekickCreatureNuisance: At least to Mushu when Cri-Kee tries to get the dragon to do the right thing. |
| 377 | * UnluckilyLucky: He's supposed to be a lucky charm, but for the most part all that means is that people take him into dangerous situations, terrifying the poor bug out of his wits. He also sabotages Mulan's meeting with the Matchmaker, which leads to her joining the army, saving China, and netting a guy she actually liked. |
| 378 | * VagueAge: His age is never really indicated in any way. |
| 379 | [[/folder]] |
| 380 | |
| 381 | |
| 382 | [[folder:Yao, Ling, and Chien Po]] |
| 383 | ->'''Yao voiced by:''' Creator/HarveyFierstein (original); Creator/MiguelAngelGhigliazza (Latin American Spanish dub); Creator/ChristianPelissier (speaking) and Michel Vigné (singing) (European French dub); Chaim Tsinovitsh (Hebrew dub), Zhang Chao (Mandarin Chinese), Yang Shaowen (Taiwanese Mandarin), Leung Cheuk Bun (Cantonese) |
| 384 | ->'''Ling voiced by''': Gedde Watanabe (speaking), Matthew Wilder (singing) (original); Raúl Aldana (Latin American Spanish dub); Pierre-François Pistorio (European French dub); Creator/RyuseiNakao (Japanese dub); Yossi Toledo (speaking), Momi Levy (singing) (Hebrew dub), Guo Zhengjian (Mandarin Chinese), Zhang Hanyu (singing, Mandarin Chinese), Leo Lee (Taiwanese Mandarin), Elton Loo (Cantonese), Barry Chung (singing, Cantonese) |
| 385 | ->'''Chien Po voiced by''': Jerry Tondo (original); Creator/JesusBarrero (Latin American Spanish dub); Thierry Ragueneau (European French dub); Yehoiachin Friedlander (Hebrew dub), Jerry Tondo (Mandarin Chinese), Chang Li-Wei (Taiwanese Mandarin), Sze Lot (Cantonese) |
| 386 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yao_ling_and_chien_po_yao_ling_and_chien_po_23820009_780_440.jpg]] |
| 387 | [[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Click here to see the trio disguised as women.]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mulan_disneyscreencapscom_8297.jpg]][[/labelnote]] |
| 388 | |
| 389 | Three newly recruited soldiers who later become Mulan's friends. |
| 390 | ---- |
| 391 | [[AC:Tropes applying to all of them]] |
| 392 | * AscendedExtra: They get more screentime in the sequel. |
| 393 | * BigThinShortTrio: Chien Po, Ling and Yao, respectively. However, their body types have little effect on what they can do as a result of their training. |
| 394 | * BirdsOfAFeather: Yao, Ling, and Chien Po are told by the Matchmaker that they will never find girlfriends because of their "lack of personalities." Not only do they find girlfriends with personalities like their own--Yao's is feisty and rebellious, Ling's [[spoiler: has a corny and immature sense of humor]] (though she tries to hide it), and Chien Po's is a sweet BigEater--but they are ''princesses''. |
| 395 | * BodyguardCrush: In the sequel, the trio are tasked with protecting the Emperor's daughters. On the journey, they each fall in love with a princess whose personality matches each of their own. |
| 396 | * TheBully: At first, Yao and Ling are the most antagonistic towards Mulan. [[TookALevelInKindness They lighten up eventually]]. |
| 397 | * BullyTurnedBuddy: Ling and Yao were introduced as Mulan's tormentors but they eventually grew to respect and then befriend her. |
| 398 | * BunnyEarsLawyer: Goofy as they may be, they're considered China's three greatest soldiers for a reason. They're just behind Mulan and Shang in the badass department. |
| 399 | * CharacterDevelopment: |
| 400 | ** Ling and Yao start out as annoying jerks but grow into true friends for Mulan. [[GentleGiant Chien Po]] was nice from the get-go. |
| 401 | ** As a whole, the trio started off as pretty chauvinistic on what kind of girl they wanted. They get over it by end and by the sequel they now want to find love with women who they have a special bond with. |
| 402 | * ColorCodedCharacters: |
| 403 | ** The sashes of their armour and the sleeves/linings of the training outfits are colored uniquely. Yao is red, Chien Po is blue and Ling is yellow. |
| 404 | ** In the sequel, their colors become purple, blue, and green, respectively. |
| 405 | * ComicTrio: They engage in slap-stick and group bickering and the occasional BigBallOfViolence. |
| 406 | * CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: They may be clowns, but you wouldn't want to be their enemies. |
| 407 | * DisguisedInDrag: They do this to sneak past the Huns. Made even funnier by the reprise of "I'll Make a Man Out of You" playing in the background. |
| 408 | * FireForgedFriends: Yao and Ling didn't think much of Mulan as Ping, where they prank her any chance they get during the TrainingMontage. They became friends once they all succeed in their training. Best exemplified when Mulan is sentenced to be executed, and the three of them rush forward in her defense, only to be stopped by Chi Fu. |
| 409 | * FreudianTrio: Ling is the Superego (flirting and the one who does the formal introductions), Chien Po is the Ego (mediator who calms them down), and Yao is the Id (Violent, impulsive, etc). |
| 410 | * HasAType: During "A Girl Worth Fighting For," each of them sings about what kind of girl they'd like to marry. Ling wants a particularly beautiful girl, Yao wants a girl who will admire his strength, and Chien Po is not worried about looks, but wants a girl who can cook well. |
| 411 | -->'''Ling:''' I want her paler than the moon / With eyes that shine like stars! |
| 412 | -->'''Yao:''' My girl will marvel at my strength / Adore my battle scars! |
| 413 | -->'''Chien Po:''' I couldn't care / Less what she'll wear / Or what she looks like / It all depends on what she cooks like! (Beef, pork, chicken, mmmm...) |
| 414 | ** This is updated in the sequel, as [[CharacterDevelopment their interests in women have changed to be much more about the personalities of the women]] rather than whether those women provide for them. Ling wants to be with someone who he can have a good laugh with (and share his sense of humor), Yao wants a woman who is willing to be kind and caring to him when he's down or sick. Chien Po doesn't really change that much, although it's notable that his desires seem to be about finding a woman who loves food like himself, rather than just a woman who cooks for him. |
| 415 | * HeterosexualLifePartners: Lampshaded with Yao, Ling, and Chien Po in the second movie after having been told by the matchmaker that none of them would ever find matches for themselves: |
| 416 | -->'''Chien Po:''' I guess I'll spend my life with you two.\ |
| 417 | '''Yao:''' Pass the hanky. |
| 418 | * LaughOfLove: {{Invoked|Trope}} and {{exploited|Trope}} when the trio disguise themselves as concubines and giggle while approaching Shan Yu's guards in order to take them out. This is successful. |
| 419 | * NiceMeanAndInbetween: Chien Po, Yao and Ling, respectively; GentleGiant, HotBlooded, and the CasanovaWannabe. |
| 420 | * OfficialCouple: [[spoiler:With Mei, Ting-Ting and Su respectively by the end of the sequel.]] |
| 421 | * PlatonicLifePartners: With Mulan -- as they are all her closest friends, harbor no romantic feelings for her, and act like surrogate brother figures to her. |
| 422 | * PluckyComicRelief: They have little purpose to the plot and most of the time serve for humor. |
| 423 | * PoliticallyIncorrectHero: They start out as pretty chauvinistic, but they [[CharacterDevelopment get over it]] by the end. |
| 424 | * RagsToRoyalty: [[spoiler:The second film has them becoming {{Official Couple}}s with the princesses of China]]. |
| 425 | * ThreeStoogesShoutOut: Yao, Ling and Chien Po of Moe, Larry, and Curly/Shemp respectively. |
| 426 | * TookALevelInBadass: Not nearly to the extent of Mulan, but they are extremely incompetent at the beginning of the TrainingMontage in the first film, such as Ling breaking his face (and some teeth) when he attempts to smash a block with his face, and Yao getting hit by an arrow during an exercise. However, after Mulan manages to successfully retrieve the arrow, it inspires all of them to try harder, and afterward they are all seen performing their previous exercises superbly. By the movie's climax they've become invaluable backup. The sequel has them as decorated war heroes who are recognized by the Emperor as China's greatest foot soldiers. |
| 427 | * TrueCompanions: Their intro implies they were great friends before or immediately starting boot camp and the sequel shows they are still together. They extend this friendship to Mulan as well. |
| 428 | |
| 429 | [[AC:Tropes that apply to Yao]] |
| 430 | * AnimalMotifs: The sequel has him compared to both a gorilla and panda bear. The first time is when a smitten Mei talks about him to her sisters -- they refer to him as the former but Mei retorts that she thinks he's more like the latter. The second time is during the date at a local festival -- after Yao wins a fighting contest he makes a stance that is immediately cut to a stuffed gorilla toy in the same manner and he chooses a stuffed panda bear for Mei after seeing that she liked it the most. |
| 431 | * AntiquatedLinguistics: Interestingly, in the Swedish dub Yao speaks in a very old-fashioned manner. In fact, many of the words he uses are hardly ever spoken anymore. |
| 432 | |
| 433 | * BullyBrutality: Yao embraces this trope early on, his first action is to punch a random soldier in the stomach, hard enough to knock him over, when said the other soldier's only crime is that he believed his tattoo was lucky enough to protect him from injury. Yao's sadistic smirk before and after the act make it clear he more enjoyed an excuse to inflict pain and less "helping" the other soldier realize that he'd been scammed. |
| 434 | ** And then, when Mulan comes over to introduce herself, he immediately draws his fist again just because she looked at him. |
| 435 | ** He also wails on who he thinks is "Ping" after an insult (that was actually from Mushu). When it turns out he'd been pounding Ling instead, he tries to sweep it under the rug, only for Ling to attack him back as revenge, which sets off the brawl. |
| 436 | ** He also hits Mulan in the backs of her legs hard enough for her to fall over, all while keeping a perfectly straight face. |
| 437 | * BigOlEyebrows: Of the entire cast, Yao has the biggest and thickest set of eyebrows. |
| 438 | * BruiserWithASoftCenter: His first scene has him violently punch a guy and threatening to do the same to "Ping". He later openly cries when bidding farewell with Mulan and is quite tender with Mei. |
| 439 | * DavidVsGoliath: In the final battle against the elite Huns he takes on Lieren, the largest of them, and easily overpowers him. |
| 440 | * DeadpanSnarker: If it's not dry sarcasm it's biting scorn. |
| 441 | -->"I'll get that arrow, pretty boy... And I'll do it with my shirt ''on''." |
| 442 | * EyeScream: Less violent than some other examples we could list, but Yao has one of his eyes permanently blacked out. |
| 443 | * HairTriggerTemper: A minor slight to Yao can trigger a full-on brawl. |
| 444 | * HandicappedBadass: Yao's left eye is permanently blacked out, but he's quite tough and strong, and becomes even more so after he TookALevelInBadass. |
| 445 | * HotBlooded: Yao is the most impulsive and violent of the trio. |
| 446 | * InkSuitActor: Yao looks like a young Harvey Fierstein. |
| 447 | * IronButtMonkey: He gets shot in the butt with a flaming arrow during "I'll Make a Man Out of You". |
| 448 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: While Yao may be a hot-tempered and sarcastic person (who started off as a bully to Mulan), he proves to be a loyal, true friend, and has a soft center underneath his tough demeanor. |
| 449 | * LargeHam: "And I am Yao! ''King of the Rock!''" |
| 450 | * TheLeader: Yao is the self-appointed leader of the trio. |
| 451 | * LoveAtFirstSight: Yao with Mei in the sequel. With just one look into each other's eyes, Yao is completely smitten with Mei. The feeling is mutual. |
| 452 | * ManlyFacialHair: Has a killer looking moustache and becomes a skilled soldier. |
| 453 | * ManlyTears: He sheds a few when Mulan leaves to go home. |
| 454 | * TheNapoleon: Yao is one of the more fierce and BloodKnight-ish soldiers on the heroes' side and is also the shortest of them. |
| 455 | * NoodleIncident: He already has his blacked-out eye before arriving at the training camp, but we never find out how he got it. Though considering his short temper and aggressive nature, we might draw some conclusions. |
