Fa Mulan

"You don't meet a girl like that every dynasty."

- The Emperor to Li Shang about Mulan

Fa Mulan (花木蘭) is the main protagonist of Disney's 1998 animated feature film of the same name, and its 2004 direct-to-video sequel. She is inspired by the legendary Hua Mulan from the Chinese poem the Ballad of Mulan. She is voiced by Ming-Na Wen, with her singing voice provided by Lea Salonga.

Mulan is the 8th official Disney Princess and is the only one in the lineup who is not actually royalty through either birth or marriage.

Origin
The original story of Mulan was based on the fifth century Chinese poem the Ballad of Mulan. The original poem was originally a short fable, designed to show gender equality, but in the following centuries it was developed until Hua Mulan became a legendary figure. As little contemporary evidence exists other than the poem, it is unknown whether she was a real figure.

Differences from the source material
Fa Mulan is based off the character Hua Mulan from the Epic Poem The Ballad of Mulan. Hua Mulan eventually became a legendary figure. As little evidence exists other than the poem, it is unknown whether she was a real figure. Hua Mulan seems to be more feisty, assured of herself, socially graceful and effortlessly talented. Disney's Fa Mulan is a more relateable teenage girl struggling to find her way.
 * Mulan's surname was "Hua" instead of "Fa." They are both pronounced similarly (Fa being Cantonese).
 * In war she takes the name "Hu" instead of "Ping".
 * Mulan had an older sister and a younger brother. In the Disney adaption she had no siblings.
 * Rather than learning it from Shang in the army, Mulan was already well versed in archery, sword-handling and martial arts, being taught the trades from her father.
 * In The Ballad of Mulan, she leaves to the army at the age of eighteen, and returns home twelve years later, rather than just staying for a few months to one year in the Disney adaption.
 * Mulan gained high merit in her twelve years of fighting but refused any reward and a job working for the emperor that would make her rich beyond her dreams. Contrastingly, in the Disney version she accepted the sword and crest of the emperor, but did turn down the job working in his royal court.
 * Hua Mulan had no sense of awkwardness and fits seamlessly into society whether she is a feminine woman or disguised as a man.
 * Mulan actually liked wearing makeup and wearing feminine hair styles, and opted to wear them after returning home from war.
 * Mulan's identity as a woman was never revealed while in service. Shortly after returning home, her friends who had served with her came to visit. Though they were stunned to see a extremely beautiful woman instead, and then learned the truth about their friend and praised her for all she had done.

Personality and Traits
Mulan, aberrated and unlike most previous female roles; is courageous and more self-reliant. She also does not fit in with the expectations of a young Chinese girl of the time; despite her natural beauty, she is clumsy, outspoken, and independent rather than graceful, obedient, silent and demure. Which is why her meeting with the matchmaker ended in chaos, that and help from a certain cricket, and why the matchmaker claimed that even though she has the looks of a bride, it will never work because all she will do is dishonor her parents and her future husband. However, her courage, intelligence, and determination, helped her through her adventures of defeating the Huns Army. She is also kind and warm-hearted despite her clumsiness.

Physical Appearance
Mulan is a sixteen-year old tomboy of Chinese origin. She is a natural beauty, with dark brown eyes and straight, black hair, however, its length changes. In the beginning of the original film, her hair was long, which went down to her waist. Later, in the film, when she leaves to join the army; she cuts her hair with her father's sword, and ties it up in a bun, which helps her blend into the army, so that the other soldiers don't know that she's really a woman. In the 2nd film, her hair was grown, not to its original length, but it's noticeably longer than before. In promotional works, her hair is always shown as it's original length, down to the waist.

During the two films, Mulan wore a range of outfits, from beautiful Hanfus (Chinese dresses) to her soldier's get up, though her most notable outfits come from the original film; in which her promotional dress comes from, which is a simple Hanfu, which consisted of either a creamy green-yellow dress, with blue over shirt, which has green sleeves, and a red band around her waist. She also sports kung-fu styled solider's outfit, as well as her pink matchmaker's Hanfu and her father's armor.

Besides when she goes to the matchmaker, Mulan does not to wear any makeup or anything to beautify her appearance and does not use her beauty to her advantage. Most likely not even caring about looks in that way (though nature to her is beautiful). She is often said to have had her crush on Shang for his strength and love him for his personality and sort of had a breakup. It is to be noted that Li Shang also never comments on any part of Mulan's looks or has that moment with "the girl steps into the light and angels sing." Also, it is to be noted, that they never actually say that they love each other directly to the other.

When she sleeps, she wears a light blue tank top, short blue shorts, and is barefoot. She wears a dress consisting of green long-sleeved shirt with olive brims and both yellow skirt and inside shirt with a low cut neckline, blue wrap, red waistband, black ballet shoes, but also has been seen barefoot as well. To impress the matchmaker, she had her face painted in white, red lips, black hair tied in a loose bun with a red hair ribbon, narrow crimson and pale pink Chinese skirt, pink jacket with long, flowing sleeves, aqua and plum collar, blue wrap with a red ribbon to fasten it, light purple scarf, same color shoes, jade bead necklace, gold dangling earrings, and a special lotus flower hair pick. When she was disguised as "Ping", she has black hair tied to a bun with a teal ribbon to look like a man (when cuts her long, beautiful hair with her father's sword), and dark green soldier armor. In the Karate sequence, she had a Cream karate suit. In the Shan Yu battle, she wore a teal dress consisting of poet-sleeved blouse, long olive vest with a crimson collar, crimson belt, light pink sash, same color shoes.

