Line #34 WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfMulan


1	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.
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3	[[quoteright:325:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/secretofmulan.jpg]]
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5	''The Secret of Mulan'' is a 1998 AnimatedMusical and an entry in [[Creator/UAVEntertainment UAV Entertainment's]] ''Secret of...'' series.
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7	The film is a [[TheMockbuster mockbuster]] of Creator/{{Disney}}'s ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'', with all the characters reimagined as insects and other small animals, potentially making it a mockbuster of ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'' as well.
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10	!Tropes:
11	* ActionGirl: Unlike the Disney version, Mulan knows martial arts from the get-go. Zhing-Zhing also qualifies.
12	* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: Bowtie uses a lot of 'm' adjectives to describe or flatter Mala Khan.
13	* AerithAndBob: In this {{Wuxia}}, there's Mulan, an actual Chinese name... and then there's Zhing-Zhing, and ''Bowtie''. And then there's "Mala Khan", which attaches the name "Khan" seen across many cultures on the Asian continent, onto a name based on the ''Latin'' prefix for "bad".
14	* AnachronismStew: Clothing from the UsefulNotes/{{Qing\|Dynasty}}, UsefulNotes/{{Ming\|Dynasty}}, and UsefulNotes/{{Han dynast\|y}}ies are mixed together for the good guys, with Mala Khan and his men (sans Bowtie) dressed in {{samurai}} armor.
15	* AnimalsNotToScale: This film features rabbits, frogs, turtles, etc. that are about the same size as its bug characters.
16	* AnimatedMusical: Par for the course with UAV productions.
17	* AnthropomorphicAnimalAdaptation: One that is centered on a caterpillar Mulan.
18	%%* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: Half of the names are this. The other half [[PunnyName are puns]] that vaguely sound Chinese.
19	* ArtisticLicenseArachnids: Not only does the spider that appears in the climax have only two eyes, it emits webbing out of its mouth rather than its abdomen.
20	%%* BadBoss: Mala Khan to Bowtie.
21	%%* BigBad: Mala Khan.
22	* DisneyVillainDeath: Subverted. Mulan sends Mala Khan falling off a cliff, but then it's revealed that he has wings.
23	* EvilIsBigger: Mala Khan is much more massive than the rest of the main cast.
24	* EvilOverlooker: Mala Khan is shown in the sky glaring down, as shown on the video cover above.
25	%%* EvilPrince: The Dragonfly Prince.
26	* FailedASpotCheck: After Mulan hatches from her cocoon, nobody notices that she now has two legs, as opposed to her previous six.
27	* FourLeggedInsect: Averted with Mala Khan, Bowtie, and the ants, who all have the proper amount of limbs, but played straight with the spiders (six), caterpillars (eight limbs counting their arms and all their legs), dragonflies (four), and butterflies (also four).
28	* FurryConfusion: The anthropomorphic insects use normal insects as either weapons or mounts. Also, there are anthropomorphic and non-anthropomorphic mammals.
29	* IAmNotLeftHanded: During her duel with Mala Khan, Mulan hides the fact that she can fly until she falls off a bridge. After apparently besting her opponent, he reveals that he pulled the same trick.
30	%%* IAmSong: Both {{Villain Song}}s.
31	* InterchangeableAsianCultures: [[WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}} If the Disney film]] is anything to go by, Mala Khan is ''supposed'' to be Mongolian or otherwise from somewhere north of China proper. However, he's dressed like a freaking [[EverythingsBetterWithSamurai Samurai]]. Let's not even get started on the name.
32	* ItsAllMyFault: Zhing-Zhing's mindset after the Dragonfly Prince abducts Mulan.
33	* MagicPants: Mulan's pants somehow change along with her when she goes from being a caterpillar to a butterfly. Possibly justified when you consider that her species most likely takes this into account when they go through metamorphosis.
34	* TheMockbuster: Not only of ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'', but also ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'' and possibly even ''WesternAnimation/{{Antz}}'' given Bowtie's voice is quite obviously an imitation of Creator/WoodyAllen's.
35	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Mala Khan's assistant Bowtie looks like Creator/WoodyAllen as a pill bug and has similarities in voice and mannerisms. This is presumably because Allen voiced Z in ''WesternAnimation/{{Antz}}'', which came out at around the same time as this movie.
36	* PlotHole: Like the original poem, Mulan [[DisguisedInDrag dresses as a man]] in order to join the army. Yet Zhing-Zhing appears to be part of the army, as the Prince asks her to report her findings to him, and nobody seems to care.
37	%%* RedEyesTakeWarning: Mala Khan.
38	* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: The Prince fights alongside his men.
39	* SecretKeeper:
40	** When Zhing-Zhing learns that Mulan is a woman disguised as a soldier, she promises not to tell anyone about her secret identity.
41	** Mulan's family mouse servant who joins her.
42	%%* SmallNameBigEgo: Bowtie, at least in his VillainSong.
43	%%* SweetPollyOliver: Mulan, as usual.
44	%%* ThoseTwoGuys: The rabbit and... mole? Shrew?
45	* TomboyAndGirlyGirl:
46	** Mulan and her sister, respectively. The former is an aggressive martial artist, while the latter is more conventionally feminine.
47	** Downplayed with Mulan and Zhing-Zhing; they're both {{Action Girl}}s, but Zhing-Zhing is the one who acts more girly than Mulan.
48	%%* VileVillainLaughableLackey: Mala Khan and Bowtie, respectively.
49	* AVillainNamedKhan: The leader of the invading army is named Mala Khan.
50	* VillainSong: Both Mala Khan and Bowtie get one. Mala Khan's is even the first song in the movie.
51	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
52	** After Mulan goes to join the army, her sister isn't mentioned or seen ever again, and her parents only appear towards the end shortly before she leaves with the Prince.
53	** Bowtie is completely gone for the remainder of the movie after Mala Khan has him release their secret weapon on The Prince during the climax.

Context WesternAnimation / TheSecretOfMulan