| 456 | * PintsizedPowerhouse: The only human character Yao is taller than is Mulan's grandmother, but he has the strength to lift a gigantic man above his head and throw him several feet and is also suggested to be the best fighter of the three. |
| 457 | * RedIsHeroic: He wears red in the first film, and while he starts off as a jerk, he shows his heroic side later on. |
| 458 | * ReformedButNotTamed: Even after going from Mulan's bully to friend, Yao is as brash as ever. |
| 459 | * SlasherSmile: Before becoming Mulan's friend, he was seen giving these when he was about to hurt Mulan or somebody else. |
| 460 | * TinyGuyHugeGirl: In the sequel, Yao is the Tiny Guy to Mei's Huge Girl; Yao may be physically muscular, he only reaches around Mei's waist. |
| 461 | * TookALevelInKindness: With Ling. Chien Po was already a NiceGuy, but he and Ling started off as jerks to Mulan. After going through some intense training and witnessing Mulan's determination, the two quickly changed their attitudes and offer reconciliation. |
| 462 | * VitriolicBestBuds: With Ling. They tend to get into arguments that break into all-out brawls constantly, but they remain inseparable friends. |
| 463 | |
| 464 | [[AC:Tropes that apply to Ling]] |
| 465 | * AffectionateNickName: Ting-Ting gives Ling the nickname "Lingy Bear". |
| 466 | * BlueIsHeroic: His signature color becomes blue in the sequel. And by then, he has proven (with his friends) to be an honorable and brave soldier. |
| 467 | * ButtMonkey: He is not immune to all forms of bad luck, whether it be getting a black eye from Yao, attempting to break a block of concrete with his face at one point in the song "I'll Make A Man Out of You", or Chien Po diving in the lake and creating a big splash at the same time. |
| 468 | * BullyBrutality: He certainly finds it a riot when Yao socks someone in the stomach, and gets a little too excited when one of Shang's training ideas involves Mulan standing on the edge of a cliff while they throw rocks at her to deflect with a bo staff. |
| 469 | * CasanovaWannabe: A milder example. If his lines in ''A Girl Worth Fighting For'' are any indication, he was a flirt back home. He's also the most immediately confident when dealing with the princesses in the sequel, despite having the worst luck with the one he pursues. |
| 470 | * CommonalityConnection: [[spoiler:Ling and Ting-Ting both enjoy jokes, but the former had to pretend she didn't because she was ashamed of her laugh. They even do the same chopstick-nose trick!]] |
| 471 | * HardHead: He's seen smashing a pile of rocks using his head in the ''I'll Make a Man out of You'' TrainingMontage. |
| 472 | * TheHyena: Ling lives to laugh. |
| 473 | * HypocriticalHumor: In the sequel, he berates Yao on flirting with Mei because she's engaged to be married, but the first thing he does when he meets Ting-Ting is flirt with her. |
| 474 | * IncrediblyLamePun: Ling's sense of humor tends to involve a lot of these. Only he seems to find them funny. |
| 475 | * InLoveWithLooks: During the song "A Girl Worth Fighting For", Ling states that his ideal woman would be a girl with pale skin and beautiful eyes. When Ping suggests choosing women for their minds, Ling, alongside the other men, scoffs at the idea. Thankfully, in the second movie, he grew out of this idea. |
| 476 | * InsecureLoveInterest: Subtle, but it's there. Out of his friends, Ling has the hardest time wooing [[TheStoic Ting-Ting]] feeling saddened when his attempts fail and, at one point, quietly rants to himself that Ting-Ting doesn't like him. |
| 477 | * IronButtMonkey: Even more so than his friends. |
| 478 | ** He gets several of his teeth knocked out when Yao accidentally pummels him in the face. |
| 479 | ** Breaking a brick with his face (and his teeth). |
| 480 | ** Falling face first in the mud due to Yao moving the carriage he was leaning on. |
| 481 | ** Getting punched in the face by a girl he was flirting with in the sequel. |
| 482 | ** Having fireworks go off while he's right there. |
| 483 | * JerkassHasAPoint: While he may have been insensitive, Ling wasn't wrong in that Yao couldn't fall for Mei because she was engaged to be married. |
| 484 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Ling could be an immature jerk, a prime example being his bullying of Mulan (with Yao). But when Mulan proves her worth, he apologizes and asks if they could be friends. Other than that, Ling is a pretty decent and friendly guy with occasional moments of obnoxiousness and insensitivity. He even rallies the disillusioned men and boosts their morale by suggesting they talk/sing about who they want to fight ''for''. |
| 485 | * {{Keet}}: He's the most enthusiastic of the trio. |
| 486 | * LeanAndMean: Before his CharacterDevelopment, Ling was a rail thin jerkass. |
| 487 | * MustMakeHerLaugh: He spends most of the sequel trying to get Ting-Ting to laugh with little success. [[spoiler:It turns out she ''does'' think he's funny, but was too ashamed of her laugh.]] |
| 488 | * TeethFlying: Ling during the camp brawl scene, and during the first brick-breaking scene in ''I'll Make a Man Out of You''. |
| 489 | * TookALevelInKindness: With Yao. Chien Po was already a NiceGuy, but he and Yao started off as jerks to Mulan. After going through some intense training and witnessing Mulan's determination, the two quickly changed their attitudes and offer reconciliation. |
| 490 | * VitriolicBestBuds: With Yao. They tend to get into arguments that break into all out brawls constantly, but they remain inseparable friends. |
| 491 | |
| 492 | [[AC:Tropes that apply to Chien Po]] |
| 493 | * {{Acrofatic}}: Despite his size, he's seen doing cartwheels in the later half of ''I'll Make a Man out of You''. |
| 494 | * AllLovingHero: He is very good-natured and would never do anything to upset anyone, making him the most ready to befriend Mulan. |
| 495 | %%* ArtisticLicenseReligion: |
| 496 | * BigEater: His ideal wife is a great cook, [[spoiler:which Su is]]. |
| 497 | * BigFun: Chien Po is a fat GentleGiant. |
| 498 | * TheBigGuy: He possesses great strength and can lift multiple people (or a massive stone statue) with ease. |
| 499 | * BlueIsHeroic: His signature color is blue in the first film, where he was shown to be the nicest of the trio and (initially) the TokenGoodTeammate. |
| 500 | * DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength: Unlike his two friends, Chien Po doesn't actively engage in their frequent brawls, but his large size and great strength lead to him accidentally hurting them anyway. During the TrainingMontage he actually causes the climbing pole to bounce out of its hole when he fell and looks around sheepishly after doing so. |
| 501 | * GentleGiant: Chien Po is a NiceGuy from the start, and recites a Buddhist mantra to calm Yao down when he gets into a rage. As mentioned before, Yao is a contrast because he's short, rude and impulsive. |
| 502 | * HugeGuyTinyGirl: In the sequel, Chien Po is the Huge Guy to Su's Tiny Girl--Chien Po's the biggest of him, Ling and Yao while Su's the youngest and smallest of her and her sisters. |
| 503 | * LightningBruiser: He may look like a BigGuy MightyGlacier (and he shows himself to be just as strong as he looks), but after some training he's as agile as a monkey. |
| 504 | * MoralityPet: He seems to be able to reign in Yao's anger and bullying to an extent. |
| 505 | * NiceGuy: Chien Po was nice and friendly from the get-go. |
| 506 | * NotSoAboveItAll: Though he generally is a NiceGuy and initially tried to calm Yao down, he did chase "Ping" along with Yao and Ling once the fight escalated, presumably with the intent to beat "him" up. He also isn't above making jokes at Chi Fu's expense, along with the other soldiers. |
| 507 | * RealMenLoveJesus: A variant. He is clearly a practicing Buddhist, as he recites mantras and, before hoisting the soldiers up the mountain (see below), he has his hands folded in prayer. |
| 508 | * SkewedPriorities: During the big brawl scene, when the whole camp is busily fighting each other, he's seated on the ground happily [[BigEater chowing down on a bowl of rice]], oblivious to the chaos around him. |
| 509 | * StoutStrength: Chien Po is made of fat and muscle, capable of easily lifting at least half a dozen men, then while holding them, '''pull a full grown horse carrying two armored soldiers back up onto a cliff without any visible strain'''. |
| 510 | * ThroughHisStomach: During "A Girl Worth Fighting For", while Ling wants a beautiful girl and Yao wants one who will admire his battle scars, Chien Po states his ideal girl is one who is a good cook. |
| 511 | -->'''Chien Po''': I couldn't care less what she'll wear, or what she looks like...\ |
| 512 | It all depends on what she cooks like! Beef, pork, chicken, mmmm! |
| 513 | * TokenGoodTeammate: Initially--he wasn't exactly supportive of Mulan/Ping, but at the same time, he never went out of his way to act like a jerk to her like Ling and Yao did. |
| 514 | [[/folder]] |
| 515 | |
| 516 | !!Mulan's Family |
| 517 | |
| 518 | [[folder:Fa Zhou]] |
| 519 | -->'''Voiced by:''' Soon-Tek Oh; Tito Reséndiz (Latin American Spanish dub); Michel Ruhl (European French dub); Yehuda Efroni (Hebrew dub), Laoli (Mandarin Chinese), Wu Lap Shing (Taiwanese Mandarin), Chu Hak (Cantonese) |
| 520 | [[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Fa-Zhou_4504.jpg]] |
| 521 | [[caption-width-right:200:''"The greatest gift and honor is having you for a daughter."'']] |
| 522 | |
| 523 | Mulan's father. |
| 524 | ---- |
| 525 | * AdaptationNameChange: The earliest case of him having a given name had it as "Hu". |
| 526 | * BeCarefulWhatYouSay: He told Mulan during their fight to know her place; she finds it by stealing his conscription and armor before riding off to join the army. It's obvious he regrets it. |
| 527 | * BigOlEyebrows: Rectangular, thick eyebrows. |
| 528 | * BlueIsHeroic: Fa Zhou's clothing are mainly blue and he's shown to be a caring person. |
| 529 | * CoolOldGuy: He's a poet and a cunning gambler. |
| 530 | * CoolSword: Like the aforementioned helmet, the dragon-hilted sword Mulan carries is actually his. He manages to demonstrate some skill with it, too, before his health problems force him to stop. |
| 531 | * CulturedBadass: A WarriorPoet who also happens to be a LivingLegend. |
| 532 | * DisabledInTheAdaptation: In the original ballad, Mulan's father was simply aged. The film adds a bad leg. |
| 533 | * DisappearedDad: Inverted. His daughter disappears and he is devastated knowing that she left for his sake, and to make matters worse if he attempts to take her place there's a possibility that she'll get exposed so he can't chase after her. Mulan's efforts to prevent this trope from being in full effect is what kicks off the plot. |
| 534 | * FamedInStory: Shang is astonished to meet the son of "''the'' Fa Zhou" and greets him very respectfully when they meet at the end of the film (though he loses his cool the instant he sees Mulan). |
| 535 | * FeelingTheirAge: While he retains some measure of his old skills, his bum leg, old age, and implied heart problems all mean he simply can't perform as he used to. This is the main reason Mulan runs off to take his place in the war, knowing that he won't survive if he goes to fight. |
| 536 | * GoodParents: He genuinely loves his daughter and is extremely distressed when she leaves to take his place in the army. |
| 537 | * HandicappedBadass: Deconstructed. He is self-disciplined, skilled, and knowledgeable, but simply can't perform as he used to because of his injured leg and advanced age. Judging by the way he clutches his chest when Mulan spies on him, he may also have heart problems. This is further supported by Mulan reciting his doctor's prescription of three cups of tea in the morning and three at night, which clearly implies a special medicinal blend. |
| 538 | * HappilyMarried: To Fa Li. He gives Mulan and Shang 'yin yang' advice in the sequel. |
| 539 | * HeroOfAnotherStory: He's famous enough that Chi Fu and Li Shang know him by name. How did he become so famous? What happened to his leg? |
| 540 | * HonorBeforeReason: Played with. When Mulan angrily asks if he's willing to die "for honor" when there are other young men ready to fight and die for China, Zhou corrects her by saying: |
| 541 | -->"I will die doing what's ''right!''" |
| 542 | * InsistentTerminology: When his wife admonishes him for gambling: |
| 543 | --> '''Fa Zhou''': Betting my mother is not a gamble! It's an ''investment''. |
| 544 | * LivingLegend: The people of his village stand aside when he walks up to receive his conscription notice. His status as such is further reinforced by this dialogue: |