My Disney Experience
Mulan's courage, skill, and determination bring honor to her family. You don't meet a girl like that every dynasty.

Mulan
Mulan is the only child of Fa Zhou, a former war veteran, and Fa Li. Mulan is forced to go to the town Matchmaker to find her a husband, which ends in humiliating failure. Shortly after, the Chinese Emperor's counselor, Chi-Fu, arrives in her village to announce that the deadly Huns, led by Shan Yu, have invaded China, and that one man in every family must serve in the war. Despite her protests, her father says that he will go in spite of his old age and old war wounds. Mulan decides to go in his place posing as a man, cutting her long hair with a sword, stealing her father's armor and riding away on her horse, Khan, so she will keep him from risking his life.

On her way to the army camp, Mulan meets Mushu, a small dragon who claims to be a guardian sent by her ancestors. He agrees to help her pass as a soldier. Though Mulan fails the army training at first, she uses her intelligence and becomes the first soldier to solve a puzzle set by Li Shang, her unit's commanding officer.

Afterwards, she rapidly progresses to become one of the best soldiers in the unit. She also makes friends in Yao, Ling and Chien Po, three fellow soldiers, though she is forced to hide her gender. Through the machinations of Mushu, the soldiers are called to the war front.

After finding that the Chinese Army, led by Shang's father General Li, has been completely destroyed by the Huns, Shang leads Mulan and the other soldiers to stop them. Despite the unit being outnumbered, Mulan is able to defeat the Huns by crushing them in an avalanche by way of a rocket. She sustains an injury from Shan-Yu, but her gender is soon revealed. She is spared death, the punishment for a woman joining the army, as Shang's way of repaying the debt from Mulan rescuing him during the previous battle.

Mulan is left behind by the army and prepares to return home. However, she discovers that Shan-Yu and his five generals have survived and are heading towards the Imperial City. Mulan attempts to warn Shang, but she is ignored because she is a woman. However, when Shan Yu captures the Emperor, Shang, Yao, Ling, and Chien Po join her in a rescue attempt. Mulan disguises herself, Yao, Ling, and Chien Po as concubines and take out the Hun guards, allowing Shang to reach Shan Yu and the emperor. Yao, Ling and Chein Po escape with the Emperor, but Mulan remains behind after Shang is knocked unconscious by Shan Yu.

She reveals herself as the soldier who took down the Huns, which angers Shan Yu. While running from Shan Yu, she comes up with a plan to kill him by means of fireworks. While Mushu goes to get the fireworks, Mulan faces Shan Yu on the roof of the Emperor's palace. She disarms him with a paper fan and uses his sword to pin him to the roof, allowing Mushu to fire fireworks at Shan Yu, presumably killing him. Mulan is oppressed by Chi Fu for the final time when he arrogantly says that as a woman, she is unworthy of being called a hero and being worth anything.

Mulan is then confronted by the Emperor with her various crimes, having heard about them from Chi Fu. At the same time, he acknowledges that she saved all of China and bows to her out of respect. His gesture results in all the gathered people bowing as well. The Emperor first offers Mulan a council position then a job as consul, both of which Mulan refuses. The Emperor instead gifts her with his personal crest, and Shan Yu's sword. Mulan returns home, and is able to reconcile with her father. The end of the film shows Mulan inviting Shang, who had followed Mulan under the guise of returning her helmet, to dinner.

Mulan II
The beginning of the sequel shows Shang, now a General, proposing to Mulan, and they begin preparing for a marriage. However, the Emperor tasks them both with escorting his three daughters to the neighboring kingdom of Qui Gong in an attempt to form an alliance. Should the alliance fail, the Mongols would invade China just like the Huns did. Mulan and Shang ask Yao, Ling, and Chien Po to accompany them. Shang and Mulan's relationship becomes somewhat strained during the trip, as the couple has differing views on various issues, particularly on the subject of the arranged marriages the princesses are being forced into. Meanwhile, Mushu is informed that if Mulan marries Shang, he would cease to be a guardian, instead being returned to his former job of Gong Ringer. Mushu takes advantage of Mulan and Shang's differences and tries to break them up. However, Mulan soon discovers Mushu's plans and tries to reconcile with Shang.

Before she can talk to Shang, bandits attack the group. Shang and Mulan are able to save the princesses, but are left hanging from a broken bridge. Shang chooses to sacrifice himself, as the bridge can only support one. Mulan and the princesses continue towards Qui Gong. Seeing that the princesses have fallen in love with Yao, Ling and Chien Po, and believing that Shang is dead, Mulan prepares to offer herself as a bride in their places. However, Shang is revealed to have survived his fall, and travels to stop her. Mushu is able to fix things by masquerading as the Golden Dragon of Unity, and forces the King to stop the wedding. The princesses are released from their vows and Shang and Mulan are married.

The end of the film, reveals that Mulan has told Shang about Mushu, and that Shang combined the family temples, allowing Mushu to remain a guardian.

