List of Disney's ''Mulan'' characters

The main characters in Mulan II. From left to right: Ling, Chien-Po, Yao, Shang, Mulan, Mushu, Cri-Kee, Su, Ting-Ting and Mei.

The following are fictional characters from Disney's 1998 film Mulan and its 2004 sequel film, Mulan II.

Fa Mulan/Ping

Fa Mulan is a young girl who is willing to give up her life to save her father. She enters the army as a man named Ping. She faces the worst enemy China's ever seen, the Hun leader Shan-Yu, who has an army willing to destroy anything in their path. She then finds out she just wanted to be more than someone's daughter or someone's wife. To prove that she too can be written in stone and give her family honor.

Li Shang

Captain/General Li Shang is a Chinese army captain. His speaking voice was provided by B.D. Wong in all three titles, and his singing vocals were performed by Donny Osmond (Jackie Chan in the Mandarin version). During his appointment in the first movie, Shang is a highly capable leader with a dedication to his cause to match, albeit at times being too "by-the-book" and putting his duty above his feelings, in contrast to Mulan. He is exceptionally handsome due to his dashing good looks and strong physique. He is reserved and thoughtful, a more logical and calming influence to Mulan's adventurous personality. Shortly after his initial introduction in Mulan, Shang is appointed newly as an army captain by his father, who is a general. Later through the film, he becomes friends with Ping (who is Fa Mulan disguised as a man), after his life is saved. Shortly after, however, he finds out she is actually a woman, which is forbidden by the empire's law, punishable by death. Shang spares her life, and after helping her save the empire, he falls in love with her, and joins her family for dinner.

In Mulan II, the film begins with Shang proposing marriage to Mulan, to which she gladly agrees. He is promoted from captain to general by the emperor, and he and Mulan are directed by the emperor to escort his three daughters to a conflicting kingdom in hopes that an arranged marriage between them and the three princes of the opposing nation will bring peace. He and Mulan go through much conflict around their relationship thanks to Mushu's meddling, and midway through the film he is assumed dead after falling into a canyon with a streaming river further down. Later, when it is revealed he is alive (with help from his gray-spotted white horse), Mushu and saves the day by pretending to be the Golden Dragon of Unity and freeing the princesses from their vows. Mushu (still posing as the Golden Dragon) marries Mulan and Shang. Mulan later tells Shang about Mushu and he combines both families’ temples so that Mushu can remain as Mulan's guardian.

Note: In Chinese naming convention, personal names in Chinese, unlike Western names, present the family/clan name first. This convention was followed in the first film; his family name was given to be Li and he was addressed as "Captain Li." In the second film, the convention was overlooked and Shang was used as his family name by mistake.

B.D. Wong reprises his role as Shang in Kingdom Hearts II, which is almost identical to the film with the exception of Sora, Donald Duck, Goofy. As in the film, he initially distrusts Mulan, Sora, Donald and Goofy, but learns to respect them after they defeat Shan-Yu and his Heartless army. Later on in the game, when Riku arrives in this world to warn the Emperor of Organization XIII's evil plans, a distrusting Shang attempts to fight Riku, who easily defeats him. In the end, after Sora, Donald, Goofy and Mulan have destroyed the Heartless Storm Rider created by Xigbar, Mulan becomes a bodyguard for the Emperor alongside Shang. During the game's credits, he and Mulan almost kiss, but are interrupted by Yao, Ling and Chien-Po, who were spying on them but fell over.

Mushu

Mushu is Fa Mulan's closest companion throughout the Mulan series and the comic relief. He is a scrawny, tiny, red, orange-accented Chinese dragon with blue horns and a cheeky-chappy personality. He is voiced by Eddie Murphy in his first appearance and Mark Moseley (a professional Eddie Murphy sound-double) afterward.

