24 lines
2.8 KiB
Plaintext
24 lines
2.8 KiB
Plaintext
the disney studios has its formula for annual , full-length animated features down so pat that it's hard to remember which one you're watching at any given moment .
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" mulan , " their 36th animated adventure , is the latest case in point .
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once again we have a tale focused around a strong central character ( female as usual ; disney is one of the few studios whose heroines--ariel , belle , pocahontas , and now mulan--get equal screen time with their heroes in recent years ) .
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add the requisite love interest and a wise-cracking sidekick or two , pep up the soundtrack with a handful of strategically placed show tunes ( an introspective number by a pool or looking in a mirror , a rousing anthem , a cutesy , montage-backed crowd pleaser ) , pose a few threats to our engaging lead , and tie things all up neatly by the closing credits .
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bob's your uncle !
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better make that walt's your uncle . . .
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kids will no doubt go ga-ga over " mulan " ( or at least the fast food tie-ins ) , but familiarity can , after a while , leave grown-ups--this reviewer included--wishing for a little more .
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maybe an animated feature without--shock !
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horror ! --the
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songs , for example ?
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or maybe a film in which a cheeky chihuahua called pepe longs to become a matador from trinidad ? ?
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how about simply ditching the sidekicks altogether ?
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it isn't gonna happen .
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like disney's previous entries , " mulan " is slow to make its mark .
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the animation tends to suffer from some slackness in the early going and the humorous element , a madcap dragon wannabe ( in the guise of a loquacious lizard with a case of dry mouth , courtesy eddie murphy's animated vocal talents ) , plays like an inappropriate if necessary ( formula-wise ) afterthought .
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however , after about an hour everything comes together and the formula , like it or not , clicks .
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highlights include a spectacular cavalry charge on a snow-covered pass ( which , due to the sophistication of today's computer-generated imagery , is hard to tell from the real thing ) , a memorable , show-stopping musical interlude ( " i'll make a man out of you , " penned by matthew wilder and david zippel ) , and last but not least , mulan herself .
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voiced by ming-na wen , mulan is disney's strongest female character to date .
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when hordes of huns pour over china's great wall and threaten to overthrow the imperial palace , the emperor decrees that every family in the land dispatch one man to serve in the imperial army .
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since mulan's father is infirm , but proud , the high-spirited mulan steals her father's armor and , incognito , signs up to face the mongolian menace .
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attracted to , but not distracted by , her commanding officer shang ( b . d .
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wong ) , mulan outmatches her fellow combatants in smarts , wit , and physical ability .
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she's a woman of the '90s a couple of millennia ahead of her time .
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