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"Reflection" is a song from the 1998 Disney animated feature film Mulan and the 2020 live action remake. The song was performed within the movie's narrative by Fa Mulan, sung by Lea Salonga, in order to show how much Mulan wanted to honor her family.

Plot[]

The song is performed after Mulan returns home following a failed attempt to impress her matchmaker. The lyrical content expresses Mulan's struggle to fit into the traditional gender roles and expectations of her family and society. She questions if she is even meant to play that part and then muses about being herself, but also acknowledges that doing so would disappoint her family. This central conflict is the heart of the song - the need to conform to traditional gender and familial duties versus the desire to be true to oneself. The song ends with her yearning for the day when she can be free to be herself and make her family proud, hoping that one day her reflection will show who she is inside. This scene takes place at Mulan's home in its surrounding gardens and ends in her family temple, where she removes her makeup to reveal her true appearance in sadness.

Lyrics[]

Look at me
I will never pass for a perfect bride
Or a perfect daughter
Can it be
I'm not meant to play this part?
Now I see
That if I were truly to be myself
I would break my family's heart

Who is that girl I see
Staring straight
Back at me?
Why is my reflection someone I don't know?

Somehow I cannot hide
Who I am
Though I've tried
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?

Look at me
I will never pass for a China doll
Or a perfect daughter
Can it be
I'm not meant to play this part?
Now I see if I learned each rule
That could fool them all
I could never fool my heart

Who is that girl I see
Staring straight
Back at me?
Why is my reflection someone I don't know?

Who is that perfect bride?
It's not me
Though I've tried.
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?

How I pray
That a time will come
I can free myself
From their expectations
On that day
I'll discover someway to be myself
And to make my family proud

They want a docile lamb
No one knows
Who I am
Must there be a secret me
I'm forced to hide?

Must I pretend that I'm
Someone else for all time?
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?

Look at me
You may think you see who I really am,
But you'll never know me
Everyday
It's as if I play a part
Now I see
If I wear a mask
I can fool the world
But I cannot fool my heart

Who is that girl I see
Staring straight
Back at me?
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?

I am now
In a world where I have to hide my heart,
And what I believe in
But somehow
I will show the world what's inside my heart
And be loved for who I am

Who is that girl I see
Staring straight
Back at me?
Why is my reflection someone I don't know?
Must I pretend that I'm
Someone else for all time?
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?

There's a heart that must be free to fly,
That burns with a need to know the reason why

Why must we all conceal
What we think
How we feel?
Must there be a secret me
I'm forced to hide?

I won't pretend that I'm someone else
For all time
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?

Gallery[]

Screenshots[]

Miscellaneous[]

Videos[]

Trivia[]

  • This song was meant to be much longer, but the filmmakers wanted to save time in the movie. In the deleted version, Mulan not only takes off her bun, makeup, and jewelery, she also takes off her sashes. Also, the deleted version shows Mulan riding Khan through mountains and a swamp.
  • When Mulan sings "Reflection" in her father's shrine, the writing on the temple stones is the names of the Disney animators who worked on the film, written in ancient Chinese.
  • Tony/Olivier Award-Winning actress Lea Salonga originally auditioned for Mulan's voice, but it was deemed "not deep enough" for when Mulan is impersonating a male soldier. Although Ming-Na Wen plays Mulan, Salonga was retained for Mulan's singing voice.
  • Lea Salonga sang "Reflection" on the Disney Expo right after she received the Disney Legend Award for being the singing voice of Jasmine and Mulan.
  • In the Lizzie McGuire episode "Random Acts of Miranda", where Miranda has a failed stunt as an actress in the school talent show, she decides to become a singer instead, and sings "Reflection."
  • The movie credits' version of the song is the first to stay the same on any Disneymania volume.
  • The film is credited with launching the career of Christina Aguilera, whose first song to be released in the US was the film's song "Reflection". The song was so well received that it landed her a recording contract with RCA Records.
  • Christina Aguilera sung the song at the 2019 Disney Legends ceremony. Aguilera later returned for a new performance of the song for the film's live-action remake, making her the first performer to reprise an end credits song from the original Disney animated film in a Disney live-action remake.
  • The lyrics "Who is that girl I see, starring straight back at me?" are quoted by Mr. Wilson in the first episode of Ms. Marvel.

External links[]

v - e - d
Mulan Logo
Media
Films: Mulan (1998 film) (video/soundtrack) • Mulan II (video/soundtrack) • Mulan (2020 film) (video/soundtrack)

Video Games: Animated StoryBook: MulanDisney's MulanKingdom Hearts IIDisney Emoji BlitzDisney Crossy RoadDisney Magic KingdomsDisney Sorcerer's ArenaDisney Heroes: Battle ModeDisney Speedstorm
Books: The Art of MulanDisney Princess BeginningsReflection (A Twisted Tale)Kilala PrincessFeather and Flame

Disney Parks
Castle of Magical DreamsDisney Animation BuildingFantasy GardensGarden of the Twelve FriendsIt's a Small WorldVoyage to the Crystal Grotto