At first, Mulan's companions were to be two reptilian creatures; the idea of the creatures being dragons had not been established. However, feeling that two sidekicks would overcrowd the story, the animators then decided on a two-headed dragon, though they were green and grotesque. After the animators decided on a single-headed dragon, they established Mushu's physical concept. For better use, the animators shrunk Mushu to a smaller size.^[1]

Around the time when the music of the film was to be created, the songwriters had written a piece for Mushu, for him to sing to assure Mulan that he will be there to help her. However, after Eddie Murphy came to voice the character, the character and his dynamic changed. Although the animators canceled the scene, the song was a favorite among the filmmakers.^[2]

Mushu, was once a guardian spirit of Mulan's family, but he has been demoted to the humiliating position of an incense burner and gong-ringer for the deceased Fa ancestors ever since he failed to protect a family member, a soldier named Fa Deng, resulting in the soldier's demise by decapitation (he's seen carrying his own head as a spirit). In contrast to Mulan, Mushu is in most situations more comical, overconfident, and impulsive.^[3]

He strives to be one of the family guardians again, but he is content to help Mulan, even if he's the one who starts the trouble.^[3] He can also be selfish at times, but his heroism proves that he has a big heart, despite his size.^[3] Mushu is very sensitive about his size, claiming to Mulan that his small stature was simply for her convenience rather than his default state. He also resents being compared to a lizard, insisting that he doesn't do "that tongue thing".

He has the body of a snake, the horns of an elk, the claws of an eagle, and the face of a camel, coming to resemble a legendary dragon found in Chinese art around the time.^[1] He is able to survive more like a mythical creature than an animal; he endures being stomped on, explosions, and an avalanche in the first movie. He can also understand other animals, as seen when he converses with Cri-kee (Mulan's cricket) and horse Khan.

At one point when he wants to disguise as a soldier riding a horse to get them out of the camp, he uses a giant panda as the soldier's steed after Khan, Mulan's horse, refused to help him and Cri-kee. "What? You haven't seen a black and white before?" Like many dragons, he is able to breathe fire, at first unsuccessfully, but masters it in time to stop Shan Yu's falcon, Hayabusa, from alerting the Huns to Li Shang's presence.

At the start of the film, Mushu does not make his official appearance until after Mulan runs away from home to serve in her elderly father Fa Zhou's place in a war against the deadly Hun army. Knowing that Mulan's exposure will lead to the disgrace of the Fa family, the spirits of the ancestors choose to send the Great Stone Dragon to retrieve her. For the task of awakening him, they send Mushu, who would rather go himself.

After several unsuccessful attempts, he eventually ends up accidentally destroying the dragon statue. In order to escape punishment from the ancestors, he pretends to be the Great Stone Dragon and secretly sets out to make Mulan a war hero. Mushu is extremely diligent and with the help of Cri-kee, helps Mulan defeat Shan-Yu, resulting in him being returned to the position of a guardian.

In Mulan II, when Mulan prepares to marry Li Shang, Mushu is at first overjoyed to the point of tears, going as far as planning the wedding himself. His joy is short-lived, however, when the ancestors gleefully inform him that once Mulan marries Shang, she will become part of his family, and Shang's family guardians will take over guardianship and Mushu will lose his status and be relegated back to Gong duty. Desperate to keep his pedestal, he continuously tries to break Mulan and Shang apart while Cri-kee attempts to keep this from happening. After Cri-kee pressures him to tell the truth to Mulan, this leads her to scold him for his actions before going to reconcile with Shang (but this did not happen thanks to an ambush by bandits).

He later changes his ways, marries them (pretending to be the golden dragon), and decides that he's happy if Mulan's happy. His kindness causes Mulan to forgive him for trying to break her and Shang up. He even brings the kingdoms peace by uniting Shang and Mulan. Mushu also uses his impersonation to save three princesses from being forced into an arranged marriage so they can marry whoever they want. He is then gratified when Shang combines the family temples, giving Mushu his pedestal back.

In the first Kingdom Hearts, Mushu (ム羽, Mūshū) became a summon gem after his home world was destroyed by the Heartless. His primary attack - "Fire Breath" - assisting Sora and his friends in their battles. He returns to his world after the door to Kingdom Hearts is sealed. In Kingdom Hearts II, he is helping Ping (Mulan) get into the Imperial Army. When Sora, Donald and Goofy show up, they reminisce about their past adventures, and after telling them he was a family guardian, Sora and the others agreed to help out Ping as payback for borrowing Mushu in the first game.

