Toon Talk: Mulan Special Edition DVD - Nov 4, 2004

Toon Talk: Mulan Special Edition DVD
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(c) Disney

Bonus Features - Disc 2:
  • For some reason, not only is the Spanish Music Video of “Reflection�? the sole “Music and More�? feature on disc two (why not include it with the rest of the videos on disc one?), but the singer is not even credited.
  • The remaining bonus features on disc two are in the “Backstage Disney�? section, arbitrarily divided into individual sections, beginning with The Journey Begins, which chronicles the creative team’s three-week research trip to China (Discovering Mulan), the original poem spoken over concept art (The Ballad of Hua Mulan) and two early Presentation Reels, including one from 1995 that depicts the “Mulan’s decision�? scene pretty much as it appears in the final film.
  • Story Artists’ Journey: The development of the character of Mulan is detailed in Finding Mulan, which includes writer Dean DeBlois’ brilliant analyses of the film’s dramatic highlight, Mulan’s transformation, as well as an interview with Mulan’s supervising animator, Mark Henn. A Storyboard To Film Comparison (of the Great Stone Dragon scene) is also included.
  • Design: The film’s deceptively simple artistic style (dubbed “poetic simplicity�?) is discussed in Art Design, along with featurettes on Character Design (provided for the film by character designer Chen-Yi Chang, who strived for variety in personalities and shapes) and the films use of color (Ballad of Color). Also available: Still Art Galleries of character designs, visual development, backgrounds and layout.
  • Production: In addition to two Progression Demonstrations (Mushu awakes, the Matchmaker), Digital Production and Digital Dim Sum detail the film’s use of CGI, notably in the Hun attack and various crowd scenes.
  • Music: The Songs of ‘Mulan’, written by David Zippel (the Broadway lyricists of City of Angels and Disney’s Hercules fame) and Matthew Wilder (the ‘one-hit wonder’ of “Break My Stride�? fame), are featured, along with soloists Lea Salonga and Donnie Osmond, but no mention is made of legendary film scorer Jerry Goldsmith, who (along with Zippel and Wilder) was Oscar-nominated for his Mulan music. (Goldsmith passed away earlier this year, and apparently these features were made prior to then.)
  • International Mulan: An interesting featurette, Mulan’s International Journey, reveals how Disney films are translated and re-recorded for different countries; a Multi-Language Reel (which are always fun) of the “I’ll Make A Man�? number is also included, as is a Publicity Art Gallery.

Toon Talk Rating: B
The Toon Talk Top 10 - It’s Tough To Be A Bug:

Mulan’s lucky cricket pal Cri-Kee isn’t the only member of the insect family to become a Disney movie star:

  1. The popular Silly Symphony The Grasshopper and the Ants (1934) not only introduced some beloved characters, but also Goofy’s theme song “The World Owes Me a Livin’�?.
  2. Jiminy Cricket, probably the most famous bug in movie history, made his debut in Pinocchio (1940), and later starred in Fun and Fancy Free (1947) and The Mickey Mouse Club television series.
  3. Bootle Beetle co-starred with Donald Duck in several shorts, beginning with, naturally, Bootle Beetle (1947).
  4. “Bumble Boogie�?, starring a poor little Bee trapped in a musical fantasy, is a highlight of Melody Time (1948).
  5. Another bumblebee appeared in several Donald Duck shorts, going by either the name Buzz-Buzz or Spike. He first appeared in Inferior Decorator (1948).
  6. Not only does Alice meet the chukka-puffing Caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland (1951), but also a garden-full of Bread ‘n Butterflies, Dog- and Caterpillars and more.
  7. Evinrude proves himself quite the heroic little dragonfly in The Rescuers (1977).
  8. Squeaks the caterpillar has to dodge the hungry birds Boomer and Dinky all throughout The Fox and the Hound (1981).
  9. Along for the ride with James and the Giant Peach (1996) are the Centipede, Mr. Grasshopper and Mrs. Ladybug.
  10. And of course how could we forget all the Ants, Grasshoppers and “Circus Bugs�? who make up the cast of A Bug’s Life (1998).

Coming Soon in Toon Talk:

  • The Iron Giant’s Brad Bird and Pixar team-up for the ultimate super-hero adventure/comedy with The Incredibles, featuring the voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter and Samuel L. Jackson, premiering November 5th.
  • Mickey and the gang make their full-length computer animated feature debut in Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas, available November 9th.
  • On sale December 7th, just in time for the holidays, three more volumes of the Walt Disney Treasures DVD collections: Mickey Mouse in Black and White: Volume 1, The Complete Pluto and The Mickey Mouse Club: Week 1.

And Coming Soon from Buena Vista Home Video:

November 9th:

  • Just in time for the theatrical sequel, revisit Renee Zellweger in a special edition DVD of Bridget Jones’s Diary.
  • Japanese screen legend Beat Takeshi stars in two action-packed new releases: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman Special Edition and Sonatine.

November 16th:

  • Two recent television productions make their DVD debuts: Eloise at Christmastime (starring Julie Andrews) and A Wrinkle in Time (starring Alfre Woodard).

November 23rd:

  • Four ever-popular television series will have DVD collections: the first seasons for The Golden Girls, Home Improvement and Lizzie McGuire and the second season of Boy Meets World.

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-- Kirby C. Holt
-- Logo by William C Searcy, Magic Bear Graphics

Kirby is a lifelong Disney fan and film buff. He is also an avid list maker and chronic ellipsis user ...

Took Talk: Disney Film & Video Reviews by Kirby C. Holt is posted whenever there's something new to review.

The opinions expressed by our Kirby C. Holt, and all of our columnists, do not necessarily represent the feelings of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future plans of the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.

-- Posted November 4, 2004

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