Mulan / Tropes A to C

Mulan Trope Examples
Main series: A - C | D - F | G - L | M - R | S - Z

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A

• Absurdly Sharp Blade: Shan Yu's sword can slash through almost anything — including thick wooden columns — sending them down like TIMBER!
• Accidental Hero: If Mushu hadn't decided to write the message to get Mulan into war, then the Huns would have made it to the capital city without a problem.
• Accidental Truth: Mushu writes a fake message from General Li saying that Shang's new troops are desperately needed on the front lines. That message turns out to be true, because the village to which they arrive has been sacked by the Huns, leaving no one alive — not even the general — among the civilians or the Army.
• Acrofatic: Chien Po is a tubby guy but he can do flips across a series of poles.
• Action Girl: After going through combat training, Mulan is perfectly capable of taking on adult men hand-to-hand, and even manages to stand against Shan Yu with a bit of cleverness.
• Actor Allusion:
  • BD Wong stars as Shang, whose love interest disguises herself as a man to join the army. His first major role was in M. Butterfly — as a man who disguises himself as a woman.
  • Mushu jokes of "Ah-Chew" as a potential alias for Mulan. Pat Morita, who voiced the Emperor, guest starred on Sanford and Son as a character called Ah-Chew.
  • Yao disguises himself as a woman towards the end. Harvey Fierstein is famous for drag queen performances.
• Actually Pretty Funny: During "A Girl Worth Fighting For," Chi-Fu joins in the singing. Yao jokes to "Ping" that "the only girl who'd love him is his mother." Mulan, who's been uncomfortable for most of the song, can't help but smirk as Chi-Fu glares.
• Adaptation Deviation: Various references in the original ballad indicate that the campaign in question was Tuoba Buri's 429 campaign against the Rouran Khaganate, which was a retaliation for decades of raiding. In contrast, the film has the campaign as a defense against invasion.
• Adaptation Explanation Extrication: The reason Mulan turns down a council position in the ballad is because her gender is still a secret, and her comrades don't discover this until they visit her years after the war. In the film, her gender is already known when the emperor makes the offer, and she gives no reason for her refusal except the desire to go home.
• Adaptation Personality Change: The original Hua Mulan is usually portrayed as quite serious and ambitious. Here she is portrayed as a devoted daughter with an awkward side, who matures over the course of the story.
• Adaptational Angst Upgrade: In contrast to Hua Mulan, who excels as a soldier and whose real gender is never even suspected, Disney's Mulan lives in tension because who she is — even as a woman — isn't what she's supposed to be. She eventually finds the confidence to be a hero and meet society's expectations in her own way.
• Adaptational Time Span Change: On two accounts in that the campaign in the original ballad was twelve years long and the film is loosely based on the Han-Xiongnu War, which was two-hundred and twenty-two years long. The conflict in the film must be a month at the shortest.
• Adapted Out: Mulan had a little brother in the original ballad, and also an older sister in some versions. She's an only child here, but her dog is named "Little Brother" as a nod to the ballad.
• Aesop Amnesia: Despite Mulan ultimately returning home in triumph, proving that a woman can do more with her life than be a wife and mother, all the women of her village care about is that while singlehandedly saving the country, she incidentally caught the eye of a handsome suitor more to her liking than the local boys while doing so.
• Against the Grain: Mulan struggles with expectations to marry and embarrasses her family after disastrous results from consultations with the match-maker. She further defies expectations by disguising herself as a man to represent her father in the war.
• All Animals Are Dogs: Surprisingly averted for a Disney film that features at least four animal sidekicks (if Mushu counts). Khan doesn't act much like a horse, but neither he nor Cri-kee act like dogs either. The fourth, the villain's falcon, doesn't fare quite so well. After being torched by Mushu and rendered featherless, he starts blatantly acting like a chicken.
• Alternative Foreign Theme Song: The Japanese version uses "Breathe" by Luna Sea as the theme song. The Korean version uses "Eternal Memory" by Lena Park.