In a later scene, he accidentally reveals that Ping is a woman and she is discharged from the army. In the end, peace was restored to their world and he went back to being a guardian, but not after receiving a stern lambasting from Sora. When Sora and Mulan use their Limit, Mushu helps by spurting fireballs.

Mushu also appears in the Drawn to Animation show at Disney California Adventure Park's Disney Animation building and Disney's Hollywood Studios's The Magic of Disney Animation. He is also a meetable character at the parks.

Shan Yu

A physically imposing and ruthless Hun chieftain and the general of the Huns who serves as the main antagonist of the film. He is voiced by Miguel Ferrer in Mulan and Corey Burton in Kingdom Hearts II. Shan Yu is the cruel leader of the Huns who is bent on conquering China, and with his Hun army, climbs over the Great Wall and invades the land to prove his "superiority" to the Emperor. He is the only Hun to have eyes with black scleras and orange irises.

Like his people, Shan Yu is trained in living off the earth, possessing heightened senses and a saker falcon as his pet. His strength is demonstrated many times during the course of the film, such as easily breaking down a barricaded door or effortlessly slicing through a massive pillar with his sword, making him easily one of the strongest characters in the film (second perhaps only to Chien-Po). Ruthless and cold-hearted, Shan Yu kills without mercy or remorse and, on occasion, as a joke; for example, after freeing two captured Chinese scouts to carry a message to the Emperor, he then comments to an archer, "How many men does it take to deliver a message?" (The archer replies "one", nocking an arrow.) While clearly heartless to his foes, he is proud of his army, as shown at the beginning when he thought it was perfect that all of China knew him and his army were there after the signal fire was lit and when he flatly refused to avoid the Imperial troops and instead opt to take them head on, despite knowing that they are the elite of China's armies.

Some time after General Li's recruits complete their training, Shan Yu's falcon acquires a doll from a village in the Tung Shao Pass. After close examination of the doll and traces on it by his five main men, Shan Yu deduces that the Imperial Army is waiting for them. Ambushing General Li's army, Shan-Yu wipes out the Emperor's best troops, including General Li, and sets the village on fire, only the aftermath of which is seen in the film. No survivors are found by Li Shang's troops. As they head for the Imperial City, the Hun army ambushes Li Shang's troops in the Tung Shao Pass (Mushu having accidentally given away their position by firing a cannon), and fires flaming arrows from the mountains to disintegrate the army's ammunition. Shan-Yu then leads his entire army to wipe out Li Shang's small battalion. Mulan, however, takes control of Li Shang's last cannon, aiming it for a nearby mountain. This maneuver triggers an avalanche that wipes out almost all of Shan-Yu's army and encases Shan Yu in a blanket of snow. At first, it seems like a victory, thanks to Mulan. Unfortunately, it is not. Following the avalanche and the departure of Li Shang's troops, Shan Yu rises from the snow, shaken and infuriated at the loss of his army. A loud yell of anger is all it takes for Mulan to realize that there is still a chance for the Huns; Shan Yu's pet falcon and five of his best troops had survived the assault. With no one to stop him, Shan Yu and his troops head for the Imperial City with Mulan close behind.

While his troops hide within a Chinese dragon at the Imperial celebration, Shan Yu lies in wait on top of the roof of the Emperor's palace. At the right moment, Shan Yu's falcon retrieves his sword and his troops spring into action, locking up the palace and kidnapping the Emperor. As Shan Yu threatens the Emperor to bow to him, Mulan, Li Shang, Yao, Chien-Pao, and Ling infiltrate the palace in an attempt to rescue the Emperor, the latter three being in drag (as a disguise). Mulan, Yao, Chien-Po and Ling defeat Shan Yu's men and his pet falcon is fried by Mushu. After securing the Emperor, in an attempt to distract Shan Yu from Shang (whom he was about to slaughter) Mulan reveals that it was she who destroyed his army. Pursuing her throughout the palace and onto the roof, Shan-Yu's attempt to kill Mulan backfires when Mulan initiates a plan of her own. Immobilizing Shan-Yu on the roof, she steals his sword using a hand fan and pins him to the roof with his own sword while Mushu aims a rocket at Shan Yu. Releasing the rocket, Mushu, Mulan, and Crik-ee escape the roof as the Hun leader is pulled by the rocket into a munitions tower and is destroyed in a brilliant explosion. Mulan is then awarded Shan-Yu's sword for her success at ridding China of the Huns forever.