| 545 | -->'''Shang:''' ''The'' Fa Zhou!?\ |
| 546 | '''Chi Fu:''' I didn't know Fa Zhou had a son! |
| 547 | * MomentOfWeakness: He's a ReasonableAuthorityFigure, but he hits his RageBreakingPoint after Mulan has failed her matchmaking exam, embarrasses him in front of the Emperor's official, and then argues with him about dying in battle. He tells her "I know my place and it's time you learned yours," only to learn later that night she ran away with his conscription, Khan, and his old armor. He and Fa Li imagine the worst where if she's exposed she will be killed, while she ''might'' be killed in battle. |
| 548 | * NiceGuy: Aside from his traditionalist nature, he's a really sweet guy. |
| 549 | * OOCIsSeriousBusiness: He's normally a relaxed, patient father to Mulan but noticeably snaps at her to know her place when she tries (and fails) to convince him to not be drafted. |
| 550 | * TheOneGuy: The only male among his family, as the others are his wife, daughter, and mother. |
| 551 | * OpenMindedParent: Considering the time period, he's very accepting of Mulan's personality and does his best to reassure his daughter after her poor performance at the matchmaker's. He's also very proud of Mulan's status as a war-hero at the end. |
| 552 | * PerilousOldFool: Subverted. Zhou is an aged war-hero who needs a cane and has implicit heart troubles, but unlike the average perilous old fool he ''knows'' he's not in the best shape and isn't the warrior he once was, and he doesn't disagree with Mulan that he's going to his death. However, China calls for his draft service as a man and he will answer it as he has no sons to take the duty because it's the right thing to do. |
| 553 | * ProperlyParanoid: Not only does his daughter go off to war in his place, she does so in a disguise that, if broken, will get her executed. Which means there's nothing he can do to stop Mulan. [[spoiler:When she returns, with gifts from the Emperor, he tosses them aside and hugs her, telling her ''she'' is the greatest gift of honor]]. |
| 554 | * RealMenLoveJesus: A variant. Fa Zhou makes daily prayers to his ancestors. |
| 555 | -->"I'm going to pray some more." |
| 556 | * RetiredBadass: Served in the army during his younger years. Both Li Shang and Chi Fu respect his name when "Ping" claims to be his son. |
| 557 | -->"Fa Zhou...? (realization sets in) ''The'' Fa Zhou?" |
| 558 | * ShipperOnDeck: By the sequel, he is wagering with his mother when Shang will propose to Mulan. |
| 559 | * SoProudOfYou: [[spoiler: To Mulan, when she returns as a war-hero with the blessings and respect of the Emperor himself. Though he's also relieved that she's alive.]] |
| 560 | * ThrowingOffTheDisability: Subverted. He doesn't use his cane when he accepts the summons to war but it doesn't change the fact he is no longer in fighting shape (his limp is still evident when he walks, and later on he collapses when practicing with his sword). This is the reason why Mulan takes his place. |
| 561 | * WackyParentSeriousChild: He's more composed than his wily mother. |
| 562 | * WarriorPoet: Skillfully draws a metaphor between the late-blooming flower and Mulan. |
| 563 | [[/folder]] |
| 564 | |
| 565 | [[folder:Fa Li]] |
| 566 | -->'''Voiced by:''' Freda Foh Shen; Nancy [=McKenzie=] (speaking) and Vicky Córdova (singing) (Latin American Spanish dub); Rosine Cadoret (European French dub), Freda Foh Shen (Mandarin Chinese), Wang Bin (Taiwanese Mandarin), May Tse (Cantonese) |
| 567 | [[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Fa-Li-disney-parents-31183082-200-200_5740.jpg]] |
| 568 | [[caption-width-right:200:''"I should have prayed to the ancestors for luck."'']] |
| 569 | |
| 570 | |
| 571 | Mulan's mother. |
| 572 | ---- |
| 573 | * AdaptationNameChange: The earliest case of her given name had it as "Jia". |
| 574 | * CoolOldLady: In the parenting way. She always tries to understand her daughter and accepts all the same. |
| 575 | * DeadpanSnarker: Towards Mulan when she complains about the temperature of the bath tub. |
| 576 | --> '''Fa Li''': It would had been warm if you were ''here on time''. |
| 577 | * GoodParents: Similar to her husband and mother-in-law, Fa Li does not berate her daughter after she fails at the matchmaker's and appears genuinely upset and concerned for Mulan afterwards. She's also very scared for Mulan's safety after she leaves for the army. |
| 578 | * HappilyMarried: To Fa Zhou. See his entry. |
| 579 | * HouseWife: Like other women her age in this setting, she cooks and raises children. |
| 580 | * NiceGirl: Motherly, loving, and understanding. |
| 581 | * TheQuietOne: Like Mulan herself. |
| 582 | * ShipperOnDeck: She cries TearsOfJoy when Mulan accepts Shang's marriage proposal. |
| 583 | * SoProudOfYou: Her contented smile at the end when she sees her returned daughter speaks volumes for how proud she is of Mulan and her accomplishments. |
| 584 | * StrongFamilyResemblance: She and Mulan have some similar features. |
| 585 | * WhatTheHellHero: A tiny one; she tells off Mulan for being late for her matchmaking exam preparation. |
| 586 | [[/folder]] |
| 587 | |
| 588 | [[folder:Grandmother Fa]] |
| 589 | -->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/JuneForay (speaking), Marni Nixon (singing); Creator/RocioGarcel (Latin American Spanish dub); Lily Baron (speaking) and Marie Thérèse Orain (singing) (European French dub); Nechama Handel (Hebrew dub), Feng Xianzhen (Mandarin Chinese dub), Choi Choi (Taiwanese Mandarin dub), Lai Suen (Cantonese dub) |
| 590 | [[quoteright:210:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/char_20137_7971.jpg]] |
| 591 | [[caption-width-right:210:''"WOO! Sign me up for the next war!"'']] |
| 592 | |
| 593 | Mulan's grandmother. While she may seem to be a bit kooky, she is still quite wise. |
| 594 | ---- |
| 595 | * AdaptationNameChange: In "The Complete Account of Extraordinary Mulan", where she made her debut, her married name was "Zhu" rather than "Fa." |
| 596 | * AscendedExtra: In the 1800 novel "The Complete Account of Extraordinary Mulan", Mulan's grandmother was a mere onlooker, while her husband Zhu Ruoxo taught their granddaughter martial arts and dark magic. No, really. Here, she has a somewhat larger role and seems to be a widow. |
| 597 | * BlueIsHeroic: Wears blue clothing like her son and is a kind-hearted woman. |
| 598 | * CloudcuckooLander: She believes in lucky crickets and decides to blindly cross a busy road with Cri-Kee as her good luck charm. |
| 599 | * CoolOldLady: She fixes her granddaughter with a little bit of luck, gambles, and she has the sarcasm and appreciation of young men to blend in with her teenage counterparts. |
| 600 | * DeadpanSnarker: The line: "Who spit in her bean curd?" is a good example. |
| 601 | * DidntThinkThisThrough: Equipping Mulan with her lucky cricket Cri-Kee moments before her meeting with the Matchmaker didn't work out so well for her granddaughter, to put it mildly. |
| 602 | * DirtyOldWoman: She's ''very'' impressed with Shang. |
| 603 | -->'''Grandmother Fa:''' Sign ''me'' up for the next war! |
| 604 | * GoodParents: She has done very well by Fa Zhou and definitely adores her granddaughter, whom she fully accepts for who she is and only wants the best for her. |
| 605 | * HiddenDepths: While wise-cracking and charmingly rude for most of the movie's introduction, she does have a remarkably strong spiritual side. She gives Mulan numerous amulets for good luck with the matchmaker, immediately wakes up when Mulan runs away, and also the only one whose prayers actually reach the ancestors. |
| 606 | * MiniatureSeniorCitizens: She is ''much'' shorter than the other characters. |
| 607 | * MultigenerationalHousehold: Typical for the time period and Chinese culture in general. She gets on well with the entire family, especially her granddaughter. |
| 608 | * MySignificanceSenseIsTingling: She sensed Mulan running away while she was asleep. |
| 609 | * NiceGirl: She's open-minded, protective, and fun-loving. |
| 610 | * OpenMindedParent: A grandparent example. She's ''very'' accepting of Mulan's personality and does not take well to anyone criticizing her granddaughter. |
| 611 | * ScrewPolitenessImASenior: Particularly for people she doesn't like or those she likes a bit too much (see: Shang). |
| 612 | * ShipperOnDeck: Grandmother Fa definitely ships Mulan and General Shang. |
| 613 | -->'''Mulan:''' (''to Shang'') Would you like to stay for dinner?\ |
| 614 | '''Grandmother Fa:''' Would you like to stay forever? |
| 615 | * StrollingThroughTheChaos: To show that Cri-Kee is a lucky cricket, she crosses a street while covering her eyes. Even Cri-Kee is scared by the ensuing chaos but she's unharmed and describes it as proof of Cri-Kee's luck. |
| 616 | * UnnamedParent: The mother of Fa Zhou and grandmother of Mulan, but her given name isn't revealed. |
| 617 | * WackyParentSeriousChild: She's more wily than her serious son. |
| 618 | [[/folder]] |
| 619 | |
| 620 | [[folder:Khan]] |
| 621 | -->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/FrankWelker |
| 622 | [[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/khan794797_7654.jpg]] |
| 623 | |
| 624 | Mulan's horse. |
| 625 | ---- |
| 626 | * AmplifiedAnimalAptitude: He's smart enough to be Mulan's SecretKeeper. |
| 627 | * CoolHorse: A black stallion. |
| 628 | * DarkIsNotEvil: Has black fur, but is one of the good guys. |
| 629 | * {{Foil}}: Like Cri-Kee, he is this to Mushu. While the former is selfish doesn’t initially care about helping Mulan, the latter clearly has UndyingLoyalty for her. |
| 630 | * AFriendInNeed: Wherever Mulan goes, Khan will be right there with her, even if it's into an avalanche. |
| 631 | * GivenNameReveal: His real name is only revealed by Mulan addressing him by it in his final scene (with Mushu calling him “Khannie” in an earlier scene). |
| 632 | * HypercompetentSidekick: He is the most proves to be a rather more helpful sidekick to Mulan than Mushu. He even braves rushing into an oncoming snow avalanche in order to save her, while every other character (understandably) runs away from it. |
| 633 | * IntelligibleUnintelligible: Only Mushu can understand him. |
| 634 | -->(''Khan whinnies'')\ |
| 635 | '''Mushu:''' What d'you mean the troops just left? |
| 636 | * MadeOfIron: He survives a massive ''avalanche'' that hit him head-on and then rode to the Imperial City at a dead sprint. |
| 637 | * MythologyGag: His name. In the original version of the legend, Mulan's monarch was the Khan of the Northern Wei and the invading force came from the Rouran Khaganate while in the Sui Tang Romance version, Mulan was a subject of Heshana Khan, Ruler of the Western Turkic Khaganate. |
| 638 | * NonHumanSidekick: Mulan's warhorse. |
| 639 | * SilentSnarker: One can interpret by looking at some of Khan’s expressions that he is constantly silently snarking. |
| 640 | * UndyingLoyalty: To Mulan. Justified as RealLife horses have been known to go to great lengths to save their humans, often times at the cost of their own lives. This isn't seen very often, but when a horse develops a bond with a human, there is ''nothing'' on heaven or earth that will keep them apart. |
| 641 | [[/folder]] |
| 642 | |
| 643 | [[folder:"Little Brother"]] |
| 644 | [[quoteright:230:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/42db796ddd0d122a6fb7c63163710b3a.jpg]] |
| 645 | --> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/ChrisSanders (''Mulan''), Creator/FrankWelker (''Mulan II'') |
| 646 | |
| 647 | The Fa family pet dog. |
| 648 | ---- |
| 649 | * MythologyGag: In the Chinese legend, Mulan has an ''actual'' little brother who is too young for the army, but he was AdaptedOut. |
| 650 | * NearlyNormalAnimal: Cartoonish in appearance, but he's not a talking animal. |
| 651 | * PreciousPuppy: He's an adorable, hyperactive little puppy. |
| 652 | * RidiculouslyCuteCritter: A floppy little dog, who looks like he's part beagle and part pillow. |
| 653 | [[/folder]] |
| 654 | |
| 655 | [[folder:The Ancestors]] |
| 656 | [[quoteright:245:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/835514_1316415606051_full_8869.jpg]] |
| 657 | [[caption-width-right:245:''"Go! The fate of the Fa family rests in your claws."'']] |
| 658 | -->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/GeorgeTakei (First) (original); Creator/JoseLavat (First), Daniel Abundis (Abacus One), Magda Giner (Lady Ancestor), Ricardo Hill (Big Beard Ancestor), Esteban Siller (Farmer Ancestor) (Latin American Spanish dub); Jean Davy (First Ancestor) (European French dub); Creator/NtinosSoutis (First) (Greek dub); Dov Raizer (First) (Hebrew dub) |
