Mulan would have to be one of my favorite Disney movies, mainly because it somewhat promotes feminism and shows an individual woman breaking through the stereotypes and expectations of what a woman is 'supposed' to be like. Mulan isn't the damsel in distress--she's the one kicking everyone's butt, saving a whole nation in the process (also saving her love interest).
Throughout the movie, there are many stereotypes that are delivered to us. In the beginning of the movie, Mulan has to pretend to be the perfect bride. She has to constantly act out the expectations of gender roles that have been formed by her society. She has to remind herself to act a certain way, even writing reminders on her arm. In "Reflection", she describes her troubles with her identity, mentioning how she'll never be a perfect bride nor daughter. She no longer recognizes herself because she has to force herself to change the way she looks and the way she acts in order to appease the expectations that others have for her. There's a big conflict that is delivered here: Mulan has to solve the conflict between being herself and being someone who society and her family wants her to be. When she joins the army later, she even has to change herself to fit in the stereotypes of the male gender role. Also, when the Huns invade China, one man from each family was required to serve in the army. This was an honorable action. Gender roles are reinforced with how the man of the family was to fight for his country, leaving the women at home to take care of the family and be a good homemaker. They are confined to domestic affairs. This suggests that the home is their place in their society. This is also still a pretty prominent stereotype in our current society. But Mulan attempts to break out of this expectation.
In the song where the army that Mulan is serving in, Ling, Yao, and Chien-Po talk about their ideal woman. Respectively, they want a woman "paler than the moon with eyes that shine like stars", one who would "marvel at [his] strength, adore [his] battle scars", and one who believes a woman's worth "depends on what she cooks like". Apparently, the ideal image of a woman is one who looks beautiful, one who is able to reinforce a man's ego, and one who is able to cook well. Mulan tries to go against what her fellow soldiers say and sings a line that is an unorthodox quality of women in their society. They obviously don't agree with what she says a woman should be like. Also, the repeated lyric "A girl worth fighting for" objectifies women, implying that only women with certain traits are worth fighting to the death for. Others just aren't important.
Yes, Mulan breaks out of gender role expectations, but it's quite unpleasant to see that the only way she could prove herself to her family and redeem her honor (i am reminded of zuko suddenly) was to dress up like a man. In a way, this film can be very empowering, but it can also be quite detrimental to the advancement of equality for women because of all the stereotypical scenes the movie has. Despite this, I still like that Mulan was able to do what she did. When she won, she was in female clothing. This immediately reminded me of the 'Atonement" step of the Hero's Journey. In the end, I suppose that she becomes comfortable with being 'just' a female. Whether or not she's wearing male clothing, she's still the same powerful person who saved a whole nation. (From what I remember, I can't say I liked the second Mulan movie very much because she's subjected to a forced marriage where any trace of female empowerment is scrapped.)
I agree that this movie has mixed messages about the role of women in society. Mulan is only accepted at first under the illusion that she is actually a man, and she has the help of several others in all of her adventures. It seems that the movie is implying that a woman can only rise to the same level as a man if some magical force helps her or if a man allows her to.
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