Shan Yu appears in Kingdom Hearts II as one of the first Disney Villains that Sora and company can fight in the game. He appears in the Land of Dragons, a Mulan-based world. The game follows much of the movie's storyline, except for the fact that instead of having an army Of Huns, he could summon an army of Heartless. He traps Sora and Mulan in a cave full of Heartless, while he destroys the Imperial Army's village. When Sora, Mulan, Donald and Goofy, along with the Imperial army, appears at the summit, the scene plays like a similar mountain scene in the film. He then makes his way into the Emperor's castle, but is stopped by Sora, Mulan, and the others. He fights them, using dark energy to enhance his abilities and working alongside his attack falcon and a swarm of Heartless. He tends to favor the Rapid Thruster Heartless, creating an army of them to attack Sora and friends on the mountain pass (in the movie it was his Hun army that attacked the heroes on the pass). During the boss battle he will send three Nightwalker Heartless to try and take down the door. This swarm of Heartless is resurrected when Sora fights a mysterious cloaked man that is later revealed as Riku on the same pass. He is ultimately slain by Sora. Shan Yu was not associated with Maleficent or Organization XIII, making his role in the game equivalent to that of Clayton from the first game.

Shan Yu also appears as "Shan-Yu" in The Kingdom Keepers, where he challenges Finn Whitman and finding that Finn can turn from human to pure light tries to kill him as well as his friend Charlene.

Yao, Ling and Chien-Po

The army recruited Yao, Ling and Chien-Po to fight the Huns. Like other newly recruited soldiers, they lacked military skills before they were trained. However, they were harder to train than most. Even Mulan learned faster than they. Eventually, their training paid off and the trio were capable fighters. Even so, they still had trouble doing things right and were rather clumsy. They served largely as the comic relief, often involving slapstick humor that made them reminiscent of the Three Stooges. Eventually, despite some early conflict, the three extended an open hand to Mulan and became her "army buddies", though they, like the rest of the army, thought she was a man named Ping. As soldiers, they each had a different color uniform: green for Mulan, red for Yao, yellow for Ling and blue for Chien-Po. Unlike most other soldiers, Yao, Ling and Chien-Po did not seem to think any less of her when they found out she was a woman, and even briefly tried to interfere when Shang was about to execute her. When they later met up, they even agreed to participate in her plan to stop the surviving Huns by disguising themselves as concubines. Somehow, they fooled the guards, though none of the three made a very attractive woman (especially Yao, as he kept his facial hair even in makeup).

In the second film, the three were given a more substantial role and are shown not to have changed since the first film. Reprised by the original voice actors (sans Wilder; Watanabe did his own singing), they had been to see the matchmaker that rejected Mulan in the first film, but she decided there could not be a match for any of them, and threw them out. They were discouraged, but felt better when Mulan and Li Shang came to recruit them for another mission. Shang claimed to the emperor that just the five of them would be enough protection for his three daughters. Although still as bumbling as ever, Shang knew that they were instrumental in their victory against the Huns, which they did not appear to have received the same credit for. They gladly joined the escort to get the emperor's daughters to the Qui Gong princes they are engaged to. Along the way, they develop feelings for the princesses, Yao with Mei, Ling with Ting-Ting, and Chien-Po with Su. They take the princesses to a carnival for some amusement. Eventually, all three princesses admit that their feeling are mutual, and do not want to marry the princes, despite their duty. Mulan, knowing this, leaves the trio with the princesses, and goes to offer herself to the royal family instead. However, the trio arrives with the princesses, as does Shang. Mushu pretends to be the Great Golden Dragon of Unity who commands that they be allowed to marry whoever they want, allowing them to be with Yao, Ling and Chien-Po. Presumably they did marry, though nothing was shown to indicate this.

In Kingdom Hearts II, Yao, Ling and Chien-Po appear as minor characters in The Land of Dragons with pretty much the same role as they had in the original film: they, along with Mulan, are members of Li Shang's troop.

Other characters

Characters from Mulan II

References