House of Mouse
Mulan makes cameos in the House of Mouse television series and the direct-to-video release Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse. In "Ask Von Drake", Mulan was seen with Mushu and Cri-Kee during the Ludwig Von Drake Song. In "Salute to Sports", Mulan briefly appeared on stage with Donald to give a martial arts demonstration.

Disney Princess Enchanted Tales
Mulan was planned to star in the second installment of the Disney Princess Enchanted Tales series of DVDs with Cinderella. However, the film was canceled due to poor sales of the first DVD.

Once Upon a Time
A live-action version of Mulan appears in the second and third seasons of the popular ABC series Once Upon a Time. She is played by actress Jamie Chung and holds a recurring role in the series. Before the Dark Curse was cast, Mulan serves in the army of the Emperor of her native land, and she proves herself in battle.

Later Mulan encounters Belle outside the den of the Yaoguai in her home Empire. Belle lures the creature out of its lair, but it attacks and Belle runs from it. Mulan then fires an arrow at the beast, making it run away. She then goes to Belle, but berates her for scaring the beast and ruining her chance of killing the Yaoguai and saving her village. She storms off into the woods, telling Belle that the best way she can help is to stay out of her way. When Belle is later accosted in Mulan's village by her former traveling companions, Mulan attacks and drives them away, saving Belle in the process, but receiving a wound to her leg. When Belle inquires as to why Mulan saved her, Mulan tells her that Belle was able to find the Yaoguai and track it in a matter of hours, while it had taken her months to do so. She asks Belle to help her track the beast, and then Mulan will kill it. Belle agrees. As they go after the Yaoguai, Mulan discovers that her injury to her leg is worse than she thought, and tells Belle that it is up to her to go and defeat the Yaoguai. Belle at first refuses, but after Mulan encourages her takes the sword and goes after the Yaoguai. After turning the Yaoguai back into Prince Phillip (played by Julian Morris), Belle goes to Mulan and introduces the two of them. Belle decides to go back to Rumplestiltskin and leaves the two of them behind and thus starting their friendship.

Later at some point, Mulan joined Prince Phillip on his journey to find Princess Aurora (played by Sarah Bolger). They were on the journey when The Evil Queen cast the Dark Curse, however the area that they were in was spared by the curse merely freezing them in time for 28 years. When Emma Swan broke the Dark Curse in Storybrooke, they continued their journey.

Mulan is present when Phillip awakens Aurora with True Love's Kiss, but the reunion is cut short when a Wraith appears in the palace. Phillip fights the creature, yet is unwillingly marked by the gold medallion it wore. Mulan explains that the Wraith sucks the souls of its victims. Upon realizing this, Phillip goes to sacrifice himself leaving Mulan and Aurora behind. Mulan figures out what he's up to and goes to stop him, but is followed by Aurora. The two women confront each other with Aurora stating that Mulan has feelings for him as well. Mulan simply denies this, stating although she and Phillip fought side-by-side together many times, she has no romantic feelings for him. The two discover Phillip and his soul is sucked by the Wraith in front of Mulan and Aurora. The women carry Phillp's seemingly dead body back to the palace where Aurora slept. It is there Mulan explains to Aurora what happened while she slept. They hear a noise and find Emma Swan and her biological mother Mary Margaret Blanchard under a pile of rubble. Thinking that they were the reason for the Wraith's appearance she and Aurora take them as prisoners to a safe haven where the survivors of the curse are gathered.

Emma and Mary Margaret are thrown into the pit. Mulan is seen talking to Aurora about Lancelot and then Aurora tells Mulan that she does not trust Emma and Mary Margaret. Mulan warns Aurora not to confuse vengeance with justice. Later, she is seen giving Emma and Mary Margaret weapons for their journey to The Castle. In the woods, Mulan tells the two women that they will make a camp and that they need to get fire and water. When Mary Margaret makes a fire, Aurora attacks her and the two start arguing. Mulan appears and tells Mary Margaret to not talk to Aurora like that and that she will deal with Aurora. Emma appears and fires a gun to try to protect Mary Margaret but has instead summoned ogres. The group splits up and Mary Margaret saves Emma from an ogre. Later on, Mulan tells Aurora to keep up and that it is her own fault that she is not dressed for the woods as she was told to stay in the safe haven. Emma takes pity on Aurora and gives her her jacket. When the group arrives at the castle, Mulan informs Mary Margaret that she and Aurora will keep guard at the gate. The two later go into the castle to rescue Mary Margaret and Emma from Cora, who was disguised as Lancelot. Mulan tells the others that she cannot believe she was fooled by the shape shifter and is not sure about what to tell the survivors once they got back. Mary Margaret tells her that she should tell them the truth, that Lancelot died a heroic death. Mulan then suggests Mary Margaret becomes the new leader. Mary Margaret says that she appreciates it but cannot as she has to get home to Storybrooke with Emma and Mulan and Aurora agree to help the two.

