Mulan

Set in ancient China, this animated feature focuses on the adventures of a feisty young woman who rejects marriage in order to become a warrior. When the Emperor conscripts recruits to defend China against the invading Huns, Mulan disguises herself as a man and takes her ailing father’s place in the army. Responding to her prayers, her ancestors send a tiny dragon (voiced by Eddie Murphy) to aid her on her quest. In its adaptation of a traditional Chinese folk tale, and its use of Asian actors to voice the key characters, ‘Mulan’ continues Disney’s attempts in the nineties to invest their animated features with a more ethnically diverse tone. The film also departs from the gender stereotyping that characterised the studio’s animated classics. In its portrayal of the young heroine as both physically and intellectually capable, it tapped into the late nineties explosion of strong feminist characters in film and television, initiated by the success of the television series ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’. Voices include Ming-Na Wen, Lea Salonga, Eddie Murphy, Donny Osmond and Harvey Fierstein.