| 659 | |
| 660 | The ancestors of the Fa family. |
| 661 | ---- |
| 662 | * AmericanGothicCouple: Two of them are based on the painting. |
| 663 | * AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: They live inside the tablets in the Fa family shrine as spirits. |
| 664 | * DysfunctionalFamily: ''Hoo Boy''. Their different personalities really clash with each other, and that's not even talking about their lifestyles, choices and destinies, much to the elder ancestor's dismay. |
| 665 | * FogFeet: Since they're ghosts, they don't have feet. |
| 666 | * JewishMother: One of the female ancestors acts like a stereotypical Jewish mother, claiming that ''her'' children never caused trouble because they all became acupuncturists. A male ancestor who is implied to be her husband retorts, "Well, we can't ''all'' be acupuncturists!" |
| 667 | * NoodleIncident: Whatever Mushu did that ended with Fa Deng losing his head is not explained. |
| 668 | * OffWithHisHead: Fa Deng was decapitated on account of Mushu's misguidance (resulting in his demotion to gong-ringer), and his spirit is shown carrying it. |
| 669 | -->'''Fa Deng''': Yeah. [[SarcasmMode Thanks a lot]]. |
| 670 | * OnlySaneWoman: One of the female ancestors attempts to speak up on Mulan's behalf and points out that she's just trying to help her father, but is overruled. |
| 671 | * OurGhostsAreDifferent: Apparently solid, as seen in the scene where Mushu grabs onto the First Ancestor's beard. Then again, [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Mushu is a dragon.]] |
| 672 | * PapaWolf: When someone threatens their descendants, they unleash powerful animal guardians. |
| 673 | * SeveredHeadSports: When celebrating at the end, the Fa Deng gets his head thrown around like a beach ball. |
| 674 | * StaffOfAuthority: The First Ancestor wields one and directs the others. |
| 675 | * SupernaturalFloatingHair: The First Ancestor's hair and beard float. |
| 676 | * TookALevelInJerkass: A more justified case towards Mushu. They are implied to have demoted him to a unappreciated menial due to his bad track record and generally impudent attitude, though did give credit where it was due when he proved himself through Mulan and reinstated him as guardian...only to completely regret the decision by the second film when he gains an insufferable spoiled ego over it, using LoopholeAbuse as a means to finally be rid of him for good. Mushu does get back his position again, though unlike the first film, ''none of them'' are celebrating, especially since he is as arrogant towards them as ever. |
| 677 | * UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: In the second film, they are so eager to be rid of Mushu that they plan to utilise LoopholeAbuse to destroy his clause as soon as Mulan marries, [[AssumedWin and gloat his unemployment prematurely as soon as the engagement is announced]]. They didn't anticipate that Mushu would be desperate enough to stoop to sabotaging Mulan and Li Shang's relationship to prevent it happening. |
| 678 | [[/folder]] |
| 679 | |
| 680 | !!The Royal Family and Counsel |
| 681 | |
| 682 | [[folder:The Emperor]] |
| 683 | [[quoteright:257:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mulan_emperor_250_7.png]] |
| 684 | [[caption-width-right:257:''"No matter how the wind howls, the mountain cannot bow to it."'']] |
| 685 | -->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/PatMorita (original); Jesús Colin (Latin American Spanish dub); Creator/BernardDheran (European French dub); Yitzchak Seidof (Hebrew dub), Zhou Zhiqiang (Mandarin Chinese dub), Tong Shaozong (Taiwanese Mandarin dub), Kwan Hoi Shan (Cantonese dub) |
| 686 | |
| 687 | The emperor of China. |
| 688 | ---- |
| 689 | * AgeLift: The original ballad was about Tuoba Buri's 429 campaign against the Rouran Khaganate, which lasted twelve years. Buri Khan was 21 when the campaign started and 33 when it ended. The Emperor, by contrast, is a man who is at least in his sixties. |
| 690 | * ArsonMurderAndLifesaving: A textbook example. He starts off admonishing Mulan for her various misdeeds throughout the movie but finishes the list with the fact that she saved all of China by doing so. It's even the page quote. |
| 691 | * BadassInDistress: Falls victim to a Hun ambush and has to be rescued. |
| 692 | * BigGood: The wise and benevolent ruler of China whom all the heroes answer to. |
| 693 | * CoolOldGuy: |
| 694 | ** Not only is he wise and fearless but he bluntly points out to Shang how into Mulan the former is. |
| 695 | ** Mulan hugs him in gratitude for his praise, which would have normally gotten her executed for sacrilege. Not only does he not have a problem with it after a split second surprise, he's even endeared by it like the kindly old grandfather he really is. It also plays into the humility he shows at the beginning of the movie, where he views his people as more important than himself, showing that he doesn't care too much about his own status to be bothered about such a detail. |
| 696 | * DeadpanSnarker: He not-so-subtly insults Chi Fu by telling Mulan she can have his job, and later tells Shang (about Mulan), “You don’t meet a girl like ''that'' every dynasty.” |
| 697 | * DefiantCaptive: When Shan Yu captured him, he treats the much bigger and stronger guy like some slow-in-the-head child, and refuses to bow to him. |
| 698 | * DemotedToExtra: He only gets a couple of scenes in the beginning of the second film, although he only had one scene at the beginning and a single long scene at the end of the first |
| 699 | * TheEmperor: The illustrious sole ruler of China. |
| 700 | * EstablishingCharacterMoment: When told his armies will protect him, he declared that the armies should also go out to protect his people, showing that he is a benevolent ruler. He also shows wisdom and caution with his "grain of rice" line. |
| 701 | * AFatherToHisMen: More like a Father to his Country, he cares deeply for his people, wishing to protect them, sending his palace warriors to the borders to fight off the invasion, dispense his great wisdom freely to those around him, and even in his declaration of victory to the public he refers to his people as "My Children". |
| 702 | * {{Foil}}: To Shan Yu. While the Emperor is a king who is respected by his people and wishes to have peace, Shan Yu is a general who is feared by China and wishes to declare war. |
| 703 | * GoldMakesEverythingShiny: His robe, palace and everything around is are coated in gold or is heavily accented with it. |
| 704 | * TheGoodKing: This is his establishing character moment and cardinal trait. When he's on screen, his actions are guided by China's welfare. |
| 705 | * KneelBeforeFrodo: [[spoiler:The Emperor (and subsequently everyone at the capital) bows to Mulan for her heroism.]] |
| 706 | * KneelBeforeZod: Defied AWESOMELY. |
| 707 | --> '''Emperor:''' [''to Shan Yu''] [[DefiantToTheEnd No matter how the wind howls, the mountain cannot bow to it.]] |
| 708 | * NervesOfSteel: A ''master'' of this. He never loses his cool or shows fear even when threatened with murder. |
| 709 | * NiceGuy: All signs point that he is just as affable in his personal life as he is in public matters. Best shown when Mulan hugging him, an act that to answer Yao's question, she is most certainly not allowed to do, shows that he doesn't really mind his own status too much and takes it like the grandfatherly sage he is. |
| 710 | * NonActionGuy: By all accounts, he's not a soldier. That doesn't stop him from being awesome in his own way. |
| 711 | * NoNameGiven: [[JustifiedTrope The reigning Emperor's name is never mentioned]], so "Your Majesty", "Your Excellency", etc is all we get. |
| 712 | * PapaWolf: To all of ImperialChina. When he gives the "protect my people" line it is the same tone as 'protect my children'. |
| 713 | * ReasonableAuthorityFigure: He accepts Mulan's nature as a hero almost instantly. |
| 714 | * ShipperOnDeck: He tries to be subtle about how Shang should go after Mulan, but Shang doesn't get it, so he goes straight to the point. |
| 715 | -->'''Emperor:''' The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all.\ |
| 716 | '''Shang:''' ...Sir?\ |
| 717 | '''Emperor:''' You don't meet a girl like ''that'' every dynasty! |
| 718 | [[/folder]] |
| 719 | |
| 720 | [[folder:Chi Fu]] |
| 721 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chi_fu_mulan.jpg]] |
| 722 | [[caption-width-right:350:''"Be careful, Captain. The General may be your father, but I am the Emperor's counsel. And oh, by the way, I got the job on my own."'']] |
| 723 | -->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/JamesHong (original); Creator/MarioFilio (Latin American Spanish dub); Michel Prudhomme (European French dub); Creator/YoshitoYasuhara (Japanese dub); Lior Zohar (Hebrew dub), Tian Erxi (Mandarin Chinese dub), Sun Chung Tai (Taiwanese Mandarin dub), Tinson Lung (Cantonese dub) |
| 724 | |
| 725 | A member of the Emperor's consul and advisor to Li Shang who refuses to allow the recruits to join the battle against the Huns. |
| 726 | ---- |
| 727 | * AdaptationalVillainy: |
| 728 | ** In Mulan Jr., in which there's a throwaway line about him betraying the army for his own personal gain. While he really disliked certain members of the army, there was no indication that he felt any disloyalty towards them and even allows them to join Li in battle when he gets a (forged) letter that indicates Li needs it. |
| 729 | ** Zig-zagged with Mulan being revealed. He completely loses it in the movie, but he did have a reason to be genuinely angry: by deceiving everybody, she had brought dishonor to ''everybody'' in the entire Chinese army - while there weren't that many army members left, she had screwed over several people, and their families - and dishonor ''is'' a pretty big deal...in the stage show he actually takes it the most calmly out of everybody, but can't be bothered by the potential ramifications for everyone else and just makes a note about tightening up security. Then he still suggests Mulan be executed. The DissonantSerenity is arguably worse. |
| 730 | * AmbiguouslyGay: Loosely implied, since the soldiers assume his "girl back home" [[MamasBoy is his mother]] and he doesn't show much appreciation for women. Granted, that's not particularly special in this period, but with Chi Fu it's significant. Though it's highly possible, based on his position and the time in which the film is set, that he is a [[EunuchsAreEvil eunuch]]. |
| 731 | * BerserkButton: Just the idea of women being equal to men make him fly into a rant. [[SchmuckBait Just try it.]] |
| 732 | * BilingualBonus: Chi Fu's name is a pun on the Chinese word for "[[MeaningfulName to bully]]." |
| 733 | * ButtMonkey: It's rather entertaining to see him get made fun of or talked down to and given his actions and attitude, [[LaserGuidedKarma he deserves every bit of it.]] |
| 734 | * DirtyCoward: He cowers underneath the cannons like a big baby during the fight in the mountains. |
| 735 | * EffeminateMisogynisticGuy: Chi Fu is a NonActionGuy known for his GirlyScream, yet when told that Mulan is a hero he simply says ''"'tis a woman, she'll never be worth anything."'' Granted, there is some room for interpreting this as contempt for Mulan as an ''individual'', but given his statement that women should know to hold their tongues in front of men, he is definitely the most openly-misogynistic male character. |
| 736 | * EveryoneHasStandards: |
| 737 | ** Even ''he'' is horrified when he finds [[spoiler:the razed village]]. |
| 738 | ** It's also worth noting that when he is tasked with bringing the revealed Mulan out of her tent, while he does chew her out and drop her on the ground, he otherwise does his best to be decent with handling the half-naked girl; only holding her by her forearm and keeping her facing away from him whenever he can. Whether he was being mindful of Mulan's modesty or just so disgusted he couldn't bring himself to look at her more than strictly necessary, [[RapeIsASpecialKindofEvil it did show a line he wouldn't cross]]. |
| 739 | * TheFriendNobodyLikes: No one in the Chinese Army seems to regard Chi Fu with any respect, from the chain of command down to the lowly recruits. General Li gives him a DisapprovingLook (essentially ordering him to shut up) when he tries to interject during Li and Shang's meeting, Shang openly detests him, and the trainees mock him every chance they get without fear of repercussion. It's telling that when he tries to join in while the troops are all having a lake bath, they kick him out and humiliate him for good measure. Even the Emperor who appointed him doesn't seem to care for him much, thinking nothing of dismissing him and giving his job to Mulan. |