• Always Chaotic Evil: Every Hun in the movie is a vicious soldier. Justified, as we only see their army.
• Amusing Injuries: During the Training Montage of I'll Make A Man Out Of You, Yao gets his buttock pierced by a burning arrow, which is played for laughs.
• Anachronism Stew: Historical accuracy is ignored on multiple occasions. This article concluded that Mulan is set in "an imaginary dynasty in an imaginary part of China, based on real customs and lands".
  • The Forbidden City (constructed during the Ming dynasty) is featured prominently in the finale, but the Huns were already integrated into Chinese society by the time of the Northern Wei.
  • The use of fireworks suggests the Sui dynasty but their style of dress suggests a later date.
  • Goofy Print Underwear with what appears to be an elastic waistband, and a modern toothbrush and toothpaste tube.
  • During "I'll Make a Man Out of You," Ling claims to regret "cutting gym [class]," something few teenagers will start doing until the government-sponsored district schools of the Ming dynasty hundreds of years later (for those families which could afford it, which were few).
  • Mushu makes a reference to Mongolian barbecue, which was invented in the 1950s.
  • In the German dub, Mushu compares Mulan to Lara Croft. Yes, as in he mentions the character explicitly by her name. Apparently ancient China had Tomb Raider. No, wait, forget that, more importantly: apparently ancient China had video games. Not that his Batman reference later in the movie made that much more sense, though; after all, Mushu is a dragon, and magical creatures in Disneyverse do this a lot.
• Ancestor Veneration: Mulan's father is seen in the family shrine praying to the ancestors for Mulan to do well with the matchmaker. Her grandmother is more skeptical ("How helpful can they be? They're dead."), but after Mulan runs off to join the army, she prays to the ancestors to keep Mulan safe.
• Annoying Arrows: Justified (while defying Armor Is Useless) when an arrow knocks Shang from his horse, but fails to penetrate his shoulder armor. Subverted for the Chinese Red Shirt Army.
• Answer Cut:
  The Emperor: A single grain of rice can tip the scale. One man may be the difference between victory and defeat.
  [Cut to Mulan playing with some of the rice in her bowl and eating it]
• Arc Symbol: Reflections.
• Arc Words: "Honor".
• Armor-Piercing Question:
  Fa Mulan: You said you trust Ping. Why is Mulan any different?
• Arrows on Fire: Justified by the Huns trying to light the wagon containing the cannons, trying to deprive the soldiers of long-range weaponry and force them to stay out in the open to save the cannons. Sure enough, some of the cannons aren't saved and explode, sending Mulan, Khan, Mushu, and Cri-Kee flying.
• Arson, Murder, and Lifesaving: The Emperor's statement starting with "I have heard a great deal about you, Fa Mulan..." Bonus points for all of it being true.
• Artistic License: While set in no particular time period, some Chinese customs are fudged around a bit.
  • The movie goes for the Mandarin pronunciation of Mulan, so the family's name should be Hua rather than Fa.
  • Mulan's mother is addressed as Fa Li. Chinese women don't normally change their last names when they marry (and if Fa were her last name too, it would be unusual for her to marry someone with the same last name). She could possibly be referred to as 'Auntie Fa', as a reference to being a wife of the Fa family, but this wouldn't be her name.
  • Mulan when writing her notes to prepare for the Matchmaker has left a bowl of rice on the windowsill. The chopsticks are stuck into it vertically, which is actually a bad luck omen; as that resembles the incense offerings to the dead, doing this in front of someone is interpreted as a curse on them to die. Laying the chopsticks across the bowl is more appropriate. Of course, it could mean Mulan is just that careless.
  • The Ancestors' Shrine is in a pavilion separate from the main house, when the latter is usually where it should be. The Ancestor Tablets are made of stone, rather than traditional wood. There also doesn't appear to be an altar where offerings can be made.
  • For Mulan's makeover, she is brought to several different places around the town - separate places for bathing, having her hair done, getting her dress fitted and finally the makeup. It's more likely that the aunts would come to the house specifically to do everything there. And while the makeup is accurate, the eyeshadow is probably too dark; a peach colour would be more appropriate.
