The Music of Mulan

Music is everything. Well, almost everything. I love the songs in this movie - thank you Matthew Wilder - and the score is simply fantastic - Jerry Goldsmith is a God! I do wish, however that all of the score was included in the cd. Impossible, I know. But I really want the theme during Mulan's Decision (it's been changed from cd to movie) And also the music the accompanies the scene at the Forbbiden City (when Mulan tries to get help from the crowd) and also at the scene when the emperor bows.

I was a bit upset when I realized that the titles did not match the music entirely. However, here is a list of what goes where and a few guidelines along the way. This is only for the scores, of course. You don't really need me to tell you what happens where in the songs, do you? (although I can.... :)

Track 7: Attack at the Wall

• 00:00 - 1:18 Attack at Wall
• 1:18 - 2:05 Scene in Palace ("One single grain of rice can tip the scale")
• 2:05 - 4:05 Mulan getting ready
• 4:05 - 4:57 Village and Cri-kee

Track 8: Mulan's Decision

• 00:00 - 1:06 (Begins when Mulan runs outside)
• 1:07 - 2:18 (I take it that this was meant for the cells starting with her walking into the temple, this was replaced by another theme, which I like better)
• 2:18 - 3:20 Mulan's absence is discovered

Track 9: Blossoms

• 00:00 - 00:30 Mulan and her Father ("My what beautiful blossoms...")
• 00:30 Chi Fu arrives
• 2:22 - 2:57 Fa Zhou attempts to wield sword
• 2:57 - 4:43 Reflection (this is when Mulan looks at her helmet - "But I was wrong. I see nothing.")
• 4:43 - 5:52 Huns appear (yeah, this is when they pop out of the snow)
• 5:52 - 6:25 ("Well, let's go kick some Huny buns!")

Track 10: The Huns Attack

• 00:00 - 1:50 (Title way off!)This is actually when Mulan arrives at the training camp and gets into a scuffle with Yao, Ling, and Chien Po.
• 1:51 - 4:26 At the Tung Shao Pass - I believe it begins right after Mulan has set off the cannon and Shan Yu attacks her.

Track 11: The Burned-Out Village

• 00:00 (track begins - right after end of A Girl Worth Fighting For)
• 1:05 (Battlefield comes into view)
• 1:33 (Li Shang pays his respects to his father (*sniff*))
• 3:09 (end music of that particular scene)
• 3:10 (beginning of scene after Mulan loses consciousness)
• 4:53 ("A life for a life; my debt is repaid.")
• 5:51 (End track : the troops leave)

Comments

• Honor to Us All - I don't know about you guys but I find this track incredibly cheesy. However, it does have a catchy tune.
• Reflection - This is my favorite vocal selection; Lea Salonga rules!
• I'll Make a Man Out of You - I like this song a lot...for various reasons...great melody.
• A Girl Worth Fighting For - Very cute song.
• True to Your Heart - Catchy beat but it get redundant after a while....what, the refrain comes up about 5 times? Also, the lyrics in this are slightly different from the ones they have when the end credits are playing.
• Suite to Mulan - This is my absolutely favorite orchestral piece in here. Wow. The strings (cello) in here are wonderful...especially with the Reflections and Blossoms theme.
• The Burned-Out Village - This comes in at a close second....cuz this is the music that made me cry....I especially love the part with the guitar (is it a guitar? I'm not sure) It's soooo sad! *sniff*
• Reflection (Pop Version) - The lyrics to this version are wonderful but I really don't like how the song is so jazzed up.

If you want something more thorough and in movie order, you'll find it here, a page by Barry Adams.

As everybody knows, Mulan is copyrighted to Disney. The music you hear is from the Mulan Suite and I'm only using it for a nice pretty background music, see? So please, please don't come after me with brushes and sketching pencils!

Return to the Temple