Cri-Kee is a major character in Disney's 1998 animated feature film Mulan. He is a supposedly lucky cricket belonging to Fa Mulan that serves as Mushu's harried sidekick.
Cri-Kee is a "lucky" cricket purchased by Grandmother Fa, who believed Mulan needed all the help she could receive during her trip to the Matchmaker. However, despite being deemed a lucky cricket, Cri-Kee confesses to Mushu at one point that he is not, which would explain his timid behavior during dangerous situations. Even so, throughout the film, Cri-Kee goes through various perils and survives each of them, having Mushu believe he is, indeed, lucky. Cri-Kee does not speak and merely communicates through chirps, but he is understood by mythical creatures, such as Mushu.
Development[]
Cri-Kee was the creation of veteran Disney employee Joe Grant, who worked for the studio as far back as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937. The concept of Cri-Kee was inspired by the filmmakers' research, where they learned that crickets are a symbol of luck in China. Based on this, Grant insisted that the filmmakers add a cricket character to the movie; he supposedly slipped various sketches of Cri-Kee through the office doors of the directors. According to animator Barry Temple, "no one wanted him [Cri-Kee] in the movie, the directors didn't want him in the movie, the story department didn't want him in the movie. The only ones who truly wanted him in the movie were Michael Eisner and Joe Grant — and myself, because I was assigned the character."[1]
Personality[]
In Mulan, Cri-Kee is shown to be eager to please. Though he does not believe himself to be lucky, he does strive to be useful and is therefor quick to aid those in need. However, Cri-Kee is somewhat passive; he goes with Mushu's orders without question and rarely has any input on the dragon's schemes besides manual labor. As a result, he often gets the shorter end of the stick by either being scolded by Mushu and facing some kind of physical injury. Cri-Kee does not seem to mind, and in turn, Mushu goes out of his way to protect Cri-Kee when things become dangerous (as was the case in the mountain battle against the Huns). In relation to Mushu, Cri-Kee acts as a straight man foil to the dragon's larger-than-life personality. Despite serving as Mushu's "yes man", Cri-Kee has had his fair share of wisecracks at the dragon's expense (such as referring to him as a loser at one point), though this typically ends with a round of scolding from Mushu.
In Mulan II, Cri-Kee's personality differs slightly as he is portrayed as having more agency than in the original film. Rather than being the put upon assistant of Mushu, Cri-Kee is portrayed as Mushu's polar opposite and better half. Though he values Mushu as a friend, he shows to be easily annoyed by the dragon's schemes and selfishness, particularly when they affect their friends. As such, Cri-Kee takes it upon himself to keep a sharp eye on Mushu and at least tries to lead the dragon down the right path. He usually fails, but there are times where his guidance is taken for what it's worth.
Cri-Kee is first shown being caged up. Mulan's grandmother walks across a road (while covering her eyes) to test Cri-Kee's luckiness, despite Fa Li's protests. After being successful and despite causing a huge traffic pileup, he is "proven" lucky by Grandmother Fa. He accidentally messes up Mulan's chance with the Matchmaker by climbing into the tea that the Matchmaker was going to drink out of. Mulan attempts to retrieve the cup to stop the Matchmaker from consuming the cricket. Unfortunately, this results in a series of accidents, culminating in Mulan pouring tea on the Matchmaker in an attempt to douse the fire that is burning the Matchmaker's dress. Mulan quickly heads outside, with Cri-Kee jumping back into his cage to avoid causing more trouble, but the Matchmaker openly berates her in front of the whole crowd. During the "Reflection" musical number, a saddened Mulan lets Cri-Kee out of his cage but he, out of sympathy for Mulan (and possibly out of guilt for having accidentally ruined her meeting with the Matchmaker), chooses to follow her out of curiosity instead of leaving.
After Mulan leaves for the war, having single-handedly taken her father's place, it is Cri-Kee that persuades Mushu to go after her (as the Ancestors wanted him to bring her home by force) and convinced the dragon to let him come with him under the assumption that he was lucky. Cri-Kee aids Mushu in turning Mulan into a war hero. At one point, he assists Mushu in tricking Chi-Fu by forging a letter by General Li as a means to get Mulan and her unit into the front of the battle. During the final battle at the Imperial City, Cri-Kee helps Mushu defeat Shan Yu by firing a Chinese firecracker towards him on top of the Emperor's palace. When Cri-Kee miraculously survives the explosion afterward, Mushu comments that Cri-Kee is "a lucky bug". During the epilogue, Cri-Kee lastly appears to summon the ancestors by striking the gong once and playing a drum kit made out of pots and pans.