On their way back to camp, Mulan states she does not know how she will tell the residents of the camp how Lancelot died. When the four women return to their camp, Mulan is horrified to see that all of her fellow residents were killed, seemingly by Cora ripping everyone's hearts from their bodies. Aurora discovers Captain Hook beneath a pile of bodies, and Hook attempts to deceive the four of them by stating he survived Cora's attack on the camp by hiding under some dead bodies. Mulan is not buying his story and ties Hook to a tree with Emma's help and begins to walk away with the women. Hook then reveals his true identity as a shocked Mary Margaret pulls his hook out of his satchel. He states that he was working with Cora, but will now join forces with Emma and her team. Emma then cuts him free. He leads them to a giant beanstalk stretching up into the sky, with Mulan pointing a sword at his back, stating that there is a magical compass at the top, but first they must deal with the giant. At the base of the beanstalk, Mulan insists that she should be the one to climb the beanstalk, stating she is the most experienced warrior of the four women. However, Emma overrules her, but takes her aside before climbing the beanstalk. She asks Mulan about the strength of her sword, and Mulan states that it is the strongest sword in the land. Emma then asks Mulan that if she is not back in 10 hours, if Mulan will cut the beanstalk down and make sure that Mary Margaret gets back to Storybrooke. Mulan agrees, and then provides Emma with ground poppy in order to knock the Giant unconscious. After Emma and Hook set off, Mulan then draws a line in the sand and sticks a stick in the sand at the end, saying to the other two women it is a way to keep track of the watches each of them should have. When it reaches ten hours, Mulan takes her sword and deals a heavy blow to the beanstalk. She is then tackled by an infuriated Mary Margaret who demands to know what she is doing. Mulan states that it is her daughter's wish. Just then, Emma jumps off the beanstalk, so Mulan does not need to cut the beanstalk down.

In the Enchanted Forest, Mulan is present when Aurora awakens from her dream. Before she can talk to Aurora, zombies attack the encampment, and Mulan runs off with Aurora in another direction, leaving Mary Margaret and Emma behind to face the zombies. Mulan and Aurora encounter more zombies in the forest, and when Mulan is tackled by one, the other two manage to grab Aurora and get away with her. Mulan beheads the zombie she is being rushed by and then encounters Emma and Mary Margaret, and informs them that the zombies got away with Aurora. Mary Margaret then states that she must be put back to sleep in order to contact Henry, and Mulan reluctantly tells them that in order to do that, they need more Ground Poppy Dust. She tells them that there is a little poppy growing nearby, and from that she can create the dust needed. As they are hacking their way through the forest with Mulan leading, a raven swoops onto Mary Margaret's shoulder. It communicates to her that if the magical compass is not given to Cora by sundown, then something will happen to Aurora. Immediately Mulan demands the compass from Emma, and when Emma does not give it freely moves to physically take it from her. Emma and Mary Margaret convince her to allow them till sundown to contact Henry and come up with a plan. If that does not work, then they will give the compass to Mulan so she can rescue Aurora. Mulan reluctantly agrees and leads them to the poppy, where she cuts it and crushes it with her dagger. She then blows the powder into Mary Margaret's face, putting her to sleep. When Mary Margaret wakes up, she and Emma discover that Mulan has taken the compass and run. Mulan is then shown running through the forest, but is stopped when Mary Margaret fires an arrow at her to halt her in her tracks. Mulan turns to face them and a distraught Mary Margaret demands the compass. When Mulan refuses, she tackles Mulan and pulls an arrow out of her quiver and presses it against Mulan's neck. Mulan still refuses to give them the compass, saying that they will have to kill her first. Mary Margaret raises the arrow just as Aurora comes around a tree and tells Mary Margaret to stop. Aurora then tells them all that occurred and asks what they are going to do next. Mulan asks if she is okay before they follow Mary Margaret and Emma.

As the group arrives at Rumplestiltskin's cell in the ruins of the palace, Mulan uses her torch to search the cell for any sign of the squid ink. After Aurora finds Rumplestiltskin's note, Mulan finds a small glass vial that is empty, although it may have contained ink at one point. They are then entrapped in the cell by Cora and Hook, and Cora reveals that she has Aurora's heart in her possession. After Cora and Hook leave, Mulan apologizes to Aurora for allowing Cora to get her heart. Soon after, Mary Margaret uses the squid ink in the note that was written by Rumplestiltskin to open the cell and allows the group to escape. At Aurora's insistence that she cannot be trusted due to Cora holding her heart, Mulan reluctantly ties her to the remnants of the jail cell. At Lake Nostros, the group arrives to find Hook and Cora about to jump through the portal to Storybrooke. Mulan, Emma, and Mary Margaret immediately attack. Mulan is able to battle Cora using her sword, and is able to deflect her magic with the blade. As Mulan moves to attack Cora, Cora vanishes in a puff of smoke, and Aurora's heart nearly falls into the portal when Hook reaches out and grabs it, tossing it to Mulan. After Emma knocks Hook out, Mary Margaret tells Mulan to go and give Aurora back her heart. Mulan gives Mary Margaret her sword, saying it will deflect Cora's magic before running back to the palace ruins. She is able to put Aurora's heart back in her chest. Aurora then tells Mulan that Cora told her that Phillip may be able to be revived, and the two friends set off to recover his soul.

