Amazon.com video review:
All nine of Disney's first collection of animated classics on DVD are
included in
this set. Some of the nine titles include bonus features, and the DVD format will provide
optimum sound and picture quality for the young and old collector alike.
The crown jewels are Pinocchio and The Little Mermaid. The
former celebrates its 60th anniversary with a brand new print, while the latter
is the 1989 film that revitalized Disney's animation wing and brought new
audiences to the art form. Both offer Oscar-winning songs. Two of the
popular classics from the '60s are represented with 101 Dalmatians and The Jungle Book, which was the
last
animated feature that Walt Disney directly worked on and which saved the
animation department when it was a box-office hit in 1967. Hercules and Mulan make great strides
in the look of animation. The mythical figures of the former are based on
the radical designs of Gerald Scarfe, and the latter makes bold advancements
in computer animation in the refreshingly unknown legend of a Chinese girl.
The collection rounds out with Lady and the Tramp in a
grand widescreen format, the charming Peter Pan that hardly
shows its age, and 1998's The Lion King II: Simba's
Pride, a made-for-video sequel. Although the sequel is entertaining,
it's
frustrating to note the original The Lion King has been kept out of
circulation completely for a few years (as Disney does with many classics),
gearing towards a grand future release into theaters. --Doug Thomas
Amazon.com video review:
Solid entertainment from a new group of Disney animators. The story
source
is a Chinese fable about a young girl who disguises herself as a
man to help her family and her country. When the Huns attack China, a call
to arms goes out to every village, and Mulan's father, being
the only man in the family, accepts the call. Mulan (voiced by Ming-Na Wen,
sung by Lea Salonga) has just made a disastrous appearance at the
Matchmaker and decides to challenge society's expectations (being a bride).
She steals her father's conscription notice, cuts her hair, and impersonates
a man to join the army. She goes to boot camp, learning to fit in with the
other soldiers with some help from her sidekick, Mushu, a wise-cracking
dragon (voiced by Eddie Murphy). She trains, and soon faces the Huns
eye-to-eye to protect her Emperor.
The film is gorgeous to look at, with a superior blend of classic and
computer-generated animation. Directors Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook make
the best of it: a battle in the snowy mountains is as thrilling as the best
Hollywood action films. The menacing Huns are not cute but simple and bad.
The wickedness is subtle, not disturbing. The film is not a full-fledged
musical, as it has only five songs (the best, "Be a Man," is sung during boot
camp). Eddie Murphy is an inspired choice for the comic-relief dragon, but
his lines are not as clever as Robin Williams's in Aladdin. These are
minor quibbles, though. The story is strong, and Mulan goes right to the top
of Disney animated heroines; she has the right stuff. --Doug Thomas
Amazon.com video review:
Solid entertainment from a new group of Disney animators. The story
source
is a Chinese fable about a young girl who disguises herself as a
man to help her family and her country. When the Huns attack China, a call
to arms goes out to every village, and Mulan's father, being
the only man in the family, accepts the call. Mulan (voiced by Ming-Na Wen,
sung by Lea Salonga) has just made a disastrous appearance at the
Matchmaker and decides to challenge society's expectations (being a bride).
She steals her father's conscription notice, cuts her hair, and impersonates
a man to join the army. She goes to boot camp, learning to fit in with the
other soldiers with some help from her sidekick, Mushu, a wise-cracking
dragon (voiced by Eddie Murphy). She trains, and soon faces the Huns
eye-to-eye to protect her Emperor.
The film is gorgeous to look at, with a superior blend of classic and
computer-generated animation. Directors Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook make
the best of it: a battle in the snowy mountains is as thrilling as the best
Hollywood action films. The menacing Huns are not cute but simple and bad.
The wickedness is subtle, not disturbing. The film is not a full-fledged
musical, as it has only five songs (the best, "Be a Man," is sung during boot
camp). Eddie Murphy is an inspired choice for the comic-relief dragon, but
his lines are not as clever as Robin Williams's in Aladdin. These are
minor quibbles, though. The story is strong, and Mulan goes right to the top
of Disney animated heroines; she has the right stuff. --Doug Thomas
