Mulan is a memorable and meaningful story, as the titular character selflessly decides to take her father’s place in war for his safety. It’s a serious and difficult journey, considering the dangers and horrors of wartime that she faces, but the film does a great job of incorporating a healthy dose of humor to lighten the mood from time to time.
Mushu definitely contributes a fair amount of this humor to Mulan, as do the situations that Mulan finds herself in, from seeing one too many naked men to trying to learn how to act like one.
Mulan Gets Help With Her Chores
In a hurry, Mulan ties chicken feed and a bone onto her dog Little Brother to help with her chores. She was still late to meet the matchmaker, but her unusual method of getting her chores done still saved her some time.
Early on, Mulan proved that she had a big destiny and that she was a creative thinker, which certainly proved to be an asset in war. Little Brother is sweet, but not necessarily the brightest as, in his excitement, he ran headfirst into a wall and then chased after a bone that was already tied to him. It was cute and added more humor to the scene.
A Lesson In Pleasing The Future In-Laws
While under the close scrutiny of a matchmaker in her hometown, mishaps occur for poor Mulan, who tries her best but has quite the bad day instead. After grabbing Mulan’s wrist, the matchmaker unknowingly gets ink on her hand, and when she touches her face, forms an ink beard. It’s pretty funny since the matchmaker isn’t the most pleasant character. Mulan even tries to help the poor woman before she swallows a cricket, but it only leads to more chaos.
Mulan included some slapstick humor that gradually increased from this ink beard scene to the matchmaker’s behind catching on fire, but what makes them funny is the build-up of unfortunate events. Unfortunately for Mulan, the matchmaker didn’t find the incident very funny.
Sign Me Up For The Next War!
Mulan is safely home and has brought the sword of Shan Yu and the crest of the Emperor, but in her grandmother’s opinion, which she voices to Mulan’s mother, Mulan should’ve brought home a man. Seconds after the words are out of her mouth, Shang appears.
As he goes to see Mulan, Grandmother Fa remarks, “Sign me up for the next war!” It’s pretty funny given the timing of Shang’s arrival to her previous comment regarding Mulan bringing home a man, and she later asks him if he wants to stay forever. It appears Mulan isn’t the only one who finds Captain Li Shang attractive.
Mushu’s Fake Message
In what is one of his best animated movie roles, Eddie Murphy really brings Mushu to life, especially when it comes to the character’s comedy. Wanting to give Mulan and the other men the opportunity to get involved in the war, Mushu, with Cri-Kee’s help, crafts a fake message from Shang’s father to convince Chi-Fu, who has threatened to never allow Shang and his soldiers to see war, that Shang’s troop is needed.
Mushu’s impersonation of the messenger is hilarious, especially with the line, “What’s the matter? Never seen a black and white before?” included. Mushu couldn’t get a ride from Mulan’s horse, so he somehow managed to get a panda in no time. Mushu is certainly a good ally, especially in war.
Chien-Po’s Effortless Rescue
Chien-Po is sweet and loves his food, sort of reminiscent of how Joey is with food in Friends. Chien-Po is also incredibly strong, and that certainly comes in handy when he is with Shang, Mulan and the others in the mountains.
Mulan causes an avalanche to take out the Huns, but nearly takes out herself and Shang as well in the process. Luckily, Yao catches the arrow, but he alone isn’t strong enough to pull Mulan, Shang, her horse Khan, Mushu and Cri-Kee back to safety. In fact, Chien-Po was the hero, in this case, lifting Yao and the other soldiers, and easily pulling everyone to safety. This takes incredible strength, but what made it so hilarious was the look on Chien-Po’s face that obviously shows he thought nothing of it and knew he was making it look easy, while Yao was visibly struggling and the other soldiers looked unsure.
Mushu’s Grand Introduction
Mushu is theatrical and he certainly made an interesting first impression. What makes his introduction hilarious, however, is the way that Mulan and her horse first receive him. Khan decided to stomp on him, and Mulan was skeptical of her ancestors having sent a “lizard” to assist her.
As Mulan and audiences find out, however, Mushu was more than enough to guide Mulan, even if he misguided her on a few occasions. Plus, audiences knew right away that he was going to be a great sidekick.
The Cricket Proves He’s A Lucky Charm
Grandmother Fa is a memorable character in the film. She believed in the luckiness of Cri-Kee, her cricket, to the point of putting a hand over her eyes and crossing a very busy street. She narrowly avoids getting hit on multiple occasions and happily announces that the cricket is indeed lucky, and while lucky, Cri-Kee was notably traumatized from the incident.
Still, her cheery attitude makes the entire event uproarious, as most people generally wouldn’t try such a thing to prove how lucky something or someone is. Cri-Kee, for his part, turns out to be lucky on more than one occasion throughout the film and is a memorable Disney supporting character that needs his own movie.
Does This Dress Make Me Look Fat?
Mulan didn’t initially get off on the right foot with Chien-Po, Yao and Ling, but by the end of the film, they have a strong bond and would do anything for one another. This is proven when they opt to listen to her once the Emperor has been taken by Shan Yu. These three Mulan characters are underrated — they’re hilarious and they’re integral characters in Mulan’s story.
When Mulan asks if they have any questions regarding her plan, Yao asks if the dress makes him look fat, earning him a slap. Nonetheless, it’s hilarious that in such a situation, this is the concern that came to Yao’s mind.
A Misguided Attempt At “Manliness”
Unfortunately, Mulan didn’t make the best first impression upon meeting her fellow soldiers. This is largely because of Mushu, who definitely misguided her in her initial moments of how to act like a man. While coming from a good place, Mushu’s advice wasn’t the best, given he instructed her to punch Yao and then slap his butt. Plus, she looked goofy trying to walk like “a man,” as per Mushu’s instructions.
Watching her attempts to bond with the men and her reaction to the behaviors of the men in camp was pretty hilarious, especially with Mushu as Mulan’s guide.
Mulan Seeing A Bunch Of Naked Men
Mulan is dealing with enough pressure throughout the film when she’s trying to hide the fact that she’s a woman or else face serious consequences. She does so in the midst of a major war against the Huns, no less. Even sneaking off to take a bath is a luxury and one she intended to take without the sight of naked men.
Hysterically, she hasn’t seen the last of them when she finally gets away from Yao, Ling and Chien-Po, as a bunch of them run by her. Ironically, she’d just declared that she never wanted to see another naked man again.