| 740 | * GirlfriendInCanada: Chi Fu claims he has an amazing girl back home. The sideways glance he gives the other soldiers implies he's just lying to impress the other guys. Yao isn't even convinced. |
| 741 | * HateSink: Shan-Yu has done lots of horrible things, but we can't really hate him since he's an awesome villain. We can, however, hate Chi Fu for a dozen reasons that make him too close to the sort of people we encounter in real life. He's condescending, arrogant, obstructive, misogynistic, and provides no help against the Huns outside of conscripting villagers. |
| 742 | * HeelFaceTurn: He undergoes one in ''Mulan's Adventure Journal: The Palace of Secrets'' where he and Mulan become allies to save the Emperor from a conspiracy against his life. |
| 743 | * JaggedMouth: No, he's not constantly pouting, as his bizarrely shaped lower jaw can be seen even when he's genuinely smiling. |
| 744 | * {{Jerkass}}: The only person he is ''not'' rude to is the Emperor himself. |
| 745 | * JerkassHasAPoint: When Mulan is exposed as a woman he all but demands her execution... Because she ''had'' committed a capital crime, even stating "You know the law" as a matter of fact when Yao, Ling, and Chien Po try to oppose the decision. |
| 746 | * KnightTemplar: Mildly given his comical moments. While he’s on the side of the Empire rather than the Huns, he’s one of the most horrible characters in the franchise. |
| 747 | * LaserGuidedKarma: Played with; after all his abuse towards Mulan, he doesn't really get punished for it, but the Emperor is so impressed by her deeds that when Chi Fu scoffs at the idea of making her one of his advisers, the Emperor casually offers her ''his'' job instead, much to Chi Fu's disbelief and he faints. And although Mulan turned it down, it's most likely he was fired anyway for all his mistreatment towards her. |
| 748 | * LeanAndMean: The thinnest and the meanest (non-antagonist) character in the film. |
| 749 | * NonActionGuy: Justified. He's the Emperor's aide, not a soldier, and is understandably terrified when he is present during a Hun attack. |
| 750 | * NoodleIncident: "You men owe me a new pair of slippers!" |
| 751 | * ObstructiveBureaucrat: Attempts to keep Shang's soldiers out of the war with his report. |
| 752 | * PetTheDog: He has the decency to be horrified when they stumble upon [[spoiler:the razed village and slaughtered army]], even giving some polite words to Shang. |
| 753 | * PutOnABus: Unlike the other characters that returned in the sequel, Chi Fu doesn't return. |
| 754 | * ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Played with, his obstructing of the heroes is played up for all it's worth, but closer watching reveals that in these he's never once acting in his own specific self-interest, and is actually just principled to a fault. This is what allow the protagonists to get him off their backs - when the emperor suddenly decides to favor Mulan, he does quietly cede: Well, until the emperor starts talking about making sixteen year old Mulan one of his counselors-''that'' was too much for even him to submit to. |
| 755 | ** It's not mentioned, but as a member of the Emperor's Counsel he's one of the most important men in China, second only to the Emperor, the Commander of the Armed Forces, and the Prime Minister (in this order). In spite of this he doesn't demand horrific punishments from the soldiers for insulting him as he could have, knows enough of military matters to let Shang do his job as the military specialist, and when Shang decides to not execute Mulan he accepts (offscreen) to spare her in spite of having committed a capital crime. |
| 756 | * ScreamsLikeALittleGirl: [[ImmediateSelfContradiction Right after denying it he does it!]] |
| 757 | * SelfMadeMan: As he points out, he got to his position through his own hard work, not nepotism. |
| 758 | * SmallNameBigEgo: He's quite full of himself, believing he's indispensable as the Emperor's personal counsel and is not afraid to flaunt his position in front of China's officers. Despite his ego, he never actually says anything of worth and just keeps running his mouth like some authoritarian big shot. The upshot is that if the Emperor is to be believed, his job is easy to replace anyway. |
| 759 | * SmugSnake: "Impossible! No one could get through the Great Wall." This comes right after hearing that someone ''did'' get through the Great Wall. |
| 760 | * StrawMisogynist: What makes Chi Fu more irritating and hated than Shan-Yu himself: he is essentially a walking embodiment of incompetent, sexist and sycophantic authority figures everywhere. It's very unlikely that a regular person would be unlucky enough to cross paths with someone like Shan-Yu. However, unless you live a very charmed life, you have met or will meet someone like Chi Fu, whether it's a teacher, a boss or your co-worker. |
| 761 | * TokenEvilTeammate: Not necessarily ''evil'', but he's the only one on China's side who remains a thoroughly unpleasant {{Jerkass}} by the end of the first film. |
| 762 | * TookALevelInKindness: He learns to respect Mulan in the comicbook ''Mulan's Adventure Journal: The Palace of Secrets'', as they work together to protect the Emperor from a conspiration. |
| 763 | * UndyingLoyalty: Despite his snobbish behavior, he does show a positive trait in being industrious and loyal to the Emperor, as when the Emperor ordered the distribution of conscription notices to all of China, Chi Fu went as far as to distribute them himself. In the comicbook ''Mulan's Adventure Journal: The Palace of Secrets'', the Emperor even considers him the only person he can still trust after finding out there's a conspiration against his life taking place in his own palace. |
| 764 | * UngratefulBastard: [[spoiler: Yes, even after Mulan saved ''all of China'' from Shan Yu and his Huns, Chi Fu stands by his opinion that she's worthless.]] |
| 765 | [[/folder]] |
| 766 | |
| 767 | [[folder:Mei, Ting-Ting, and Su]] |
| 768 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/su_ting_ting_mei.png]] |
| 769 | [[caption-width-right:350:Left to right: Su, Ting-Ting, and Mei.]] |
| 770 | -->'''Ting-Ting voiced by:''' Creator/SandraOh, Judy Kuhn (singing voice) (original); Gaby Cárdenas (Latin American Spanish dub); Véronique Alycia (speaking) and Marielle Hervé (singing) (European French dub)\ |
| 771 | '''Su voiced by:''' Creator/LaurenTom, Mandy Gonzalez (singing voice) (original); Irazema Terrazas (Latin American Spanish dub); Marie Millet (European French dub)\ |
| 772 | '''Mei voiced by:''' Creator/LucyLiu, Beth Blankenship (singing voice) (original); Natalia Sosa (Latin American Spanish dub); Véronique Desmadryl (European French dub) |
| 773 | |
| 774 | The Emperor's three daughters who appear in the sequel to participate in an arranged marriage. |
| 775 | ---- |
| 776 | [[AC:In general]] |
| 777 | * ArrangedMarriage: The main conflict in the sequel is that to help avert a war, the princesses have an arrange marriage. Problem is they want to MarryForLove. [[spoiler: Thanks to Mushu, the princesses get out of the wedding, avert a war, and marry for love.]] |
| 778 | * BirdsOfAFeather: With Yao, Ling, and Chien Po. Mei is feisty and rebellious (Yao), Ting-Ting [[spoiler: has a corny and immature sense of humor]] (Ling, though she tries to hide it), and Su is a sweet BigEater (Chien Po). |
| 779 | * BodyguardCrush: They fall in love with the three soldiers tasked with protecting them. |
| 780 | * ColorCodedCharacters: Mei is pink, Ting-Ting is purple and Su is yellow. |
| 781 | * DaddysGirl: All three princesses love their father very much and don't want him to [[WellDoneSonGuy be disappointed in them]]. |
| 782 | * FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: Ting-Ting's the oldest and most mature. Su's the youngest and most childish. Mei's kind of in between the two. |
| 783 | * FreudianTrio: Ting-Ting is the Superego that initially reproves Mei for suggesting that she and Ling have a connection and knows where her duty lies (will do the arranged marriage because it's her duty to do so), Su is the Ego who acts as the emotional middle ground of stability between Mei and Ting-Ting, even in the midst of her connection with Chien Po (she wants to marry for true love, but also understands that doing so will cause a lot of problems), and Mei is the Id who rebukes Ting-Ting for denying that she and Ling have a special connection (she was planning to run away from the arrangement, even though it meant a possible war). |
| 784 | * HighClassFan: The princesses are often seen with a fan in their hands, to show off that they're [[ProperLady Proper Ladies]]. Ting-Ting seems to especially hold on to hers, as she is the oldest and most mature of them, and during their IWantSong, "Like Other Girls", her younger sisters rip the fan out of her hands when trying to convince her to live a little. |
| 785 | * IJustWantToBeNormal: See IWantSong; it's about the freedom and individuality that the princesses desire despite the limitations that stereotyped gender roles confine them to. |
| 786 | * IWantSong: "Like Other Girls". |
| 787 | * NiceGirl: All three of them are kind, thoughtful, and polite. |
| 788 | * NiceMeanAndInbetween: {{Downplayed|Trope}}. All three are nice, but differ in temperament: Su (Nice) is the most cheerful and fun-loving. Ting-Ting (Mean) tells her sisters, especially Mei, not to fall in love because they have to abide by the arranged marriage. Mei (Inbetween) a really nice girl, but is willing to risk her country's safety for her own happiness, though it's portrayed quite sympathetically. |
| 789 | * MarryForLove: What all of them truly want..."To meet a nice guy who likes me for ''me''". [[spoiler:And get thanks to Mushu.]] |
| 790 | * OfficialCouple: [[spoiler: Mei with Yao, Ling with Ting-Ting, and Su with Chien Po.]] |
| 791 | * PrefersGoingBarefoot: During their song "Like Other Girls", the princesses claim that, if they lived like commoner girls, they wouldn't have to wear shoes (which they claim as "pinchy"). They then proceed to remove their shoes and spend the rest of the song barefoot. |
| 792 | * ScaryShadowFakeout: Not scary, but rather bizarre. As they approach the back door of the Emperor's palace ready to leave for Qigong, we see a shadow of what appears to be an aardvark, but only turns out to be shadows of themselves merged together, justifying their stylized hairdos. |
| 793 | * SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: All three of them want to marry someone who loves them for them. They end up falling in love with some of China's bravest, most loyal, and eternally dedicated and ''decorated'' soldiers: [[BirdsOfAFeather Yao, Ling, and Chien Po, respectively.]] |
| 794 | ** Mei tells her sisters there's more to [[BruiserWithASoftCenter Yao]] then what meets the eye and later tells ''him'' she finds it easy to talk to him. |
| 795 | ** [[{{Keet}} Ling]] won Ting-Ting's heart by making her laugh. Before that, she gave him a warm smile after he found and personally dried her fan before before giving it back. Also, he gets extra points for Ling for finding her laugh (which she admittedly hates) ''adorable''. |
| 796 | ** Su and [[GentleGiant Chien Po]] bonded over their love of food, and Su was smitten with his kindness. |
| 797 | * TomboyAndGirlyGirl: The Girly Girls (more accustomed to "lady like" things) to Mulan's Tomboy (isn't very good at it and has the most experience with fighting). |
| 798 | * UptownGirl The princesses of China fall in love with commoners (who are also decorated soldiers). |
| 799 | * WellDoneDaughterGirl: Part of the reason they agreed to the arranged marriages was to please their father. |
| 800 | |
| 801 | [[AC:Mei]] |
| 802 | * GenkiGirl: While not on Su's level, Mei is a ''very'' passionate woman. |
| 803 | * LoveAtFirstSight: With Yao. After just one look at Yao, Mei admits to her sisters that there's something special about him. |
| 804 | * PinkMeansFeminine: Mei's signature dress is pink and she's as girly as her sisters. |
| 805 | * ShipperOnDeck: She even ''scolded'' Ting-Ting for denying she and Ling had a connection. |
| 806 | * TinyGuyHugeGirl: Mei is the Huge Girl to Yao's Tiny Guy; Yao may be physically muscular, but he only reaches around Mei's waist. |