At some point in their quest, though through unknown means, they managed to recovered Phillip's soul and revived him. The three later appear in the season finale, where they find Neal Cassidy unconscious on the beach outside of the Enchanted Forest. They take him back to the palace and tend to his injuries as Mulan keeps a close watch on the stranger. Upon awakening, she asks who he is, to which the man responds with his name, Neal. Her companions, Aurora and Prince Phillip, rush over to inspect the stranger. Hastily, Aurora helps to bring water to him while Neal wonders where this is. She says him he is in their kingdom, and further questioning prompts Prince Phillip to tell Neal they are in the Enchanted Forest. Shocked, Neal murmurs he is back, which causes Aurora to think he's a native of this land, but Mulan points out his clothes are foreign and similar to Emma and Mary Margaret's. At the mention of Emma's name, Neal realizes they are acquainted with her as well, and tries to explain he needs to save Emma from harm. In attempting to move from the bier, Neal struggles to sit up as his wound is not yet completely healed, but despite that, he is set on finding out if Emma and Henry are alright. Aurora queries if Neal is Henry's father, and goes on to fill him in on how she once met Henry in the Netherworld. She mentions having harnessed the power to walk the dreamworld and find others like her, and it's possible to find Henry. Neal asks if she can find Emma to let her know he is alive.

Assuming a laying spot on the bier, Aurora attempts to find with Emma or Henry in the dreamworld. While Prince Phillip watches over her, Mulan and Neal wait at the sidelines and converse. Mulan learns Neal assumed death was imminent after falling into the portal, and from focusing his thoughts of the Enchanted Forest, that's how he ended up here. Curious about the other world, Storybrooke, she asks what it's like there. Neal starts off by saying people of that land believe the Enchanted Forest inhabitants to be fictional, and exemplifies it with the Mulan animated movie. Confused, she inquires what a movie is, but the exchange is interrupted by Aurora's awakening.

Crestfallen, Aurora notifies Neal she was unable to make contact. However, Neal recalls his father always had plans, and could have left something behind if he ever came back to the Enchanted Forest. He has hopes of finding such an item and using it to get to Emma and Henry by traveling to his father's castle. Prince Phillip raises the question of who his father is, and Neal admits it's Rumplestiltskin.

Mulan and Neal go on foot towards the castle. Wishing to learn more about Neal's relationship with Emma, she asks why Emma never mentioned him before. Neal confesses he broke Emma's heart by letting her go to fulfill the breaking of the Dark Curse, and after it was finished with, fear of rejection kept himself from coming back to her. Mulan remarks that his belief in love wasn't strong enough to overcome rejection, which Neal says is the greatest regret of his life.

Inside the castle, though it has been ravaged and severely plundered, Neal can tell someone has been living in it. Suddenly, they are surprised by a man, Robin Hood, aiming an arrow their way, and claims the castle is his. Neal explains the castle once belonged to the Dark One, Rumplestiltskin, and he is his son, Baelfire. Robin Hood decides to trust Neal's words and believes no one would make a claim unless it were true.

Through a brief search, Neal finds his father's old cane, which he uses to reveal a hidden door in the castle. From within, Neal discovers a crystal ball. Reluctantly, he agrees magic is the only thing that can help him now, and attempts to get the ball to activate by touching it, which causes no change. Mulan suggests to think about how he feels about Emma, and that will guide him to see her. Neal follows her instructions, and the crystal ball shows him an image of Emma in Neverland.

Afterwards, Neal devised a plan to get to Neverland: he will use Robin Hood's son, Roland, to lure the shadow to the castle, while they and Mulan lie and wait. After it appears to had failed, their plan works, and the shadow arrived for Roland. Robin managed to hold on to his son long enough for Neal to grab the shadow, and Mulan managed to force it to back off and fly back to Neverland, successfully taking Neal with it. Later, Robin Hood thanks Mulan for her help, and offers her to join his band of Merry Men. Before she joins him, she visits Aurora to tell her the news. But before she can, Aurora share her own news: she's pregnant with Philip's child, which stuns Mulan. After she announced that she's joining Robin Hood's band, Mulan and Aurora exchange a happy tearful hug, and say goodbye to each other. Later that night, Mulan arrives at the Merry Men's campsite and is greeted by Robin Hood, unaware that he's the man with the lion tattoo that Tinkerbell tried to had Regina meet back in the Enchanted Forest.

Sofia the First
Mulan has been confirmed to appear in Sofia the First in summer of 2014, during the episode "Princesses to the Rescue". She will sing a song called "Stronger Than You Know".

Kingdom Keepers
Mulan appears in the fourth book in the saga. Here, she rescues Finn and Charlene from Shan Yu at the China Pavilion and navigates them across the World Showcase Lagoon.

Kingdom Hearts II
Sora, Donald and Goofy meet Mulan as "Ping" outside the army's camp with Mushu. Sora and Donald are shocked when Goofy reveals to them that she is actually a girl but promise to keep her identity a secret. The group join the army, where Mulan almost blows her cover after breaking up a massive brawl between Sora, Donald, and two other military recruits. Captain Shang has little faith in "Ping", despite the constant comments from Sora, Donald and Goofy. Mulan slowly impresses Shang, defeating Shan-Yu and his Heartless single-handedly by causing an avalanche, and even saves Shang's life. But Mushu accidentally gives away Mulan's identity. Shang, outraged of her deceit, chucks her and the others out of the army before leaving. Mulan and the others see Shan-Yu and several surviving Heartless emerge from the mountain and make their way to the Imperial City. Mulan fails to convince Shang to believe her, but she soon gets his trust again when the Emperor is kidnapped. Mulan, Sora and the others battle and kill Shan-Yu, Mulan being thanked personally by the Emperor who bows respectfully. Shan-Yu's sword then suddenly glows and gives Sora access to another world.

