Not to get emo on main but you ever think about how the troop sang about their dreams of finding “a girl worth fighting for”, and they think their girl worth fighting for is one of romance, but the song abruptly comes to a halt when they find a different girl worth fighting for.
A tiny girl that had been killed at the hands of the Huns. A child too weak, too small to have any chance of withstanding the murderous invaders. That is their girl worth fighting for.
This is fucking horrific
It’s also worth noting that ‘A Girl Worth Fighting For’ is the last song in the movie. Up until here, it’s a fun movie, and the imminent invasion feels like it’s just there to keep the plot moving, and to provide a little bit of drama to spice things up. None of the soldier’s are quite taking this seriously yet; sure, Mulan wanted to save her father from the draft, and on some level she was aware that he would die if he went to war, but beyond that she’s interested in not being caught, and not shaming her family. Her motives are good, but they’re entirely self centered. All the other soldiers are more or less in the same boat - they want to get tougher, they want to impress girls, they want to be cool soldiers. Shang’s easily the most serious of the bunch at first, and even then it’s just because training bad soldiers will reflect poorly on him, and important people are paying attention.
The abrupt ending of ‘A Girl Worth Fighting For’ is the wake up call. The soldiers and the audience get slapped in the face with the realization of what’s really at stake here. China is being invaded. Villages are burning, civilians are dying, and this isn’t going to stop until the country is conquered or the invaders are defeated. This is not a fun musical, this is a major crisis.
Mulan is such a good movie for so many reasons, but the abrupt tone shift is such a major reason why. It’s an excellent commentary on the reality of war, and it being a kids movie just meant they had to make their point without showing any actual gore, which I’d honestly say makes it that much more poignant.
That moment, when they come over the rise and see the razed village is one of the best scenes in film. Period. Somehow, instead of giving me tonal whiplash, it took my breath away, and that’s one fuck of a balancing act.