| 807 | * ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend: Downplayed. When Su makes an insult towards Yao, Mei throws a pillow at her. |
| 808 | * WomenPreferStrongMen: Mei had a dreamy look on her face when she saw Yao split a log with his ''bare hands''. |
| 809 | |
| 810 | [[AC:Ting-Ting]] |
| 811 | * AnnoyingLaugh: She has the stereotypical pig snort laugh, which she herself hates, though Ling thinks it's cute. |
| 812 | * BigSisterInstinct: When the carriage was about to fall in the river, the princesses were stuck inside. Mei was safely pulled out, leaving Ting-Ting and Su inside. Ting-Ting ''immediately'' grabbed Su and tossed her outside, knowing that one of the guards would catch her. |
| 813 | * GracefulLadiesLikePurple: Ting-Ting's signature dress is purple and she produces an air of "queenliness" (understandable, since she's the oldest and thus is next in line for the throne after their father). |
| 814 | * MsExposition: Ting-Ting explains the princess life. |
| 815 | * NotSoAboveItAll: She is the eldest and most mature of the three, and tries to keep her sisters in line, but even she has her limits. While she spends the first halve of "Like Other Girls" trying to get Mei and Su to act civilized, she quickly joins in and shows she hates rules just as much as they do. When not acting like a dignified princess, she likes to make a fool of herself and wiggle chopsticks in her nose. |
| 816 | * NotSoStoic: When Ling gets Ting-Ting to laugh. |
| 817 | * OnlySaneWoman: Ting-Ting is the most reasonable and mature of the three. |
| 818 | * RepetitiveName: '''Ting-Ting'''. |
| 819 | * TheStoic: Ting-Ting for about three-quarters of ''Mulan II''. "Just get your pomegranates in the carriage." |
| 820 | * SugarAndIcePersonality: Ting-Ting is the most mature and reserved of her sisters, but is also polite and caring. |
| 821 | * ToughLeaderFacade: Ting-Ting, for a long time, hid her sense of humor because it wasn't dignified for a princess to wiggle chopsticks in her nose. |
| 822 | * UptightLovesWild: She is the most uptight princess, devoted to honor, and tries be a role model to her sisters. Ling, who wanted a girl who would laugh at his jokes (even knowing the chopstick nose trick that Ling believes to have invented), had to try harder than his partners to impress her. |
| 823 | |
| 824 | [[AC:Su]] |
| 825 | * TheBabyOfTheBunch: Su's the youngest and shortest daughter of the Emperor, as well as being the most childish. |
| 826 | * BigEater: Her second biggest concern appears to be food. |
| 827 | * ComedicUnderwearExposure: The part during the "Like Other Girls" song where she shows her underwear. |
| 828 | * FlatCharacter: Compared to Mei and Ting-Ting, all Su basically contributes to the film is to agree with whatever either sister is saying or giggle at anything. |
| 829 | * GenkiGirl: Su is the most excitable of her sisters. |
| 830 | * HiddenDepths: Su appears to be a speed reader when reading Mei's letter. |
| 831 | * HugeGuyTinyGirl: Su is the Tiny Girl to Chien Po's Huge Guy; the guy is the GentleGiant of his friends, while Su is the youngest of her sisters. |
| 832 | [[/folder]] |
| 833 | |
| 834 | !!The Hun Army |
| 835 | |
| 836 | [[folder:Shan Yu]] |
| 837 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/profile___shan_yu.jpg]] |
| 838 | [[caption-width-right:350:''"By building his wall, [the Emperor] challenged my strength. Well, I'm here to play his game."'']] |
| 839 | -->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/MiguelFerrer (original); Creator/RubenMoya (Latin American Spanish dub); Creator/RichardDarbois (European French dub); Mikael Persbrandt (Swedish dub); Creator/HiroshiFujioka (Japanese dub); Ohad Shachar (Hebrew dub), Massimo Corvo (Italian dub), Li Jianyi (Mandarin Chinese dub), David Hu (Taiwanese Mandarin dub), Chow Chi Fai (Cantonese dub) |
| 840 | |
| 841 | The main antagonist of the first movie. He's TheLeader of the Huns who is bent on conquering China. |
| 842 | ---- |
| 843 | * AbsurdlySharpBlade: His sword can cut through thick pillars far too easily. |
| 844 | * AdaptationalNameChange: The first case of the leader of the enemy force having a name is in "The Heroine Mulan Goes to War in Her Father's Place", where his name was "Leopard Skin." |
| 845 | * AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: His skin is unbelievably grey to make him appear more sinister. |
| 846 | * AmbiguouslyHuman: Some of Shan Yu's physical characteristics are quite alarming: he has clawed fingernails, fanged teeth, eyes that are definitely ''not'' a normal man's, and SuperStrength. A deleted scene even shows him sharing some kind of spiritual link with his falcon. But it's never really made clear who or ''what'' he's supposed to be other than his given background as a vicious foreign conqueror. It's worth noting that the real-life Xiongnu and Huns practiced a number of styles of body modifications, such as tooth-sharpening, head-flattening, and scarification. While Shan Yu's appearance is certainly not quite consistent with these modifications (there's no way anyone back then would have been able to get his eyes to do ''that''), some of his features like his pointed teeth could be attributed to such practices. |
| 847 | * AnimalEyes: His eyes are hawk-like black and yellow. This is in contrast to his falcon having human-like eyes of the same color. |
| 848 | * BadassBoast: Is fond of making these. In fact, he makes one in all of his (speaking) appearances. |
| 849 | -->"Tell your emperor to send his strongest armies! I'm ready."\ |
| 850 | "Your walls and and armies have fallen, and now, it's your turn." |
| 851 | * BadBoss: In one deleted scene, after the Huns have ransacked a village, one of them finds a small bird in a cage, still alive, and smuggles it into his clothing. Shan Yu finds him moments later after asking the Huns if anything at all in the village was still alive. He releases the bird, remarking, "all creatures should be given a chance to live free, but freedom has its price" as his falcon kills the bird and he stabs the man, turning it into a BadassBoast about what they're going to do to the Emperor of China. |
| 852 | * BaldOfEvil: Downplayed. He's a violent BloodKnight with a bit of hair missing from the top. |
| 853 | * BarbarianLonghair: Apart from on top of his head, Shan Yu's hair is pretty long. |
| 854 | * BenevolentBoss: Surprisingly enough, he's very respectful towards his army. He constantly praises their abilities, never treats them harshly, and is quite outraged when the majority of them are killed in an avalanche. He even politely declines one of his generals when they suggest avoiding the Chinese army. It makes sense when one takes his GeniusBruiser tendencies in mind and remember that an army that hates its leader isn't an army that will function well. |
| 855 | * TheBerserker: While normally cold and collected, he really loses it [[spoiler:when his plans are foiled]]. |
| 856 | * BigBad: He is the leader of the Huns and the one directing the invasion. |
| 857 | * BigEntrance: Scaling the Great Wall of China! |
| 858 | * BigOlEyebrows: The biggest eyebrows to add to his unusual and beast-like appearance. |
| 859 | * BlackEyesOfCrazy: His irises are [[YellowEyesOfSneakiness yellow]], but his sclerae (the "whites" of his eyes) are black. Unusual example in that this is actually his eye colour, and consequently they stay this way all the time, even when he is totally calm, rather than turning this colour when he loses it. |
| 860 | * BloodKnight: His first two scenes suggest him to be this, and he later confirms it when he rejects a suggestion to avoid the Imperial Army rather than meet them in combat. Shortly before the [[spoiler:avalanche wipes out his army]] he personally leads the charge against the heroes, and is so far in front of his horde that it is very clear he wants to fight them himself. |
| 861 | * CharlesAtlasSuperpower: When the Imperial scouts are captured he hoists one of them in a NeckLift with a single hand like he's picking up a feather. Later after infiltrating the palace in an effort to kill Mulan he furiously slices a sword through thick wooden pillars like they're made of cloth, and punches through thick walls with little effort. |
| 862 | * CoolSword: It has jagged edges. |
| 863 | * CruelAndUnusualDeath: [[spoiler:Mulan uses a rocket to send him flying into a stockpile of fireworks.]] |
| 864 | * DeadpanSnarker: His low-key and sardonic nature actually makes him ''scarier'' than if he were a typical [[EvilIsHammy scenery-chewing antagonist]]. |
| 865 | ** There's this moment just after his soldiers capture two Chinese scouts. |
| 866 | --->'''Shan Yu:''' [[SarcasmMode Nice work, gentlemen.]] You found the Hun army. |
| 867 | ** Also, when finally meeting the Emperor: |
| 868 | --->'''Shan Yu:''' ''[while hanging upside down]'' Boo! |
| 869 | * {{Determinator}}: After having lost his army sans 5 men to an avalanche, Shan Yu continues unabated to take on China and almost succeeds in dominating the country by taking the Emperor hostage. |
| 870 | * TheDreaded: Though the Emperor himself is too dignified to have a true OhCrap moment, his expression and actions when General Li says the Huns are being led by Shan Yu shows that he is aware that China could be in a ''lot'' of trouble. Also, when two imperial scouts get caught by the Huns and Shan Yu takes his hood off, revealing his face, one of them mutters a truly terrified, [[OhCrap "Shan Yu!"]] |
| 871 | * EstablishingCharacterMoment: |
| 872 | ** In the very first scene of the film, he leads an attack on the Great Wall of China, and does not stop a sentry who lights the signal fire. When the sentry defiantly says "Now all of China knows you're here", Shan Yu says [[BloodKnight "Perfect"]] [[ThreatBackfire while burning the Imperial flag]] ''[[ThreatBackfire in the signal fire]]''. |
| 873 | ** His next appearance marks another one, where he claims the reason he's invading China in the first place is because, "By building his Wall [the Emperor] challenged my strength. Well, I'm here to play his game. [[BadassBoast Go! Tell your Emperor to send his strongest armies. I'm ready."]] He then [[spoiler:[[KickTheDog jokingly orders his archer to kill one of the captured Chinese]], apparently ForTheEvulz]]. |
| 874 | * EvenEvilHasStandards: It's subtly implied he's a PoliticallyCorrectVillain, see the trope itself for details. |
| 875 | * EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: If you match the story up to real life and accept that the "Huns" are in fact the Xiongnu (made explicit in the Chinese dub), Shan Yu is not the villain's name but his TITLE (also represented as Chanyu, and in either event roughly translates to "Majesty Son of Heaven"). |
| 876 | * EvilIsBigger: Towers over all the heroes, except for Chien Po. |
| 877 | * EvilLaugh: Celebrates a victory with a deep and menacing laugh. |
| 878 | * EvilPlan: Oddly enough he doesn't seem that interested in [[TakeOverTheWorld taking over China]], but rather in proving himself superior to the Emperor by making him bow. |
| 879 | * EvilSoundsDeep: From having the deep husky voice of Miguel Ferrer. |
| 880 | * FashionableAsymmetry: Shan Yu only wears a glove on his left hand, which he uses as a perch for his falcon. |
| 881 | * FauxAffablyEvil: |
| 882 | ** The doll scene. The subtext of "The little girl will be missing her doll... we should return it to her" is clearly "let's murder her and raze her village to the ground while we're at it". He also kills General Li and his soldiers during the massacre of said village. |
| 883 | ** His interaction with the two Imperial scouts also reeks of this. He straightens one's cape seconds before ''hefting him into the air by his throat and holding his sword under the scout's chin''. Then, just as it seems he's letting them both get away with their lives, he orders his archer to take one of them out. |
| 884 | * FourStarBadass: He is the supreme leader of his army, and he personally leads the attacks. When we finally see him in action it is clear that he is ''extremely'' formidable. |
| 885 | * FrontlineGeneral: He's always the first man in a charge. |
| 886 | * GeniusBruiser: Tactically speaking, he is brilliant, and physically speaking, he's a monster. |