Mulan is reunited with Sora during his second visit to her world. Mulan is hunting a cloaked man who she believes is an enemy spy, but Sora knows it is a member of Organization XIII. Following the cloaked man to the mountains, they see a Heartless Dragon called the Storm Rider head for the Imperial City. They head there where they find the cloaked man (there are actually two, one being Riku) who reveals himself to be Xigbar. Mulan and the others battle the Storm Rider and defeat it. Mulan gives her support to Sora when he leaves to continue his journey to find Riku and Kairi.

In order to thank her for her unconditional loyalty, the Emperor makes her Captain Shang's partner, with the two of them serving beside him.

Sometime after Xemnas's defeat Mulan and Shang were having a romantic moment in the Bamboo Grove only for their moment to be interrupted when Yao, Ling and Chien Po were spying on them.

Songs
Songs performed by Mulan:
 * 1) Reflection
 * 2) A Girl Worth Fighting For
 * 3) Honor to Us All
 * 4) I'll Make a Man Out of You
 * 5) Lesson Number One
 * 6) If You Can Dream
 * 7) Stronger Than You Know

Disney Parks and Resorts
Mulan appears regularly for meet-and-greets, parades, and shows at the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, especially at Walt Disney World in Florida. Mulan and Mushu (as a kite) make cameo appearances in the Hong Kong Disneyland and Disneyland Resort versions of It's a Small World. She is usually dressed in her bridal costume from the "Honor to Us All" musical number. She is occasionally seen with Li Shang.

Mulan has her own spell card known as "Fa Mulan's Dragon Cannon" in the attraction Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom.

In Fantasmic!, Mulan makes a notable appearance during the bubble montage having her bubble scenes nearly the longest in the montage.

In 1998 there was a "Mulan Parade", Main Street, Disneyland. There is the parade after the long dragon. There are acrobats,drummers, stilt walkers and Mulan portrayed by an actress.

From 1999 to 2002 there was "Mulan, La Légende" (Mulan, The Legend) at Videopolis, Discoveryland, Disneyland Paris. "Mulan, the Legend" opened in the French Park in April 1999 and has been performing every day since. Based on the story as told in the Disney film, the show features a cast of 50 performers who tell the tale through acrobatics, juggling and a lot of hard physical work.The show originally opened with the "Hebei Acrobatic Troupe of China" but in August 1999 the "Flag Circus of China" took over the performing duties. It is currently performed four or five times as day, with more show times added during the summer months. The Mulan show is thirty minutes long and is delivered in a very unusual way. The melodies are from the film, except they have been orchestrated differently. The story is told totally through mime, gesture and acrobatics. The show begins in front of a huge red curtain, as a group of the Hun's men burst on to the stage from all sides. They tumble, build human pyramids and use aerial equipment to tower over the audience. This section represents the attack on the Great Wall of China that can be seen in the film. They end their attach by demolishing a stone structure built into a circular hole in the great wall. After the smoke clears the Great Wall rolls back to reveal the garden belonging to Mulan's family. Here we are treated to a wonderful display of plate spinning to the music "Honor to us all". Mulan performs in this section using a Diablo. Mulan then enters the house of the Matchmaker and quickly exits in disgrace. The show quickly moves on to Mulan's realization that she must replace her father in the war with the Hun. The show now moves into the Chinese Army training camp where to the music of "I'll make a man out of you" and "A girl worth fighting for" the new recruits perform ever more daring feats. At the end of the training the recruits are sent off to fight the Hun and the action begins. This section features all of the men in the troupe and is one of the most fast and furious pats in the show. Effects are used to portray the falling snow, this includes large while flags that the performers tumble and jump over as they are swung around. Of course good wins over evil and the end of the war is celebrated in a typical Chinese way with acrobatic lions and jugglers outside the royal palace. But before the celebration ends, the Hun himself attacks the palace, using long red curtains to swing across the stage and over the audience. The Hun is defeated and the celebrations continue in a blaze of color and movement. As the show ends the cast take their final bow as the red curtain falls leaving Mushu the playful Dragon in front of it.

On the Disney Cruise Line ships, Mulan and Shang appear in the stage show The Golden Mickeys. Mulan is also known to come out for meet-and-greets on the ships as well. Mulan also has an extended section in the show Wishes where she performs both "Honor to Us All" and "Reflection".

At Disney's Wide World of Sports in Walt Disney World, Mulan, Mushu and Shan Yu participate in the Martial Arts Festival.

The Jan. 29, 2012 Disneyland is offering extra theme park entertainment as part of the "Happy Lunar New Year Celebration". In honor of the Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese Lunar New Year, the celebration features live performances, activities and food. "Mulan's Chinese New Year Procession" is seen at selected times throughout the day, in which Mulan and Mushu proceed in colorful costumes to a photo location area where guests can meet-and-greet with them along with Chip 'n' Dale dressed in Asian-inspired attire.

Mulan is also featured in the Disney on Iceshows Princess Classics and Princess Wishes, as a Princess, despite her lack of royal ties, but as a beautiful girl.

Mulan is also featured in Disneyland's new stage show "Mickey and the Magical Map".

Redesign
Mulan received multiple changes in her late 2012 redesign.

