Subtitles section Play video
-
“My name is Mulan.”
-
Disney's Moana makes a big deal of underlining that Moana is not a Disney princess.
-
“I'm not a princess.
-
I'm the daughter of the chief.”
-
This moment feels like Disney trying to update its brand
-
and get away from the idea of its heroines all being girly-girl princesses.
-
“[SINGS] Someday, my prince will come.”
-
But way before Moana, there was another not-a-Disney princess:
-
Mulan.
-
“I've heard a great deal about you, Fa Mulan.”
-
Since 1998, Mulan has been the go-to Disney heroine
-
for little girls who feel like tomboys,
-
or who feel that the typical Disney performance of femininity
-
just isn't for them.
-
“She's a hero”
-
“She's a woman.
-
She'll never be worth anything!”
-
And that's a really important representation to have.
-
“You said you trust Ping.
-
Why is Mulan any different?”
-
Still, Mulan has been a part of the Disney Princess franchise
-
ever since its debut.
-
So, thanks to 20 years of merchandising and marketing,
-
Mulan exists in the collective consciousness as a Disney princess.
-
And it can be easy to forget
-
that Mulan fundamentally is not any such thing.
-
She's a soldier, with no royal connections,
-
and she doesn't follow the basic princess story arc.
-
“[SINGS] Can it be, I am not meant to play this card?”
-
And that begs the question: what is a Disney princess,
-
and why was it so significant that Mulan really didn't fit the type?
-
[SINGS] ”A girl can bring her family Great honor in one way
-
By striking a good match And this could be the day”
-
If you're new here, be sure to subscribe
-
and hit the bell to get notified about all of our new videos.
-
What actually makes a character a Disney princess?
-
“If you wear a dress, and have an animal sidekick,
-
you're a princess.”
-
In the story sense, there are essentially two ways
-
for a Disney heroine to become a princess.
-
She can be born royalty,
-
or she can fall in love with and marry a prince.
-
Unlike almost every other Disney heroine,
-
Mulan has no relation to royalty or nobility of any kind.
-
Her father was a war hero,
-
“Fa Zhou?
-
The Fa Zhou?”
-
so she comes from an impressive background, but not a royal one.
-
And she doesn't marry into royalty, either--
-
her love interest, Li Shang, is a captain in the military,
-
decidedly not a prince.
-
“Leader of China's finest troops.
-
No, the greatest troops of all time!”
-
[Chuckles]
-
Moana is technically much closer to being a princess --
-
as the daughter of the chief,
-
she is in line to take over an important governing role.
-
A Disney Princess also tends to be defined
-
by some other common patterns in their stories.
-
The Wreck-It Ralph 2 trailer gives us a pretty comprehensive and comical
-
list
-
of these princess qualities.
-
“Do you have magic hair?”
-
“Magic hands?”
-
“Do animals talk to you?”
-
“Were you poisoned?”
-
“Cursed?”
-
“Kidnapped or enslaved?”
-
“Do people assume all your problems got solved
-
because a big, strong man showed up?”
-
Strikingly, at least one of these somewhat ridiculous trademarks
-
does apply to every Disney princess, except for Mulan.
-
So even by the princesses' own definition of a princess,
-
Mulan doesn't fit.
-
The princess archetype doesn't only relate to being royal
-
or to these surface-level features, though.
-
On a deeper level, princesses embody traits
-
like optimism, kindness, empathy and caregiving.
-
These gentle traits are traditionally considered feminine in our society,
-
and are therefore, undervalued.
-
But Disney princesses always use their kindness to save the day.
-
What's more, as royalty, they hold a position of power while they do it.
-
This is one of the most positive aspects of Disney princesses.
-
“Our people look to her for wisdom and strength.
-
Someday, they'll look to you as well.”
-
Unfortunately, this kind of representation is still rare --
-
female characters still overwhelmingly play supporting roles to male heroes
-
who succeed thanks to their traditionally masculine strengths.