  • Mulan must join several other girls at a public event to meet the Matchmaker, almost like an audition. The Matchmaker would more likely come to Mulan's house herself to interview her.
• Artistic License – Animal Care: Mulan's Establishing Character Moment where she harnesses little brother to a bag of chicken feed to give the chickens as part of her morning chores. It's shown to be cute and the worst downside being a bit messy. While she meant no harm, the clumsy nature of the contraption and the fact that chickens don't take kindly to dogs (even small ones) and vice versa could have resulted in either Little Brother or the chickens getting hurt if they'd gotten into a fight. Plus the Fa family has a rooster, known to be territorial and protective of their flock of hens, and, well, if he'd gotten involved, Mulan might've lost her puppy.
• Artistic License – History: Mulan cuts her waist-length hair to shoulder-length to disguise herself as a man. While this makes for a striking visual, it would have been unnecessary in reality since most Chinese men (including those in the military) wore their hair long until the 20th century (while the film isn't set in any particular era, it's clearly meant to be before that).
• Artistic License – Martial Arts:
  • During the "I'll Make a Man Out of You" sequence they do deeds worthy of Bruce Lee.
  • Take a look at when Mulan kicks Shang. She pivots on her toe — in martial arts, you typically pivot on the ball of your foot.
• Artistic License – Physics:
  • The lifesaving scene at the end of the avalanche sequence makes heavy use of this. When Yao and the others are having trouble pulling Mulan to safety, Chien Po steps in and lifts not only Mulan's weight, but also that of Shang, Mushu, the horse, all the other soldiers he's "helping" (they are no longer touching the ground at this point), and all the armor.
  • Additionally, Khan the horse, Mulan, and Shang are all being held up by a single rope, implied to be tied in one knot somewhere on the horse's tack. That's an impressive rope to be able to pull something like 1400 pounds at a dead lift without breaking.
  • According to this video from Film Theory, even if Mulan's rocket missed the mountain summit, the avalanche would have triggered anyway from the noise and shock made by the Hun army as they charged downwards. When Shan Yu orders his army to attack, somehow hundreds of screaming Huns on their galloping horses somehow didn't trigger the avalanche while a single cannon hitting the summit did.
• Art Shift:
  • The Imagine Spot during "A Girl Worth Fighting For", which shifts to the style of brush paintings.
  • The billows of snow, smoke, and fire are noticeably Eastern styled.
• Ash Face: Mulan gets a puff of soot in her face when her cannon misfires (thanks to Ling kicking out her stand).
• Asian Lion Dogs: A temple lion statue is used as a battering ram to try and enter the Imperial Palace to save the Emperor from Shan Yu.
• Asians Love Tea: The "associated with traditions" type. The characters are all Chinese and drink tea. Being able to prepare and pour tea properly is part of the matchmaker's test for Mulan early on in the film to see if she can be a good wife.
• Attack! Attack... Retreat! Retreat!: After seeing Mulan rush towards Shan Yu with the last cannon, the Gang of Three follow her lead and also gallantly charge into battle... until they notice the gigantic avalanche that Mulan's cannon has created and immediately flee back the other way.
• Attractive Bent-Gender:
  • "I bet the local girls thought you were quite the charmer..." is sung for Mulan's male persona, and indeed the rice planters take a shine to "him".
  • Averted/inverted later, when Mulan's friends sneak into the palace in disguise. "[It's only] Concubines." "Ugly concubines." Though one of the two guards seems to have a more favorable opinion.
• Award-Bait Song: Two of them:
  • True to Your Heart by 98º and Stevie Wonder.
  • Christina Aguilera's cover of Reflection.
• Awesomeness by Analysis: Shan Yu and his men deduce that the emperor's army are in a village in the mountain pass. They do this through nothing more than the GPS Evidence on a child's doll that Shan Yu's falcon retrieved.