Mulan's face was elongated very slightly and is no longer as rounded as it used to be. The epicanthic folds by her eyes have also been sharpened a bit to give them a more narrow appearance. Her body type was also changed to a more hour glass shape from her original androgynous figure in the film.

Mulan wears an elaborate, bejeweled gold hair clip and her now waist-length hair is long and flowing. The material used in her Hanfu dress is metallic-looking in appearance and texture and still sports the same color from her old appearance. In early redesigns, her dress is more reddish with sparkles, much of her black hair is loose and down instead of having the hair clip.

Her face and the other visible parts of her skin appear to be whitened with powder, with her cheeks touched with rouge and her lips painted red; somewhat resembling a more traditional Chinese bride.

Other early redesigns included her dress being bright gold and dark red instead of green, blue and yellow.

Trivia

 * Mulan is the first Disney Princess to be of East Asian descent.
 * Mulan is the first Disney Princess to not be an actual princess, for she was neither born into royalty, nor did she marry a prince. She is the third Disney Princess to not be of royal descent (the first being Cinderella, the second being Belle, and the fourth being Tiana), as well as the third to not marry a prince (the first being Jasmine, the second being Pocahontas, and the fourth being Rapunzel).
 * Mulan is the first Disney Princess to have her hair cut, the second being Rapunzel; however, Rapunzel did not cut her own hair, while Mulan did.
 * Mulan is the second princess to have her mother in her first film after Aurora. The third is Tiana, and the fourth is Rapunzel.
 * Mulan is the first Disney Princess to disguise herself as a man in her primary film and the second Disney Princess to disguise herself as another person, after Jasmine (who disguised herself as a male soldier in a 1994 episode of the Aladdin animated series).
 * Mulan is the second Disney Princess to be seen wearing pants after Jasmine, except that she wears them for the most of the film while she wore dresses in other scenes.
 * Mulan in the film spends most of the time in either her training uniform, her battle armor, or her blue infiltration dress, while in the merchandise, she is shown mostly either in her "normal" (green and yellow) dress or her pink matchmaker dress.
 * Mulan's portrayal in the merchandise has been the origin of the fan-made term, "Mulan syndrome", where a tomboyish female in a source material is re-written as a more effeminate character in spinoffs.
 * Mulan is the second Disney Princess to have both parents present during the entire film, the first being Aurora in 1959 and the third being Rapunzel in 2010, and Merida being the fourth in 2012.
 * Mulan is the first Disney Princess to be raised by both of her parents for her entire current life, followed by Merida. (Aurora was raised by the fairies for most of her life, Rapunzel was kidnapped and raised by Mother Gothel.)
 * Mulan is the third Disney Princess to be played by two actresses, the first being Jasmine in 1992 and the second being Pocahontas in 1995. Ming-Na provides her speaking voice, and Lea Salonga provides her singing voice. Coincidentally, Lea Salonga also provided the singing voice for Jasmine 6 years prior.
 * Mulan is the first Disney Princess to kill the film's villain before Tiana in 2009. Anna, however, did punch Prince Hans.
 * Mulan means "magnolia blossom" in Chinese. It could also mean "wood orchid".
 * While her name is "Fa Mulan" in the Disney film, in the actual Chinese legend her name is "Hua Mulan", though they are both pronounced similarly (Fa being Cantonese).
 * In the Chinese dub of the movie Mulan, when giving her fake name to Li Shang, she states her full name is Hua Ping. Hua Ping translates directly as Flower Vase, and is modern Chinese slang for an effeminate homosexual male. This is adapted into the Chinese dub so that when Ping introduces 'himself', the others think he is a feminine homosexual male, and use that as the basis as to why 'he' tries, and fails, to be manly.
 * Mulan is the only Disney Princess to have a known (and confirmed) family name.
 * Mulan is the first Disney Princess to be visibly wounded, the second being Merida, and the third being Anna.
 * Mulan is the third Disney Princess to have a horse companion, the first being Cinderella and the second being Belle, and the fourth being Merida.
 * Although Mulan cuts her hair, it remained long in Disney Princess merchandise.
 * Out of the 11 Disney Princesses, Mulan is the only one to feature writing down her nationality's language. Ariel just signed her name and Tiana just wrote one word ("OK"), though it was only during her dream song number. Although Belle wrote a book in French, and the viewer sees the words, you don't see her write them, and it is not in the main feature film but is in Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas. Aurora also wrote her name, and her nationality is presumed to be British, thus making her the second princess to write her name in her nationality's language, though it was not in her feature film it was in Disney Princess Enchanted Tales.
 * Mulan is the second Disney Princess to get married in a sequel to her film, the first being Jasmine, and the third being Rapunzel.
 * Mulan is the first Disney Princess to not take part in a song about her love fore her Hero/Prince or vice versa. However, she is the third Princess who doesn't sing in a song about the love between themselves and the Hero/Prince. (The others being Ariel and Belle.)
 * She shares many similarities to Tiana. Tiana being a second of what Mulan does as firsts for Disney Princesses. (Tiana being the second princess to have her father in the army, and the second to have her mother alive, etc.)
 * Mulan is the second Disney princess (after Cinderella) with the largest number of animal companions, which include Mushu, Cri-Kee, Khan, and Little Brother.