-
“Now go be a hero.”
-
And little girls watching so often have to find themselves in side characters.
-
That's a big part of why Disney princesses
-
have such an enduring and powerful appeal
-
for young female viewers.
-
Seeing women heroes whose feminine qualities are celebrated
-
is pivotal for many young girls,
-
or for anyone who sees themselves reflected in that type of character.
-
Mulan definitely isn't devoid of these more profound “princess” characteristics.
-
She's very kind, and she's motivated by love for her family above all else.
-
“You shouldn't have to go!”
-
“Mulan!?”
-
“There are plenty of young men to fight for China!”
-
These personality traits just aren't the focus of her story.
-
She's busy fighting a war and saving China,
-
so the features of a typical princess, like caregiving, don't get the spotlight.
-
Mulan's most salient quality is her intelligence.
-
[Shouting] “How could you miss?
-
He was three feet in front of you!”
-
She's always thinking outside the box
-
and solving problems in an unexpected way.
-
She's also brave enough to trust in her mind
-
and do things her own way --
-
and in the story, that means not worrying about
-
conforming to traditional masculinity or femininity.
-
“And what if somebody sees you?”
-
“Just because I look like a man, doesn't mean I have to smell like one.”
-
During the song, “I'll Make a Man out of You,”
-
she proves she thinks differently than everyone else,
-
because she doesn't not assume brute strength is the only possible solution to every problem.
-
So she might be posing as a male soldier, but she doesn't approach challenges
-
the way the other men around her do.
-
“It looks like you're out of ideas.”
-
[Mulan grunts, inhales] “Not quite.”
-
Challenging gender roles with her ingenuity and creativity
-
is how Mulan saves the day,
-
and that's very different from the traditional princess arc.
-
“You have saved us all.”
-
There are certainly other Disney princesses who are very intelligent.
-
No one would question Belle's knowledge of literature
-
or Ariel's intellectual curiosity.
-
But Mulan's intelligence -- her different way of thinking --
-
is actually the crucial factor in shaping her plot.
-
If the traditional princess arc centers on achieving justice through love or compassion,
-
Mulan's story is fundamentally about problem solving
-
and defining self-worth on one's own terms.
-
[Whistles] “Hey guys, I've got an idea!”
-
As of 2017, there are eleven princesses
-
officially recognized as part of the Disney princess franchise --
-
and that includes Mulan.
-
The “official” princesses include the obvious choices,
-
like Belle, Ariel, Cinderella, and Aurora,
-
as well as some fairly recent additions, like Merida and Rapunzel.
-
This lineup seems a little strange
-
when you realize that Mulan, not a princess, makes the cut,
-
when actual Disney royalty are conspicuously missing,
-
like Anna, Elsa, and arguably Moana.
-
But, this is a shrewd marketing and business decision:
-
Anna, Elsa, and Moana came to be during a time
-
when the world found the princess archetype a little tired and limiting.
-
[Raising her voice] “I suppose a Princess just does what she's
-
told?!”
-
“A princess does not raise her voice.”
-
These new heroines have been praised for being less “princess-y” --
-
and for pushing aside love interests in favor of their own independence.
-
So, it was pretty logical for Disney to distance recent heroines from the “princess” brand.
-
Back in 1998, though,
-
Disney's approach was to expand the Princess identity.
-
Including Mulan helped the princess brand appeal
-
to kids who might not identify with the hyperfemininity of the other princesses.
-
It was a very deliberate way of allowing some sort of gender fluidity
-
into the definition of “princess.”
-
[Shrieking] “Your great-granddaughter had to be a CROSSDRESSER!”
-
So today Disney's marketing gets the best of both worlds --
-
having new franchises for modern “independent” heroines,
-
while maintaining its widely appealing past “princess” franchise.
-
And thus appearing progressive,
-
while still selling as much merchandise as possible.
