Shan Yu (Miguel Ferrer) is a Hun & attacks China after the Emperor builds the Great Wall. General Shigeta is in charge of defenses. Shan Yu has already crossed the Northern Borders when the news reaches the Royal Court. Chi-Fu (James Hong) is the Emperor's adviser and assistant. In the Imperial City, the Emperor (Pat Morita) orders a general mobilization, with conscription notices requiring one man from each family to join the Imperial Chinese Army. Mulan (Ming-Na Wen) is a tom boyish village girl who fails at finding herself a good husband. Mulan is expected to be quiet, graceful, polite, punctual and demure. Mulan has a pet horse Khan (Frank Welker) and cricket Cri-Kee (Frank Welker). She is arranged to meet a matchmaker (Miriam Margolyes) to demonstrate her fitness as a future wife. Fa-Zhou (Soon-Tek Oh) prays to the ancestors to help Mulan impress the matchmaker and bring honor to the family. Fa Li (Freda Foh Shen) is her mother and her Grandmother Fa (June Foray). In these times Women bring honor to their family by getting married to a suitable groom and giving birth to boys, who can serve the Emperor. Women are only expected to conduct house chores and look beautiful. Mulan is bathed and dressed up for her meeting with the matchmaker. Grandmother Fa adds Cri-Kee to Mulan's outfit for extra luck. Following a few mishaps (Mulan had taken notes on her hand, and when the matchmaker holds her arm the ink is transferred to her palm and from there to the matchmaker's face. Then Cri-Kee gets into the Matchmakers dress, and she falls on hot coals), the matchmaker deems her a disgrace to the family. Mulan is heartbroken and know that if she is herself, she will never bring honor to her family. Fa-Zhou consoles Mulan and says that she is just a late bloomer and when her time comes, she will bring honor to the family. Mulan's father Fa Zhou is summoned by Imperial Army to serve the Emperor against the Huns. Fa Zhou is old and has a limp in his leg (but he would not even consider not going as that would mean dishonor for the family for generations), so Mulan goes instead, dressed as a man. Mulan takes Fa-Zhou's orders, his sword and armor and rides away on Khan. When her absence is discovered, Fa-Zhou refuses to go after her, as if Mulan is found impersonating a man, she will be killed. Mulan's grandmother prays to the family's ancestors (Mary Kay Bergman) for Mulan's safety. In the local temple, Mushu (Eddie Murphy), a small red dragon, is a disgraced former family guardian who is demoted to the role of awakening the spirits of the ancestors. Mushu was demoted when he was sent to protect Fa-Deng and his misguidance led to disaster, with Fa-Deng being decapitated. The ancestors argue whether Mulan's actions are right or not, and the ancestors are split in 2 camps on the issue. The Great Ancestor (George Takei) decides that the powerful stone dragon guardian should guide Mulan; and sends Mushu to wake him. After accidentally destroying the guardian's statue, Mushu travels to Mulan's aid himself (after Cri-Kee talks to Mushu and gives him this idea), desiring to redeem himself to the ancestors by making Mulan a war hero. Cri-Kee decides to travel with Mushu, just to make sure that he doesn't get Mulan in trouble. As China continues to prepare for war, Shan Yu and the Huns are riding quickly through the wilderness toward the city. Shan-Yu sets fire to all the villages in his path. He has an eagle that soars above the battlefield and informs Shan-Yu of any unseen dangers. Hun soldiers capture two imperial scouts, and Shan Yu tauntingly instructs them to tell the Emperor to send his finest troops to battle the Huns. Reasoning that it only takes one man to deliver a message, Shan Yu has one of the scouts executed. Meanwhile Mulan is practicing how to be a man, just outside the army camp where she is supposed to report. Mushu links up with Mulan (Mulan is not convinced that her ancestors send her a little lizard to help her) & devises a plan to make Mulan a war hero to restore her family's honor & secure his own place as the guardian of ancestral temple. Mushu teaches Mulan to walk and talk like a man. Mulan meets fellow soldiers Yao (Harvey Fierstein), Chien-Po (Jerry Tondo), and Ling (Gedde Watanabe). Mushu's advise of hitting men and slapping their behinds only leads to a brawl and Mulan barely manages to escape. Captain Li Shang (BD Wong) is General Shigeta's son & in charge of training. General Shigeta takes the trained soldiers to stop Shan Yu at a pass, and leaves Li Shang in charge of the camp. Shigeta argues that Li Shang was at the top of his class, is well versed in military techniques and has an impressive military lineage, and so is the right person for the post. Chi-Fu is not happy with Li Shang's appointment and promises to keep a close eye on him for any mistakes. Li Shang has a tough assignment on his hands to train the troops as they are totally undisciplined. Mulan gives her name as Ping and says that Ping is Fa-Zhou's son. Chi-Fu believes this as "Ping" is clumsy and awkward. The remaining soldiers turn against Ping as Li Shang punishes them for Ping's mistakes and make him sleep outside of their camp. Li Shang starts training the troops. Their first task is to retrieve an arrow from the top of a tall mast, by wearing 2 heavy weights in their wrists. Yao and his buddies continue to undermine "Ping" by tripping him or putting insects down his shirt. At first Mulan is clumsy & disgraceful. Mushu helps Mulan cheat and pass the tests, but she is often caught by Li Shang. Slowly Mulan learns all the skills & surpasses all fellow soldiers at the defense arts. Mulan is the first to retrieve the arrow from the top of the mast. With time, the other soldiers accept "Ping" as their friend and comrade. The guys enter the lake when Mulan was bathing there, and she is trapped. She is only able to get away when Mushu bites one of the men and they believe that there is a snake in the lake. The confusion and chaos allow Mulan to escape with Khan's help. Shan Yu attacks the village that General Shigeta is defending as he already knew from his eagle that an ambush was set up for him. Though the soldiers have successfully completed training, but army supervisor Chi Fu (James Fong) is skeptical of the progress Captain Li has made and declares that in his report he will mark the troops as unfit for battle. Mushu also finds that Mulan is attracted to Li Shang. Mushu, afraid of losing the plot fakes a letter to Chi Fu from General Shigeta requesting all available troops at the front line. The ruse works, and Shang marches the troops out of camp the following day. On their march, the guys dream of becoming a hero and marrying a beautiful girl. But nobody wants a girl with a brain and one who speaks her own mind. Li Shang's troops arrive at the village to find the army destroyed & Shigeta dead. Li decides to pursue Shan Yu before he gets to the Imperial city. While pursuing, Mushu accidentally sets off a cannon giving away Li's position in the mountain pass. Li Shang's men use their cannons to attack the archers atop the mountain, but Li Shang asks them to save the last cannon. When the cannons are exhausted, Shan Yu attacks with his huge army. As the soldiers march up a mountain pass, they are ambushed by the Huns. Mulan cleverly uses the last Huolongchushui cannon to cause an avalanche, which buries the entire Hun army. Shan Yu is himself buried in the resultant avalanche. Mulan and Khan risk their own lives to save Li Shang from being swept away in the avalanche. Li Shang's soldiers survive by hiding behind a rock and the avalanche tides over it. Angered, Shan Yu wounds Mulan during the battle, and her deception is revealed to Li Shang when the wound is bandaged. Instead of executing Mulan as the law requires, Li Shang spares her life (he says that his debt to her repaid by sparing her life, in exchanging for saving his) and expels her from the army. Mulan is left behind as the other soldiers depart for the Imperial City to report the Huns' defeat. Mulan miserably tells Mushu that entering the army was a mistake, and that she was fated to dishonor her family. Mushu finally admits that he was not sent by the ancestors, and that his mission was a selfish one to get his job back. Even Cri-Kee confesses that he is not a truly lucky cricket. Mushu consoles Mulan and says that things will work out. He counsels her to return him and face her father. However, Shan Yu and several of his warriors have survived, and Mulan sees them heading towards the city. In the city, Captain Shang and his troops are being hailed as heroes for defeating the Huns. Though surrounded by cheering citizens, Shang, Yao, Ling, and Chein-Po are noticeably dejected. Mulan enters the city and warns Li Shang, but he ignores her. Mulan begs the other citizens to take notice of the danger, but they all ignore Mulan as she is a girl. The Huns then secretly enter the city (being part of the victory parade), capture the Emperor and seize the palace. Knowing of Mulan's knack for creative problem-solving, Shang, Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po turn to her for a rescue plan. With all except Shang disguising themselves as concubines, they infiltrate the palace and attack the Huns guarding the chamber into which the Emperor was taken. Shan Yu threatens to kill the Emperor if he refuses to bow to him and accept him as the new leader of China. The Emperor stoically refuses and Shan Yu prepares to strike, but Shang leaps into action just in time. As Shang and Shan Yu battle, Chien-Po carries the Emperor to safety. Mulan then attracts Shan Yu's attention by proving herself to be the soldier who started the avalanche, luring him to the roof of the palace for a final fight. Mushu, armed with an enormous firework rocket, launches himself at Shan Yu. As the Hun leader is blasted to smithereens in a colorful display, Mulan and Mushu drop to safety on the palace steps. As the chaos subsides, Chi Fu berates Mulan for her actions. Shang angrily defends her until the Emperor appears. He explains to Mulan that, despite her fraud, she has saved the entire nation of China. In the ultimate display of respect, the Emperor bows to Mulan, as do the countless people in the attending crowd. He then offers Mulan a place in his council (to the shock of Chi Fu), but Mulan respectfully declines and expresses her wish to return home. The Emperor gives her his medallion and Shan Yu's sword as gifts to honor the Fa family. Back at the Fa estate, Fa Zhou is overjoyed at the return of his daughter. Though Mulan presents him with the Emperor's crest and the sword of Shan Yu, he casts the priceless gifts aside and embraces her, assuring her that she herself is the greatest honor to their family. Captain Shang arrives soon afterward, returning the helmet that Mulan left behind, and awkwardly but happily accepts Mulan's invitation to stay for dinner. Mushu, at last, is restored to guardian status in the family temple. Mulan thanks him for his help in her adventurous plan, and the ancestors celebrate that the Fa family is complete again.
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