 * Mulan is shown in several deleted scenes in which one she is daydreaming of how she wants to demonstrate her adventurous/tomboyish spirit.
 * In many comic strips, Mulan is shown around her farm usually barefoot.
 * Mulan is left-handed. She has been seen using the sword in her right hand and may be amidextorous or possibly just taught to use it that way.
 * Originally, Disney made Mulan leave to the army to get out of her society. Though the way she feels about society is still present in the movie, it is not made to be the main point. She seemed selfish and unlikable that way, so animators stuck to the traditional way of her saving her father.
 * Mulan's voice was originally going to be done by Tia Carrere, who would later voice Nani Pelekai. Later, Lea Salonga (her singing voice) was considered but her voice wasn't low enough for Ping. She then was voiced by Ming-Na.
 * Mulan is the first Disney princess to be involved in archery, followed by Merida.
 * Mulan is the last Disney Princess (second to last if you include Kida) to be created (1998) until the debut of Tiana in 2009.
 * Mulan was featured on the 100th issue of Disney Adventures Magazine.
 * Mulan is the only Princess whose wedding dress is a different color other than white, in her case, that dress is red, the color of happiness according to Chinese culture.
 * Mulan is the first Princess to be seen only in her undergarments at one point (second if you include Esmeralda), with the second being Merida (third if you count a behind the scenes character of Rapunzel in a white underdress), and the third and fourth being Anna and Elsa.
 * When Mulan disguises herself as a male, her eyelashes and double eyelid disappear and her eyebrows grow thicker, but when she dresses like a woman again, her eyelashes grow back, her double eyelid comes in again, but her eyebrows remain thick.
 * Mulan touches her hair a lot because animators noticed that Ming-Na did.
 * Mulan is, by far, the Disney character (Heroine or villain) with the highest body count ever assuming that her forced avalanches implied the death of thousands of Huns. Her film noticeably has the second highest body count of any animated Disney film ever.
 * Mimi Chan did the motion capture for Mulan's martial arts moves, even though Ming-Na could have also done so as she previously played Chun-Li in the Street Fighter movie.
 * In the Disney Princess line-up and dolls, Mulan is often shown as being more tanned than the others besides Jasmine, Pocahontas and Tiana. However, in the new 2013 type line-up and their merchandise, Mulan is shown as the palest one.
 * For some reason, none of Mulan's dresses appear in the Kingdom Hearts games (she instead fights Shan Yu in her soldier uniform), therefore defeating the purpose of her, Yao, Chien-Po, and Ling having to disguise themselves as female concubines to infiltrate the Imperial Palace.
 * Mulan is the second Disney Princess to have a last name (and possibly take her husbands last name as well). Rapunzel is the third Disney Princess to have a last name, however her last name is by marriage as her parental one was never revealed.
 * In the Special Edition DVD audio commentary, it is said that though Mark Henn is her animator, Christopher Sanders (Little Brother's animator) was the one who mastered her quirky character.
 * Mulan is often noted in audio commentary that Mulan uses her mind to solve problems and with the learning at the camp can use a combination of strength and intelligence.
 * In the deleted part of Reflection, Mulan says, "they want a docile lamb, no one knows who I am," which is true throughout the first movie and sometime between scenes of Qui Gong and Mulan's marriage in the second movie, she claims to have told Li Shang everything.
 * Mulan's best friend is Mushu.
 * Mulan is the second official Disney Princess to have sort of a misfit/socially awkward effect. Belle is the first as many describe her as odd though you never see this in the actual movie. In Mulan, she is shown throughout the movie to have that effect but nobody ever straight out says it. Anna, the third to be socially impaired, frequently calls herself awkward.
 * Mulan is the second Disney Princess to have her life spared. The first Disney Princess was Snow White after the huntsman failed to kill her, while Shang refuses like the huntsman to also kill. But Mulan may actually be the third to be saved if you count Belle being saved by the Beast from a pack of wolves. Elsa is the next, her life being saved by Anna.
 * Though Mulan seems to be disorganized and wings it a lot, she must be a master planner and strategist. She even does better than Li Shang, who is the best strategist of his class.
 * Even though Mulan seems to be unruly, she really does follow rules and do what's right, (such as filial piety) just in a different way. It is like she says in the sequel, "bending rules."
 * Mulan is clumsy yet a master at kung-fu, probably because she used her brain to solve those problems.
 * Mulan follows her heart yet still holds intelligence at a place.
 * Mulan seems to know a lot about philosophy and nature.
 * According to Disneystrology, Mulan's birthday is July 27th.
 * Mulan's curtain has white ducks or swans on it.
 * The recoloring of Mulan's redesign may be due to the fact that red and gold were often considered by the Chinese as the colors of communism or because in ancient China, the royal color was yellow and red was the color of luck and prosperity.
 * All of Mulan's dresses in the first film had a blue bodice and a red sash.
 * Mulan is the 4th princess to almost die. The first three being Snow White, Aurora, Belle and later Merida and Elsa. (Snow was supposed to be killed by the Huntsman, Maleficent's curse was suppose to have Aurora destined to die, Belle almost drowned, Merida was nearly eaten by Mor'du, and Elsa was almost murdered by Hans.)
 * Mulan is the first Disney Princess's who didn't receive True Love's Kiss in her feature film. She and Shang however do share a kiss in the sequel. Merida and Elsa also receive no kiss as they have no love interests.