B

• Badass Boast:
  • Mulan announces to Shan Yu that she took away his victory before he can kill Shang, and reveals herself as "the soldier from the mountains".
  • The emperor is commanded to Kneel Before Zod and delivers a Doomed Moral Victor reply:
    "No matter how the wind howls, the mountain cannot bow to it."
• Band of Brothers: Ping and the others grow on each other during the Training from Hell Montage — which is half of what boot camp is about.
• Bear Hug: Chien Po does this because he is a Gentle Giant.
• Beleaguered Boss: Shang is in charge of getting the new recruits into shape, over the course of "I'll Make A Man Out Of You". Though his efforts go unrewarded at first, the recruits finally shape up once Mulan (the least competent of them all) succeeds in getting an arrow down from a pole, inspiring them.
• Beneath Suspicion: Mulan takes advantage of the culture's gender politics by posing herself and her friends as concubines.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Mulan is the only Disney princess with a body count... in the thousands.
• The Big Board: General Li uses one to explain the war strategy to Shang.
• Big Shadow, Little Creature: During his salvation sermon, Mushu casts a towering shadow due to Cri-Kee fanning a small flame nearby. The illusion is broken when he steps out from behind a rock, and his true size is lampshaded by Mulan: "You're...tiny."
  Fa Mulan: My ancestors sent a little lizard to help me?
  Mushu: Dragon, dragon! Not lizard! I don't do that tongue thing. [Does "that tongue thing" for emphasis]
• Big Sister Instinct: Mulan has this for the girls younger than her. She rescues a doll from some local bullies for its young owner. Later, at the burned-down village, she finds a similar doll and hugs it with a look of anugish.
• Bilingual Bonus:
  • Mulan's male alias, "Ping", makes his full name "Hua Ping" (花瓶), which is Chinese for "flower vase" but also a figurative term for someone who is "just a pretty face" or, in other words, pretty but useless. Another way of using the term is not derogatory, instead using it to refer to women who are required for a position to be pretty without considering capability. "Hua Ping" is also slang for "effeminate or homosexual man."
  • When Mulan suits up herself as a man and fetches Khan from it's stable, Khan started panicking at the sight of this unknown "man" until Mulan said something to calm it down. Although the background music drowns out the dialogue, looking closely at Mulan's lip movements it appears that she is saying "shi wo, shi wo" (It's me, it's me).
  • Chi Fu's name is a pun on the Chinese word for "to bully."
  • Chien Po's chant while trying to calm Yao down is a Buddhist prayer.
  • "Hayabusa" is Japanese for falcon, making this a case of Exactly What It Says on the Tin.
• Bilingual Dialogue: Mushu speaks English (or is heard in English; it may be Translation Convention from Chinese) while Cri-Kee chirps. They frequently converse this way.
  Cri-Kee: (chirps)
  Mushu: You're lucky? (laughs) Do I look like a sucker to you?
  Cri-Kee: (chirps)
  Mushu: What you mean "a loser"? How 'bout if I pop one of your antennas off and throw it across the yard, then who's a loser? Me or you?
  Cri-Kee: (chirps)
• Blade Reflection: At several moments in the film, Mulan will look at her reflection in her blade or helmet or the Family Ancestor Tablet. It supports the 'reflection' arc word.
• Bloodless Carnage:
  • The movie manages to avoid fields of blood even though an entire army was massacred and a village destroyed and burnt by having the devastation seen only after a layer of snow has covered everything.
  • Subverted when Mulan is slashed by Shan Yu. While no blood is initially visible, once the battle is over and Mulan's adrenaline wears off, she puts a hand to her side, and her palm comes away bloody.
  • Despite getting beaten to a pulp by Shan Yu, Shang isn't even bruised.
  • The way Shan Yu is disposed of would have seen the rocket ripping him apart and ash and bloody/charred gibs raining over a small part of the Imperial City.
• Boss Fight: The final fight with Shan Yu. The dude can punch through walls, cut through columns like timber, and power through hard-clay roofs through sheer force of will.
