Mulan - Collector's Edition

by Russell K. Schroeder

Mulan disguises herself as a soldier and saves the life of the Emperor

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Nonfiction, Art

72 pages, Hardcover

First published June 18, 1998

Reviews

[Ashley Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of my childhood books, particularly among the Disney ones, this is one of my absolute favorites. The artwork is phenomenal.

[Drew Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a departure from the previous Disney art books I have read. Apparently Mulan has been given the full oversized "Art of" book treatment, but this is not it (it's evidently quite difficult to find in print these days). This is a much shorter, much slimmer volume, but it accomplishes many of the same things.

This book starts with a brief introduction about Mulan being the first Disney animated film produced entirely in the Florida studio, and then continues to present the original Chinese legend. After a short chapter on the crew's research trip to China and a lot of the artistic inspirations, a short synopsis of the movie story is presented. Finally, the bulk of the pages are dedicated to an abbreviated look at the behind-the-scenes process of making this fine animated movie, discussing the directors, the producer, art and story development and various aspects of design and animation. Featured artists include Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders, Mark Henn, and the designer who provided their stylistic inspiration, Chen-Yi Chang. There were a lot of things to like about this book, just not quite enough instances of them. The character development and concept art were really nice, but considering just how much art is produced during the making of an animated film, it seems a shame not to have included more of it here. Still, the text seemed just about right (maybe a little on the not-enough side, though many of these books have too much text, so if it had to lean one way, I would rather it go the way this one did). I really liked that it included the source legend, and it was interesting to see little touches and names that made their way into the Disney version. I was impressed with the meticulous care they took to include authentic Chinese artistic elements in the style of the film, and it made me appreciate even the slightest details from a movie I've seen many times even more.

Mulan is a beautiful and epic film, very unique among its fellows in the Disney animated canon, and this book is a nice, if slightly too succinct, companion piece for fans of the movie or its Chinese artistic and story inspiration.

[Tiffiny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlike so many Disney books based on animations, this book has beautiful watercolor illustrations.

[Rochelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully packaged tribute to the people, artwork and process behind the animated film.

[William Galaini · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Ballad of Mulan is a lovely work. Granted, I have only read it in English but if the metaphors translated well then I suspect it is a very early and earnest example of equality among the sexes. Perhaps a great work for Disney to tackle, then?

Mulan, much like in the ballad, takes up her father's sword and with love in her heart marches to the war drum. She earns a place among the men, becomes adept at problem solving, and is accompanied by a tiny dragon-kami named Mushu. Mushu, and her other companions, provide charm and their dialogue is altered from the film but the tone is largely intact.

What sets this book adaptation apart from the appalling other one, is here we actually get some charm and description. The scene with Mulan's disappointed father manages to be even more touching than the film as it conveys the analogy of the late blossom a bit sharper without being heavy-handed. I appreciated that this book was made for readers, and easy to ingest without even knowledge of the film.

Also worthy of note, is the vocabulary here is increased. Mulan doesn't merely 'wear' armor she 'dons' it. Much of the language is more akin to fairy tale and bedtime story, here. It is welcome to find it ina children's book, and it makes it ideal for a parent to read to their child.

Disney, in its mission to profit from 1950's gender roles and latent misogyny (see the film Beauty and the Beast: he's a monster and he's abusive and breaks things when he is angry with you, but you can fix him ladies!) decided to make Mulan into a princess in all but name, however. There is still a MAN at the center of her thoughts and relationships, and her fellow soldiers need to dress as women in a heavy-handed attempt to promote gender equality while in fact mocking it a bit further. But that is Disney, and I am unsure how to judge this book by its source material's gender bias...

All in all, the art in this book is some of the BEST Disney has put into their reading material. Everything has a distinct Disney feel while being elevated with an artistic splash-like water coloring technic. It is an impressive feast for the eyes.

If only it were as impressive a feast for the soul as the actual ballad.

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picture book, ostensibly for children, is filled with information about one of the most beloved and successful Disney films. The book delves into the off-screen work that made this story come to life. We learn how people traveled to China to probe into the history behind the Great Wall and the world in which the real-life Mulan may have lived. The artwork, calligraphy, scenery, architecture and ancient customs were absorbed by the fertile minds of the Disney crew and informed the final look that makes Mulan a film distinctive from any other animated film and yet undeniably one of the Disney pantheon.

The book has sumptuous pictures, helpful photographs and drawings. It doesn’t state anything about the music or voice actors or mention why these elements are lacking. It also contains a brief version of the movie’s story, 11 pages long. It’s rather abrupt and leaves out critical elements of the storyline; you’re better off watching the film.

The storybook’s strengths and charm lie in the myriad details about what went into making the film. However, the movie’s themes are about familial affection and the lengths a girl of strength and fierce courage will go to in order to save her father. All this informed the story and its creators. They never lost sight of that and this storybook highlights that dedication and affection for its readers.

[Mloy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of the better freebees the Disney stores gave out when pre-ordering their movies. I've had this book around for so long but never really got around to reading it until now. Its a fairly handsome book, beautifully bound and the illustrations inside are nothing short of what you would expect from Disney. It's more of a story-book rather than a stereotypical "Making-of" art book but the illustrations kind of seems like the final storyboard of the film. The story is similar to the film of course (without much of the singing) but it's as engaging as the film.

[SaraCat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book I had had sitting on my shelf for over 2 decades. It had been a gift I had received in the late '90s and I had never more than flipped through the pages. While the contents weren't greatly compelling, it was interesting to read through a simplified version of an example of the making of an animated movie. This example being, of course, Disney's Mulan.

[Evie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations were gorgeous, but the story leaves out a lot. -shrug- If you've seen the movie, then you really don't need any more than what they give you, I suppose.

[Daniel]

Great.

[J.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a storybook adaptation of the Disney movie, so it follows that script well.