-
Unfortunately, Mulan's representation as a “princess”
-
waters down a lot of the progressive work
-
that the movie itself actually does.
-
“I knew there was something wrong with you!”
-
“A woman.”
-
[gasps]
-
“Treacherous snake!”
-
Every other Disney heroine before her is overtly feminine,
-
and most have an iconic dress associated with them.
-
So even just the fact that Mulan spends most of the movie disguised as a man
-
sets her apart from the others.
-
“Excuse me, where do I sign in?
-
Ah, I see you have a sword!
-
I have one, too.
-
They're very manly and...tough!”
-
But in all of the Disney princess ad campaigns, Mulan's wearing a dress.
-
And in most of these promos,
-
her dress is a version of the one she wears while she sings in “Reflection,”
-
about how her appearance in this clothing doesn't reflect the person she really is.
-
[Singing] “Who is that girl I see, staring straight, back at me?”
-
It's the dress she wears to try to impress the matchmaker,
-
and when she has to confront the fact that she doesn't fit the role laid out for
-
her.
-
[Shouting] “You are a disgrace!
-
You may look like a bride,
-
but you will never bring your family honor!”
-
So this dress is symbolic of the disconnect Mulan feels while she tries to perform femininity
-
in the way that's expected of her.
-
By marketing Mulan in this dress that's so not her,
-
Disney is fitting Mulan into girlish conventions,
-
even though Mulan's entire character arc is about defying those conventions,
-
and pointing out how alienating they can be if they're not right for you.
-
[Singing] “We help you.
-
Washed and dried.
-
Primped and polished 'till you glow with pride!
-
Just my recipe for instant bride!”
-
In Disney movies where the heroine isn't born a princess
-
but marries into royalty,
-
her newfound “princess” status is usually a reward for her pure-heartedness.
-
For example, Cinderella's kindness is rewarded with the prince's love
-
and her escape from her abusive family.
-
In Mulan's case, it's almost as if Disney decided--
-
after the movie was over --
-
to “reward” her achievements with the princess title,
-
even though the story itself didn't make her a princess
-
But Mulan is a movie about how there are multiple ways to earn honor,
-
and society is wrong to recognize only one.
-
“Is she allowed to do that?”
-
So even if Disney views this label as a way to elevate Mulan,
-
falsely labeling her a princess sends a message
-
that there's only one role a female heroine can have,
-
which runs counter to everything Mulan stands for.
-
“You don't meet a girl like that every dynasty.”
-
What's even more fascinating is that the plot of the movie sort of
-
tries to make Mulan royalty, and she refuses.
-
“See to it that this woman is made a member of my council.”
-
“With all due respect, your excellency, I think I've been away from home long enough.”
-
By the end of the movie, Mulan is sure enough of herself
-
that she doesn't need external validation.
-
She can refuse something that others would consider a great honor.
-
Just because it's not that important to her.
-
“The greatest gift and honor is having you for a daughter.”
-
What matters to her is her integrity,
-
proving that she can stay true to herself and creating a space for her unique identity.
-
“Maybe what I really wanted was to prove I could do things right.
-
So when I looked in the mirror, I'd see someone worthwhile.”
-
So all evidence points to the fact that,
-
if given the choice, Mulan would turn the princess label down.
-
For little kids,
-
it's a lot of fun to imagine being a Disney princess.
-
And there's nothing wrong with relating to the Disney princess identity,
-
if that's for you.
-
But Mulan is really for the girls out there who don't feel
-
that Disney princess is a fit for them.
-
“Uh...You fight good.”
-
Mulan reminds little girls that,
-
even if they don't identify with the princess archetype,
-
there's still room within femininity and girlhood for them.
-
So, it's time we stopped labeling her as a princess,
-
because, if anything, the point of Mulan's story is
-
that you don't need to be a princess --
-
or hold any other title --
-
to make your mark on the world.
-
You just need to be you.
-
“You are the craziest man I've ever met.
-
And for that I owe you my life.”