• Both Sides Have a Point: This trope happens the moment Shang leaves behind Mulan after her gender is revealed. Mulan joined the army under illegal false pretenses and has been lying about her entire identity, so Shang's refusal to trust her is understandable, if incorrect. On the other hand, Mulan only did what she did to save her father's life, and she's probably right when she implies ("You said you'd trust Ping. Why is Mulan any different?") that culturally ingrained sexism is also influencing Shang at this point.
• Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Mulan at the end is asked by the Chinese emperor to join his council. It's downplayed because she refuses the offer because she wants to go home, but even the job offer itself is groundbreaking because up until now the council was reserved for men.
• Break-Up/Make-Up Scenario: Shang abandons Mulan after discovering her secret, but they don't reconcile when she catches up to him. They reconcile, wordlessly, moments later during Operation Save-the-Emperor.
• Brick Joke:
  • At the movie's beginning, Mulan shortcuts feeding the chickens by tying a punctured bag of grain to her dog Little Brother's tail, tying a bone to a stick and fixing it to hang in front of his face, and sending him loose to chase the bone in the direction of the chicken coops. At the end, we see that the chickens now associate Little Brother with food.
  • The decapitated ancestor makes a humorous comeback in the ending.
  • One of the things Mulan needs to impress boys? A tiny waist. One of the things the matchmaker disparages her for is being too skinny to bear sons.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: 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.
• Bringing Back Proof: After a landslide buries the Hun army, Shang brings back Shan Yu's distinctive serrated sword, and presents it to the Emperor, as evidence of the victory. When the Emperor later sends Mulan home, he gives her the sword to take with her, as the visible proof of her service to China.
• The Brute: All but a few of the Huns are huge. Some look Lean and Mean.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: What Ping eventually becomes to "his" fellow soldiers — unorthodox almost to the point of madness, but very effective.
• Burning the Flag: As the Huns attack the Great Wall, a Chinese soldier lights a signal fire as he is confronted by Shan Yu and defiantly says, "Now all of China knows you're here." Shan Yu breaks a nearby flag off its pole and adds it to the fire. "Perfect!"
• …But He Sounds Handsome: The soldiers idly discuss the type of woman they'd like to marry in "A Girl Worth Fighting For". Mulan, disguised as the male Ping, throws in a vote for "How 'bout a girl who's got a brain? Who always speaks her mind?". The men are not impressed.

C

• Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp": The "Huns" referred to in the movie are almost certainly the Xiongnu, who were similar in many ways and often identified with the Huns, but were different. This is presumably because 'Huns' is much easier to rhyme in English; the Mandarin version calls them the Xiongnu.
• Canine Confusion: Little Brother the dog has rabbit-like ears.
• Cannot Spit It Out: Shang towards Mulan at the end. The emperor calls him out on this. Even when Shang later shows up at Mulan's house, he initially tries to claim it's only to return her father's helmet. Luckily for him, she invites him to stay for dinner anyway.
• Cassandra Truth: Shang brushes off Mulan's concerns that Shan Yu and some of the other Huns have survived the avalanche. She is vindicated when Shan Yu dramatically reappears, kidnaps the emperor in full view, and seizes the palace.
• Cat Scare: In the burned-out village, Shang's horse is spooked by a burned staircase collapsing.
• Chain of People: Mulan's troupe forms one after she falls off the cliff. Turns into a Self-Retracting Chain Of People immediately after, when Chien Po joins in.
• The Chains of Commanding: Due to being captain, Shang can't go easy on any of his recruits and has to whip them into shape. He doesn't fraternize with any of them, not even for baths, and doesn't respond to Mulan complimenting him for being a good captain. He is also the one honor-bound to execute Mulan for impersonating a man, even after she single-handedly won the victory and saved him personally.
• Challenge Seeker: Shan Yu takes the Great Wall as a challenge, deliberately challenges the Chinese Army and curb-stomps them, and when he and his mooks are buried in an avalanche, they just pop right out of the snow! ^note Like daisies!!