| 887 | * ImplacableMan: He ''really'' wants the Emperor to acknowledge his superiority, and minor inconveniences like [[spoiler:being buried alive in an avalanche of freezing snow which kills almost his entire army]] [[SkywardScream only make him angry]] and [[XanatosSpeedChess cause him to re-evaluate his strategy]]. [[spoiler:He nearly manages to win even then! Once Mulan reveals herself as the one who buried Shan Yu's army with an avalanche, he pursues her, [[KungShui not caring if he needs to break everything to do so]].]] |
| 888 | * TheJuggernaut: Makes a beeline from the borders of China directly to the Emperor. Anything that gets in the way will be crushed. Being buried under ''an entire avalanche'' does nothing but piss him off. |
| 889 | * KneelBeforeZod: His ultimate goal is to make the Emperor bow before him to signify his triumph over China. |
| 890 | * LargeAndInCharge: Both taller and broader than his lieutenants. |
| 891 | * LightningBruiser: Shan Yu may look like a MightyGlacier, and he shows himself to be just as strong as he looks, but he's as agile as a monkey. [[GeniusBruiser He's also fairly intelligent and an excellent strategist.]] |
| 892 | * LittleNo: He utters one when he looks to the crowd to see if he can find the Emperor, right before he enters a massive VillainousBreakdown. |
| 893 | * MadeOfIron: [[spoiler:The avalanche should have killed him. Shan Yu simply pulls himself out without injury. With absolutely no effort, he's out of the snow like a daisy!]] |
| 894 | * NearVillainVictory: Even General Li and his army were no match for him and the new soldiers were inexperienced even including Li Shang. The only reason he fails to conquer China is Mulan's creativity. |
| 895 | * NoHistoricalFiguresWereHarmed: He might have been inspired by notorius nomadic conquerors like Attila the Hun or Genghis Khan. Or he is based on one of the Chanyus (the leader of the Xiongnu in real life). One in particular matches Shan Yu's ruthlessness, [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modu_Chanyu Modu Chanyu]]. |
| 896 | * NoSongForTheWicked: This is one of the few films in the Disney Renaissance not to feature a VillainSong, the others being ''The Rescuers Down Under'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'' (though Hades sings in the series), and ''WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}}''. If you [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness discount the]] [[WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs three]] [[WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}} from]] [[WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty prior]] to the Disney Renaissance, this is also the only Franchise/DisneyPrincess film without a villain song. |
| 897 | * ObviouslyEvil: His grey skin, his black and yellow eyes, and his bestial appearance all point to "barbarian overlord". Plus, he has ''fangs''. |
| 898 | * PoliticallyCorrectVillain: It's subtle, but it's suggested he's not exactly sexist. Whereas Chi Fu did everything he could to bemoan that Mulan was a woman in the army, when she ties back her hair into a top knot to show, Shan Yu instantly recognizes her as "the soldier from the mountains," and fights her with as much ferocity as he would any male soldier. Sufficed to say, he rightfully focused less on her being female, and more on her being a mighty warrior. Justified by the fact that he is actually Xiongnu, and female Xiongnu could be soldiers.[[note]]To be fair, any sexism would have also taken a backseat to how ''pissed'' he was at recognizing the soldier who wiped out his entire army.[[/note]] |
| 899 | * PreMortemOneLiner: |
| 900 | ** To one of the two Chinese scouts he turned loose to give a message to the Emperor. While he doesn't directly kill the scout himself, he does give the implicit order to do so with chilling humor. |
| 901 | --->'''Shan Yu:''' How many men does it take to deliver a message?\ |
| 902 | '''Archer:''' ''[nocking arrow]'' One. |
| 903 | ** He attempts this with Mulan at the end. |
| 904 | --->'''Shan Yu:''' It looks like you're out of ideas.\ |
| 905 | '''Mulan:''' ''[Using the fan to parry the attack and take the sword]'' Not quite. |
| 906 | * RankScalesWithAsskicking: The leader is the most dangerous. |
| 907 | * RedRightHand: In addition to the grey skin and yellow eyes, concept art that depicts the anatmony of his skeleton reveals his spine to be deformed. |
| 908 | * {{Sadist}}: He takes very fiendish joy in the prospect of hurting and/or killing someone. Notice how he smiles while declaring to "return the doll to a little girl." |
| 909 | * SkywardScream: [[spoiler:When he realizes that the avalanche wiped out almost all of his army.]] |
| 910 | * TheSociopath: As a ruthless barbarian king who declares war on China because he sees the Great Wall as a challenge, he has some traits of ASPD. He has a dark sense of humor as shown when he quips about how many men are needed to send a message while his archer readies to kill one of the two Imperial scouts after he let both of them go, and in the doll scene where he quips about [[WouldHurtAChild "giving it back to the little girl"]] as they prepare to raze the village in Tung Shao Pass. When his plans fail because of an inconvenience, he loses his composure but remains sane enough to change his plans. That said, he is respectful towards his army but this may be more out of pragmatism than genuine respect. |
| 911 | * SoftSpokenSadist: The only time he raises his voice is when the Emperor refuses to bow to him. |
| 912 | * SticksToTheBack: The scabbard to his sword is positioned on his back. |
| 913 | * SuperStrength: He's powerful enough to demolish a reinforced double-door with his bare hands and later smashes through the palace rooftops with minimal effort. |
| 914 | * TakingYouWithMe: Once he sees that the avalanche is about to engulf his army, he slashes Mulan with his sword in an attempt to take her down with him. |
| 915 | * UnstoppableRage: When he gets angry, little obstacles like a massive barred door, thick columns, and a tiled roof don't slow him down. |
| 916 | * UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Aside from his lack of reaction to Mulan being a woman, he hardly reacts when he sees a literal dragon at the end of the movie. Granted, he was probably more focused on the giant explosive Mushu was aiming at him, and the fact that Mulan had once again outsmarted him. |
| 917 | * UseYourHead: Caps off a short, vicious fight against Shang with a headbutt, which only highlights his brutality. |
| 918 | * VillainousBreakdown: A downplayed trope since the breakdown simply makes him ''more'' beast-like than he was already. |
| 919 | * VillainousValour: To his enemies, he's a terrifying monster who slaughters entire villages. However, when the battle starts, he's leading his men at the forefront. |
| 920 | * VillainRespect: |
| 921 | ** When threatening Shang, he all but calls him a WorthyOpponent for taking his victory. |
| 922 | ** As far as he was concerned, Mulan was just some no-name RedShirt when they met on the mountain pass. When he finds out who she is, he drops everything to defeat "The Soldier from the Mountains". |
| 923 | * WouldHitAGirl: The poor little girl and Mulan are examples. |
| 924 | * WouldHurtAChild: "The little girl will be missing her doll. We should return it to her." |
| 925 | * XanatosGambit: His entire initial plan was a masterstroke of strategic brilliance. [[spoiler: He allowed the word of his army approaching to get out, knowing that China would gather its army to confront him. Once the army was located, he destroyed it with a sneak attack. One of his men suggested simply avoiding the army, but if he'd left it alone, the army would have tried to retake the capital after he'd taken it, and he knew that once the army was broken, there was no way that a new one could be assembled before he had conquered China.]] Were it not for Mulan, he'd have conquered China effortlessly. |
| 926 | [[/folder]] |
| 927 | |
| 928 | [[folder:Shan Yu's Elites]] |
| 929 | [[quoteright:336:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mulanfivehuns.jpg]] |
| 930 | [[caption-width-right:350:Left to right: Zhencha, Leiren, Bai, Bao and Sheshou.]] |
| 931 | |
| 932 | Five Hun soldiers who stand out amongst Shan Yu's army: Sheshou (Archer), Zhencha (Swordsman), Lieren (Hun with Brown Vest), Bai & Bao (Two Shirtless Huns (Shirtless Hun with hair on head and Shirtless Hun with completely bald head, respectively)). |
| 933 | ---- |
| 934 | %% AllThereInTheManual: None of their names are spoken in the film. |
| 935 | * AwesomenessByAnalysis: The group gathers to look at the doll given to them by Shan Yu; Lieren finds black pine, Bao finds white horsehair, and Zhencha finds cannon sulfur. |
| 936 | * BaldOfEvil: Three of the five (Sheshou, Bai & Bao) have no hair on the top of their heads. All of them (as well as the two that have hair (Zhencha and Lieren) are ruthless killers. |
| 937 | * CurbStompBattle: The group ended up on the receiving end of one [[spoiler:due to being caught off-guard by the surprise attack of Yao, Ling, and Chien Po being disguised as palace concubines]]. |
| 938 | * DistractedByTheSexy: Bai seems quite smitten when he sees Mulan along with a disguised Yao, Ling, and Chien Po. Bao, however [[NotDistractedByTheSexy is not]] and even gives Bai an [[DopeSlap elbow jab]] for being distracted by them. |
| 939 | * EliteMooks: Apart from Shan Yu, the five have the most characterization in the army, [[spoiler:and are the only survivors of the avalanche caused by Mulan]]. They then join Shan Yu's raid on the Emperor's palace. Before then, they are also the soldiers that weed out the Imperial scouts, lead the initial assault over the Wall, and are the ones who took part in the AwesomenessByAnalysis circle to find the location of the Imperial army. |
| 940 | * EvilBrit: Sheshou's accent sounds slightly British. |
| 941 | * GeniusBruiser: Lieren, Bai & Bao are the largest of the Huns alongside Shan Yu, and just like him, the darker-Bao and Lieren prove to be extremely clever and bright by (along with Zhencha) correctly guessing various components of the little doll without even taking a few minutes to figure it out. Bao is notable for appearing to keep his guard up somewhat when the group encounters the "ugly concubines", not that it helped him in the end. |
| 942 | * GPSEvidence: Related to the above AwesomenessByAnalysis, Shan Yu's lieutenants were able to pinpoint the Imperial Army's location based on the few clues they find on a doll brought to them by Hayabusa. |
| 943 | * HoistByHisOwnPetard: Sheshou gets choked out with his own bow. |
| 944 | * {{Jerkass}}: All of them really, but Sheshou and Bao stand out, the former for being an open sadist and the latter for openly insulting the "concubines" within earshot of them. |
| 945 | * LeanAndMean: Sheshou answers Shan Yu's question about the scouts with a vicious inflection. |
| 946 | * LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: The archer has a roundshield on his left arm when he breaks out of the snow. |
| 947 | * MadeOfIron: It seems like they're dead after the avalanche, but then they pop out of the snow! Like daisies! |
| 948 | * NoNameGiven: None of the five were given names. |
| 949 | * PetTheDog: One of the larger shirtless Huns tries to act friendly by giving back an apple that fell from an "ugly concubine". |
| 950 | * PragmaticVillainy: After learning of the imperial army's attempt to ambush them, Sheshou notes they could easily avoid the trap to avoid unnecessary casualties. Shan Yu decides, however, that going through the Tung Shao Pass was the fastest way to get to the emperor. |
| 951 | * PutTheirHeadsTogether: Chien Po disposed of Bai & Bao by slamming melons on their heads and then slamming the heads together. |
| 952 | * {{Sadist}}: Sheshou is arguably the most evil of the five. He joins in on Shan Yu's fun to kill one of the retreating scouts with a sadistic smile while cracking a joke (when Shan Yu supposedly rhetorically asks how many men it takes to deliver a message, Sheshou answers "One"), and he seems to be more willing to [[WouldHitAGirl attack women]] than the others, as when he sees the "ugly concubines", he still tries to fight Mulan after learning she is the only true woman among them. Ironically, it's he who suggests to Shan Yu that they avoid the Imperial army, although this is probably less out of reason or cowardice and more so that he can get to raiding China faster. |
| 953 | * ScarilyCompetentTracker: Once again, the doll scene. They located the imperial army from miles away from a child's toy through winter snow without making tracks. |