Entertainment: Cinderella's Surprise CelebrationDisney's WishesFantasmic!Mickey and the Magical MapMickey’s Storybook AdventureMickey’s Year of the Dragon CelebrationMulan's Chinese New Year GreetingsMulan, La LégendeOnce Upon a MouseRoyal Princess Music CelebrationThe Adventure of RhythmThe Golden MickeysWhen You Wish
Restaurants: Plaza Inn
Parades: Disney Adventure Friends CavalcadeMain Street Electrical ParadeMickey's New Year's Eve ParadeMickey's Rainy Day ExpressMickey's Storybook ExpressMulan Parade
Fireworks: Disney EnchantmentIlluminate! A Nighttime CelebrationDisney in the StarsDisney Movie MagicHappily Ever AfterHarmoniousHurry Home: Lunar New Year CelebrationIgnite the Dream: A Nighttime Spectacular of Magic and LightMomentousWondrous Journeys
Spring: Disney Color-Fest: A Street Party!
Summer: Mickey's WaterWorks
Halloween: The Disney Villains Halloween Showtime
Christmas: A Christmas Fantasy Parade

Characters
Original: Fa MulanMushuCri-KeeLi ShangYao, Ling, and Chien PoChi-FuShan YuGeneral LiFa ZhouFa LiGrandmother FaFirst Ancestor FaFa Family AncestorsThe Emperor of ChinaThe MatchmakerLittle BrotherKhanShang's HorseHayabusa the FalconImperial ArmyHun ArmyElite Hun Soldiers

Sequel: Sha-RonTing-Ting, Su, and MeiLord QinPrince Jeeki
Remake: Hua XiuCommander TungChen HonghuiSergeant QiangPhoenix

Songs
Original: Honor to Us AllReflectionI'll Make a Man Out of YouA Girl Worth Fighting ForTrue to Your Heart

Sequel: Lesson Number OneLike Other GirlsHere Beside Me
Live-action: Loyal Brave True
Deleted songs: Keep 'em GuessingWritten in Stone

Locations
ChinaImperial CityFa Family HomeVillageFa Family Temple
Objects
Great Stone DragonMulan's Hair AccessorySword of Shan YuMulan and Shang's NecklacesGolden Dragon of UnityDragon Cannons
See Also
Mulan: Alternative OpeningMulan: Shan Yu Destroys the Village


v - e - d
Sticker,375x360.u5
Media
Lizzie McGuireLizzie McGuire videographyThe Lizzie McGuire Movie

Music: Lizzie McGuire (soundtrack)The Lizzie McGuire Movie (soundtrack)Lizzie McGuire: Total Party!
Cancelled projects: What's Stevie Thinking?

Characters
Lizzie McGuireMiranda SanchezDavid GordonMatt McGuireJo McGuireSam McGuireKate SandersEthan CraftLarry TudgemanClaire MillerLanny OnasisMelina BiancoParker MackenzieDanny KesslerVeruca AlbanoAngel LiebermanAmy SandersPaolo ValisariIsabella Parigi
Episodes
Season One: "Rumors" • "Picture Day" • "When Moms Attack" • "Pool Party" • "I've Got Rhythmic" • "Jack of All Trades" • "Aaron Carter's Coming to Town" • "Misadventures in Babysitting" • "Election" • "I Do, I Don't" • "Bad Girl McGuire" • "Between a Rock and a Bra Place" • "Come Fly with Me" • "Random Acts of Miranda" • "Lizzie's Nightmares" • "Obsession" • "Sibling Bonds" • "Rated Aargh!" • "Gordo and the Girl" • "Educating Ethan" • "Lizzie Strikes Out" • "The Untitled Stan Jansen Project" • "Last Year's Model" • "Night of the Day of the Dead" • "Facts of Life" • "Scarlett Larry" • "Gordo and the Magic Dwarves" • "Lizzie and Kate's Excellent Adventure" • "The Courtship of Miranda Sanchez" • "Gordo's Video" • "Gordo's Bar Mitzvah"

Season Two: "First Kiss" • "El Oro De Montezuma" • "Mom's Best Friend" • "The Rise and Fall of the Kate Empire" • "Working Girl" • "And the Winner is" • "The Longest Yard" • "Just Friends" • "In Miranda Lizzie Does Not Trust" • "Over the Hill" • "Best Dressed for Much Less" • "You're a Good Man, Lizzie McGuire" • "Just Like Lizzie" • "Lizzie in the Middle" • "Inner Beauty" • "Movin' On Up" • "Party Over Here" • "She Said, He Said, She Said" • "Lizzie's Eleven" • "Dear Lizzie" • "Clue-Less" • "Bye Bye Hillridge Junior High" • "Bunkies" • "A Gordo Story" • "Grubby Longjohn's Olde Tyme Revue" • "The Greatest Crush of All" • "Grand Ole Grandma" • "My Fair Larry" • "The Gordo Shuffle" • "My Dinner with Mr. Dig" • "One of the Guys" • "X-Treme X-Mas" • "Magic Train"

Songs
Why NotWhat Dreams Are Made OfThe Tide is High (Get the Feeling)
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