• Character Development:
  • Mulan goes from a Brilliant, but Lazy awkward teenager to a Badass Normal soldier who uses creative strategies to get the upper hand in battle.
  • After Mulan accidentally antagonizes them, Ling and Yao start to warm up to "Ping" after she manages to get the arrow. Like her, they also become a Badass Normal trio with Chien Po, who remains a Gentle Giant.
  • Change of song lyrics: Over the end credits of the film the lyrics that Nick Lachey (lead vocalist of 98 Degrees) sings for True To Your Heart are different then they are on the Mulan soundtrack/98 & Rising. Stevie Wonder's lyrics however are still the same.
• Cheated Angle: The topknots on Shang and Mulan are cheated up slightly to keep them visible even when they would otherwise be blocked in a front angle view.
• Cheaters Never Prosper: Mushu attempts to help Mulan cheat with shooting arrows into persimmons. Shang immediately catches her.
• Chekhov's Boomerang: Arrows. One is used in the pole while the recruits are training, and Mulan retrieving it inspires the others to pass their training. Then Shang's troops are attacked by Huns with arrows (including flaming ones) before the full army appears. Finally, Mulan and Shang are rescued from the avalanche with an arrow tied to a rope.
• Chekhov's Gun:
  • It's a good thing Mulan got prepared within hours to see the matchmaker. It allows her to disguise herself and her friends as concubines to save the emperor.
  • Fa Zhou's helmet, which becomes part of Mulan's army ensemble. It gets emphasis when she wears it to march, especially after the wagons explosion knocks it off. Shang somehow found it despite the battle and avalanche, and uses it as a pretext to visit Mulan and court her. It works; Mulan invites him to stay for dinner.
• Chekhov's Classroom: "Reflect before you act. This will bring you honor and glory." This lesson that Mulan recites for the matchmaker is fulfilled when she sees a snow drift in the reflection of her sword and is inspired to cause an avalanche to bury the Hun army, which is a big part of how she earns honor and glory.
• Chekhov's Skill: Almost all the skills the soldiers learn during the Training Montage are put to use later in the movie:
  • Mulan first uses the skill of aiming and shooting rockets to defeat Shan Yu's army, then to kill Shan Yu himself.
  • Pole climbing. The climactic scene from "I'll Make A Man Out Of You" returns as an instrumental part of the heroes' operation to infiltrate the Emperor's palace after it's been seized by the Huns. Shang even rewards Mulan with a smile as she remembers their very first lesson.
  • Ling uses the brick-breaking headbutt he learned in training to take out one of the Huns.
  • Shoe throwing, of all things. Mulan uses it to catch Shan Yu's attention, stopping him just short of chopping Shang's head off. When she does the same to Khan earlier, who knew it'd come in handy?
  • Mushu's firebreathing. Attempted when trying to impress the ancestors, later used to light the avalanche-triggering cannon, roast the feathers off Shan-Yu's pet falcon Hayabusa, and light the rocket that sends Shan Yu to his death.
  • Chien Po's Super-Strength. He was shown earlier picking up Yao without a problem. When his retinue is desperately holding onto a rope to keep Mulan and Shang from falling with the avalanche, he picks them all up and helps them mount a successful rescue. Much later, he uses the same skill to evacuate the Emperor from the palace when Shan Yu threatens the latter.
• Cliff Stack:
  • Ling and Yao are chasing Mulan and stop short of running into a line of soldiers waiting for food. Chien-Po stops behind them and accidentally bumps them with his belly, knocking down the whole line.
  • As the soldiers are training by jumping along poles over water, Chen Po stops, causing Shang to come to a halt, and the soldiers behind him to pile up. They don't fall on screen, but it's only a matter of time.
• Cloudcuckoolander: While pretending to be a man, Mulan appears to be this to others, but it's caused by a combination of trying to act manly, having to hide her gender, and being sabotaged by the others after making an initial bad impression.
  Chi Fu: The boy is an absolute lunatic!