In the sequel, Cri-Kee reappears as Mushu's companion (though he spends significantly more time with Mulan than he does in the original film). Cri-Kee is first seen helping Mulan and Little Brother with the former's martial arts lesson. Later when Mulan announces her engagement to Shang to Mushu, Cri-Kee leaps at the opportunity to assist in overseeing wedding preparations. Unfortunately for Mushu, Mulan and Shang's marriage would result in him losing his job as Mulan's guardian, prompting him to make several attempts to sabotage their relationship to preserve his position. Cri-Kee tags along to prevent Mushu's scheme, but his inability to warn Mulan results in Mushu's unmitigated success. Fortunately, upon seeing the negative effects of his actions, Mushu has a change of heart and works alongside Cri-Kee to save Mulan and Shang's relationship. The two eventually marry, resulting in Mushu losing his position. Cri-Kee stands by his companion as the latter packs away his belongings and commends him on his selfless behavior. Mushu is initially content with his good deed and Cri-Kee's support but is further rewarded when Shang combines his family temple with Mulan's, thus allowing Mushu to retain his position.
Cri-Kee makes numerous cameo appearances in the animated series House of Mouse as a recurring guest. Cri-Kee is usually found with Mushu and is seen spectating whenever the dragon is on screen. Many times throughout the show, Mushu would have a sassy comment, dictating it to Cri-Kee. One notable cameo had Cri-Kee seated with Jiminy Cricket from Pinocchio. Cri-Kee also appears with Mushu, in Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse.
A Cri-Kee-inspired human character named Cricket, an archer, appears in the live-action remake, portrayed by Jun Yu. He explains that he was named Cricket by his family so that he will be lucky. Despite being clumsy and weaker than the rest of the soldiers, he is shown to be very skilled with a bow and arrow. He assists Mulan in marching toward the Imperial City to save the Emperor, and in the end, survives the ordeal. Additionally in this version's Matchmaker's scene, a spider takes his role.
Cricket is first seen attending the Imperial Camp with the other Imperial Army members. He approaches Mulan and introduces himself to her telling her that he was born under an auspicious moon according to her mother only for Mulan to approach Chen Honghui attempting to fight her only to be prevented by Commander Tung enforcing a rule that fighting will not be tolerated at the camp. Cricket then lines up with the other troops to get themselves cleaned to get ready for battle training tomorrow.
Later, Cricket and the other members end up training together to be like ordinary men who fight against the Rourans in combat. He then later engages in a conversation with Yao, Ling, Po, and Mulan in a conversation about an ideal woman which Ling was talking about during break. Later throughout training, Cricket trains hard with the other soldiers of the Imperial Army to which after a tough training, he and the other soldiers march for battle.
After a tough training, Cricket and the other soldiers engage during battle against the Rourans and their leader Böri Khan across the battlefield. Throughout the battle when Mulan tricks the Rourans into firing a flaming boulder to hit a snow-capped peak, it causes an avalanche to engulf a large amount of Rourans; Cricket ended up surviving the avalanche along with several members of the Imperial Army. He and the other members of the army later notice that "Hua Jun" is actually Hua Mulan in disguise, resulting in Mulan being banished from the army.
After Mulan learns of Xianniang warning her that the Imperial City is under attack by the Rourans, Mulan approaches Tung at the Mountain-Steppe Garrison where she warns him that the Rourans have invaded the city even though she was banished from the army, which Tung refuses to believe at first, but after Mulan tells her that they must believe in her, Cricket, Yao, Ling, Po, and the other warriors accept while Tung tells Qiang to hand him his sword. After listening to what Mulan is saying, Tung gains faith in her and agrees to help Mulan save the Imperial City by fighting off Böri Khan and his army which Cricket follows along. Cricket and the rest of the Imperial Army fight against the Rourans at the Imperial City while Mulan plans to protect the Emperor. The battle ends after Mulan kills Böri Khan throwing his own arrow at him, resulting in victory for the Imperial Army.
In the interactive game, Mushu is tasked with delivering scrolls to try Emperor. Before he can begin his errand, however, Cri-Kee approaches and inadvertently startles Mushu, causing the scrolls to lose some of their magic. Cri-Kee then leaves the scene. He later appears during actual gameplay, specifically in the village stage, where Grandma Fa pitched Cri-Kee in the market (he is the blue cricket that is among the other lucky crickets, along with a green cricket and brown cricket, that can be selected as good luck charms).
According to Barry Temple, most of the filmmakers believed Cri-Kee's character was not necessary to the story. During story meetings, some would even comment on something along the lines of, "Oh, to hell with the cricket." when discussing Cri-Kee's role in a scene.[1]
References[]
↑ 1.01.1Kurtti, J. (1998). The Art of Mulan. Hyperion Books.