| 954 | * UndyingLoyalty: They're extremely loyal to their leader. When the archer suggests avoiding the imperial army and Shan Yu declines he and the others comply with his orders without discussions. Even when the rest of the Huns are dead and they and Shan Yu are the only ones left, they still help their leader to try and take over China despite them being just a few men. Normally any other men would have quit and left their commander on his own. |
| 955 | * VillainousFriendship: They seem to get along with each other quite well since they work as a team in a quite efficient way. They also appear to be on good terms with Shan Yu himself who treats them more like equals than mere subjects. |
| 956 | * WalkingShirtlessScene: Bai & Bao lack shirts for some reason. |
| 957 | * WouldntHitAGirl: They hesitate to attack a bunch of "ugly concubines" [[spoiler:(i.e. disguised Chinese soldiers)]]. [[WouldHitAGirl That said, Sheshou does hesitate to lower his bow when he first sees them, and he does try to fight Mulan after learning she is the only one of the "concubines" who is actually a woman]]. |
| 958 | [[/folder]] |
| 959 | |
| 960 | [[folder:The Huns]] |
| 961 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mulan_hun_army.png]] |
| 962 | [[caption-width-right:350:''"Nice work, gentlemen. You've found the Hun army."''- Shan Yu]] |
| 963 | |
| 964 | Shan Yu's army. |
| 965 | ---- |
| 966 | * AlwaysChaoticEvil: Every Hun on screen is part of the Hun Army, so every single one of them is hostile. However, a deleted scene shows one of them taking pity on a bird in a village they burned down, only for both him and the bird to be killed by Shan-Yu and Hayabusa respectively. |
| 967 | * ArtisticLicenseHistory: The history ([[HollywoodHistory such as it is]]) and their leader's [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep "name"]] show that they are really Xiongnu rather than the Huns of Attila Western audiences would be more familiar with. They are indeed called such in the Chinese dub. That said, it's a popular academic theory that Huns and Xiongnu might have been related in a way, but it's hard to draw any conclusion. |
| 968 | * BadassArmy: We see the aftermath of their fight with the section of China's army led by Shang's father. [[spoiler: All the fatalities appear to be Chinese.]] |
| 969 | * CharacterDeath: [[spoiler:Minus the five Huns that survived the avalanche, yes.]] |
| 970 | * GeniusBruiser: "Soldier" in Disney-Hun must translate as "killer and tracker". |
| 971 | * TheHorde: They’re portrayed as a mass of bloodthirsty barbarians with no redeeming qualities other than their loyalty to their commander, invading and pillaging China [[ForTheEvulz for the sake of doing so]], and the EliteMooks are thoroughly evil monsters who engage in one [[KickTheDog dog-kicking]] after another. They’re even drawn in a distinctly inhuman way, with yellow eyes and black sclerae, and claws on the tips of their gloves. Moreover, even their ''horses'' look evil. |
| 972 | * {{Mooks}}: The soldiers in the Hun Army are indistinct and exist to fill out the scenes. |
| 973 | * MusclesAreMeaningless: The archers are pretty thin, but a pair of them still managed to muscle their way through the avalanche snow. |
| 974 | * TheUnfought: On a technical standpoint. With all things considered, Mulan did her army a favor since Shan-Yu's army numbered ''thousands'' and could had killed her and them, and makes the genius idea to blow up a mountain peak that buried them. |
| 975 | [[/folder]] |
| 976 | |
| 977 | [[folder:Hayabusa]] |
| 978 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hayabusa_mulan.png]] |
| 979 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/FrankWelker |
| 980 | |
| 981 | Shan Yu's pet falcon, who assists in carrying out his plans to conquer China. |
| 982 | ---- |
| 983 | * ADogNamedDog: Technically. "Hayabusa" means "Peregrine falcon" in Japanese. |
| 984 | * AllThereInTheScript: His name is never spoken in the film, but is seen in the source material. |
| 985 | * AnimalEyeSpy: A deleted scene revealed that Shan Yu can see through his eyes. |
| 986 | * BrutalBirdOfPrey: A malicious saker falcon and RightHandAttackDog (er, Bird) to Shan Yu. |
| 987 | * CallingCard: Hayabusa is typically used to indicate Shan Yu's presence, such as when he climbs over the Great Wall Of China. |
| 988 | * TheDragon: He serves as Shan Yu's right-hand man... er, bird by shouting out and watching his back. |
| 989 | * FeatheredFiend: The {{big bad}}'s pet and is just as evil as his owner. |
| 990 | * InterchangeableAsianCultures: He's supposed to be Mongolian, but his name is Japanese. However, it is possible that Shan Yu acquired him in Japan or from a Japanese merchant/trainer, already named. |
| 991 | * NakedPeopleAreFunny: His final fate in the film is having his feathers burned away by Mushu. |
| 992 | * NobleBirdOfPrey: The saker falcon, which is the national bird of UsefulNotes/{{Hungary}} and known as the ''turul'' in Hungarian mythology, was selected as the national bird of UsefulNotes/{{Mongolia}} in 2012, and has been prominently used in falconry hunting for millennia. |
| 993 | * NonHumanSidekick: Shan Yu's loyal falcon who's just as ruthless as him. |
| 994 | * SillyAnimalSound: When Mushu burns off all his feathers, he makes a silly, chicken-like cluck. |
| 995 | * UncattyResemblance: [[http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_maksw0PFsr1r0sm4j.jpg Compare him to Shan Yu.]] |
| 996 | * UndyingLoyalty: Hayabusa is loyal to Shan Yu. He kept looking for him after the avalanche and returned to his side upon him coming out of the snow. |
| 997 | [[/folder]] |
| 998 | |
| 999 | !!Other Characters |
| 1000 | |
| 1001 | [[folder:The Matchmaker]] |
| 1002 | [[quoteright:210:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mulan_matchmaker_250.jpg]] |
| 1003 | [[caption-width-right:210:"''You are a '''disgrace'''!''"]] |
| 1004 | -->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/MiriamMargolyes (original), Creator/AprilWinchell (sequel); Mayra Rojas (Latin American Spanish dub); Liliane Gaudet; Perrette Pradier (''WesternAnimation/MulanII'') (European French dub); Nurit Kohen (Hebrew dub), Tang Jichen (Mandarin Chinese dub), Jiang Gui-Jin (Taiwanese Mandarin dub), Lo Fun (Cantonese dub) |
| 1005 | |
| 1006 | ->''"Speaking without permission..."'' |
| 1007 | |
| 1008 | An impatient and harsh woman, who obnoxiously judges potential brides. |
| 1009 | ---- |
| 1010 | * AntiVillain: Mulan's StarterVillain but is just a snooty and critical matchmaker. |
| 1011 | * DisasterDominoes: Her meeting with Mulan starts with Mulan pouring tea, escalates through her catching on fire and finally Mulan tossing that tea in her face. |
| 1012 | * EtiquetteNazi: Mulan fails every one of the rules of bridal behavior, even with cheat notes. |
| 1013 | * FatBastard: "You may look like a bride, [[{{Irony}} but you will never bring your family honor!"]] |
| 1014 | * FemaleMisogynist: Justified. Given the time period, she has conservative views on how a prospective wife should be. |
| 1015 | * FlowersOfFemininity: Wears two of them on the right side of her head, and she acts quite feminine. |
| 1016 | * {{Gonk}}: She's fatter, uglier, and wears worse makeup than others. |
| 1017 | * HumiliationConga: How her meeting with Mulan ends. She gets her face stained with the washed-down ink from the notes Mulan wrote on her wrist, her rear ''set on fire'', and Mulan herself pouring tea on her to put out said fire. |
| 1018 | * InformedAbility: She is never seen matchmaking on-screen. |
| 1019 | * {{Jerkass}}: She's bad-tempered, rude, and judgmental. |
| 1020 | * JerkassHasAPoint: |
| 1021 | ** She had every right to be angry at Mulan in the first movie. Not only did Mulan try to pass her exam by cheating, she ''set her on fire''. While she does go too far in saying Mulan would never bring her family honor, she was still right to chew her out. |
| 1022 | ** In the sequel, while she is again harsh towards Yao, Ling, and Chien Po after throwing them out, her telling them to "come back when (they) get personalities" wasn't entirely unjustified. |
| 1023 | * LargeAndInCharge: Effectively controls these young women's futures, and is definitely not fun-sized. |
| 1024 | * NoNameGiven: Her real name isn't revealed in either the first or second film. |
| 1025 | * PerpetualFrowner: She is so grumpy down to the point where we ''never'' see her smile. |
| 1026 | * RealWomenHaveCurves: In-universe. She believes this since she says that Mulan is too skinny and her body type will not be good for bearing sons. |
| 1027 | * StarterVillain: She is Mulan's first "boss fight", so to speak and sets up her character arc. |
| 1028 | * TakeThat: Was indirectly given two of these, one in the first film and another in the sequel. |
| 1029 | ** Mulan's relationship with Shang and her war-hero status could be considered a subtle form of this towards the matchmaker since she'd originally said that Mulan was a disgrace and would never bring her family honor. |
| 1030 | ** Yao, Chien Po, and Ling eventually finding love in the form of the princesses of the Middle Kingdom (Mei, Su, and Ting-Ting) could be considered this as well since the matchmaker assumed that the three soldiers wouldn't find love matches for themselves. |
| 1031 | [[/folder]] |
| 1032 | |
| 1033 | [[folder:General Li]] |
| 1034 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mulan_011.jpg]] |
| 1035 | -->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/JamesShigeta (original); Arturo Casanova (Latin American Spanish dub); David Savignat (European French dub), Lu Jiawei (Mandarin Chinese dub), Kang Dian-Hong (Taiwanese Mandarin dub), Ko Hon Man (Cantonese dub) |
| 1036 | Shang's father and the General of the Imperial Army. |
| 1037 | ---- |
| 1038 | * BigOlEyebrows: He has thick, black eyebrows befitting of a strong leader. |
| 1039 | * CurbStompBattle: General Li and his entire army were on the [[spoiler:fatal receiving end of a one-sided battle due to (greatly) underestimating their powerful foes.]] |
| 1040 | * DeadHatShot: [[spoiler:The only thing left of him is his helmet.]] |
| 1041 | * DisappearedDad: [[spoiler:For Shang after he is murdered by Shan Yu and his army.]] |
| 1042 | * FatalFlaw: {{Pride}}. He never saw the Huns as a real threat and believed that China's victory was already good as sealed from the get-go. Despite Chi Fu's brown-nosing, General Li's excuse of a "strategy plan" to combat the Hun advance was actually very basic, poorly thought-out, and completely dependent on the likelihood that his own troops have the higher numbers + firepower. [[spoiler:It didn't matter, as the Huns were able to deduce his plan, and the general and his forces suffered the ultimate price for his arrogance by being [[CurbstompBattle completely wiped out]].]] |
| 1043 | * GoodParents: He seems to have a great deal of faith and pride in Shang, choosing to promote his son to Captain for his accomplishments, despite Shang's young age and the responsibility of the position. |
| 1044 | * KilledOffScreen: [[spoiler:At the hands of the Huns.]] |
| 1045 | * OutGambitted: [[spoiler:His plan to intercept the Huns in the Tung Shao Pass ''might'' not have been so ill-fated had the Huns not been able to deduce his location from a small doll Hayabusa seized while scouting the mountains, allowing them to plan their own counter-ambush]]. |
| 1046 | * ReasonableAuthorityFigure: His apparent [[{{Nepotism}} favoritism towards his son]] notwithstanding, when the two see the huge brawl between the recruits taking place, General Li is surprisingly lax about the whole spectacle and simply gives his son (whom he just promoted to captain) a look that can be interpreted as "Just give it some time." He nonchalantly departs the scene, seemingly confident that Shang could rein in the situation, and bids him good luck before deploying with his troops. |
| 1047 | * SacrificialLion: [[spoiler:His and his army's death serves to have Shang, Mulan, and the others as China's only defending force against Shan Yu.]] |
| 1048 | * StrongFamilyResemblance: An older, slightly chubbier version of Shang. |
| 1049 | * UnderestimatingBadassery: See FatalFlaw above. No matter how many victories he might've scored in the past, Li's poor assessment of the Hun army's threat level was his biggest [[spoiler:and last]] mistake. |
| 1050 | * UnnamedParent: His given name is never revealed. |
| 1051 | * TheWorfEffect: [[spoiler:He and his army, consisting of China's elites, get annihilated by Shan Yu to set him up as the powerful threat that he is.]] |
| 1052 | [[/folder]] |
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