• Combat Hand Fan: Mulan uses a paper fan to disarm Shan-Yu.
• Combat Pragmatist: After Shan Yu beats Shang to a pulp, Mulan wisely intuits that she won't win a head-on fight with Shan Yu after she goads him to take his vengeance on her. Instead, she lures him to the roof and distracts him long enough to pin him down and has Mushu light the largest firework he can find.
• Composite Character: Starting in the 18th century, French scholar Joseph de Guignes proposed a link between the Huns and the Xiongnu. Since that time, there has been a great effort devoted to investigating such a connection, but there is little consensus on a direct connection between the two peoples. The film pretty much just combines the two peoples: they're called "Huns" but their leader is a "Shan-Yu" (also represented as "Chanyu") and roughly translates to "Majesty Son of Heaven." Also, a rather controversial belief is that the Xiongnu are the ancestors of the Huns. What is done in this movie is pretty much the equivalent of calling the Vikings "Normans."
• Conscription: Sets the main plot in motion. A decree goes out that every household in the region must provide at least one man to serve in the army for the war with the Huns. Since the only man in the Fa household is Mulan's elderly father, for whom going to war would be a death sentence, Mulan disguises herself as a man and goes in his stead.
• Conservation of Competence: The usual Disney case is averted — Shan-Yu has no comedy underlings, which (much like giving him a song) would've detracted from his particular image.
• Cooldown Hug: Chien Po, on the first occasion when "Ping" ticks off Yao, picks up Yao and guides him in a calming chant.
• Cool Old Guy: The Chinese emperor. Even when he's not dispensing sage king wisdom, he has his moments with some witty one liners.
• Couldn't Find a Lighter: During the battle with the Huns, Mulan is trying to light the last firework but Hayabusa makes her drop her flint and steel. She eventually resorts to using Mushu.
• Cover Identity Anomaly: Mulan does this when asked her name. Her family name (which she must use as part of the cover story) is Fa, but she hasn't thought of a personal name, leading to a very awkward conversation where Mushu tries to secretly help her come up with a name.
• Creator Cameo: The film's directors (Tony Bancroft & Barry Cook) are animated as the two guards in the fireworks tower.
• Crisis Catch And Carry: When she and the others arrive to stop the Huns, Mulan yells to Chien Po to take the emperor to safety. Chien Po apologizes to the emperor for what he'll have to do, picks him up under one arm, and uses a lantern line to get both of them safely out of Shan Yu's reach.
• Cruel to Be Kind: Why Shang initially kicks Ping out of the army when the latter collapses during a training exercise. Ping is young, The Millstone, and the worst of the recruits. War would be a Curb-Stomp Battle. He tells "him" that Ping isn't "suited for the rage of war" and says going home will mean living. It's only when Mulan is too stubborn to leave and proves that she can stay — by fetching the arrow, excelling in the previous training exercise, and knocking Shang down during a sparring session— that Shang changes his mind.
• Crying Wolf: After Mulan is revealed as a woman, Shang blows off her warning that some of the Huns survived. Yao, Ling, and Chien Po believe her, but they don't have a choice but to follow orders. Mulan says, "You'd trust Ping; why is Mulan any different?"
• Cue the Sun: The climax of "I'll Make a Man out of You". Mulan fails the whole training regimen and Shang tells "Ping" to go home. She then sees the arrow at the top of the pole and decides to give it one last try. As she does, the sun rises and the other men come out of their tents and start cheering her on. She succeeds and throws the arrow down to Shang's feet for emphasis, proving she can pull her own weight.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Three examples:
  • The first one (which isn't seen but is heavily implied) between the Huns and the Chinese army. Based on the aftermath Mulan and her friends see, it didn't go well for the Chinese troops.
  • Mulan, herself, later delivers one to the Hun Army when she uses a rocket to cause an avalanche, destroying nearly all of the Huns in the process.
  • Mulan, Yao, Ling and Chien Po versus the Huns guarding Shan Yu and the Emperor. It helps that they have the element of surprise.

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