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As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

Disney film

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mulan_perfect.jpg
  • Doubles as a Moment of Awesome, but when General Li says he will place troops protecting the palace, the Emperor at once tells him that he should go and protect the people of China instead.
  • Brief but a sweet moment: During the song "Honor to Us All", a boy steals a little girl's doll and tries to run away with it only for Mulan to take the doll and give it back to the girl.
  • The whole of "Reflection" is a Tear Jerker as Mulan expresses her doubts and her fears of letting down her loved ones. However, the lyric "Now I see, that if I were truly to be myself, I would break my family's heart" speaks volumes of her selflessness. She wants to be herself, of course. However, she's afraid of hurting her family by not conforming to what society expects of her.
  • After "Reflection", in which Mulan is clearly doubting herself and feels that she has let her family down, her father comes up to her under the blossom tree. At first, she's too ashamed to even look at him, but instead of being angry or even stern, her father cheers her up with this moving piece of dialogue:
    Fa Zhou: My, my. What beautiful blossoms we have this year. (notices a flower that hasn't opened yet) But look! This one's late. But I'll bet that when it blooms, it will be the most beautiful of all.
    • It later receives a beautiful Meaningful Echo from the Emperor, himself.
      Emperor: The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all.
  • There's a quick one when Chi Fu announces the drafting orders. When the Yi family is called, the patriarch's son stops him from stepping forward and states that he'll go in his father's place.
  • A minor detail and also a Tear Jerker, but when Mulan's parents discover her departure, Fa Li's only thought when urging her husband to go after her is "She could be killed," while Fa Zhou's only response is "If I reveal her, she will be." The subsequent scene with the ancestors reveals that if Mulan's identity is revealed, her family will be forever shamed and lose their property too, but her parents don't give a thought to this; their only fear is for their daughter's life. Despite the pressure Mulan has felt to bring honor to her family, this moment reveals that she truly means more to them than honor does.
    • When Mulan sneaks into her parents' bedchamber and steals the commission, Mulan briefly looks at her asleep father with regret and uncertainty before her expression changes to one of resolved endearment — a subtle showing that no matter what consequences she might incur, be it dishonor to her family or execution by law, Mulan is truly doing this out of love.
    • Another example is when one of the ancestors showing more care about Mulan than the others by defending her actions when she reminds them Mulan is only trying to help her father.
    "She's just trying to help her father —"
  • General Li summarizes his plan to Chi Fu and Shang: Shan Yu has been wiping out every village that crosses his path. The last one before the path to the capital is in the Tung Shao Pass, so the general decides to set up his men there to ambush Shan Yu before he can cause more devastation. Part of General Li's strategy is to defeat Shan Yu, but the other part is to protect innocents.
  • The moment when General Li promotes Shang to Captain. You can tell how much the General is proud of his son with just his few sentences. Shang's joy and borderline fawning before gaining back his composure just seal the deal.
    • While more of a Tearjerker given that this would be the last time Shang and his father would see each other, the fact that this was the last thing the General would say to his son at the very least will let Shang carry on his memory knowing he wasn't a "Well Done, Son" Guy and have no Parting-Words Regret.
  • Near the end of "I'll Make a Man Out of You", where Yao catches Mulan/Ping's staff in the air, but quickly hands it off to her with a smile, showing she has earned his respect. It makes for a great contrast with the beginning of the song, where, in a nearly identical situation, Yao caught the staff, then used it to knock Mulan/Ping off her feet.
    • Mulan then gives Yao a smile in return.
    • Likewise, when Mulan knocks Shang off his feet with a spinning kick to the jaw during a sparring match, his reaction is to grin proudly.
    • Also, the moment when Mulan gets the arrow. She makes herself climb all night until dawn breaks so that she's close to the top by the time the recruits wake. Ling, who's been a jerk to her, starts cheering her on, and the whole army applauds when she tosses the arrow towards Shang and smiles at him nervously.
  • As funny as the bathing scene is, there's something to be said for how Yao, Ling, and Chien Po almost immediately show up running and laughing to swim in the lake right after Mulan gets in, and aren't surprised to see her. Yao immediately and invitingly calls out "Hey, Ping!" once they're close to her, and Ling acknowledges that the trio were rude to her before and asks to start over, the gang properly introducing themselves right before automatically trying to include her in playing with them. It's possible they were also thinking of bathing that night, noticed their awkward-but-smart newfound training buddy Ping heading off to take a dip, and thought that joining "him" would be a great opportunity to make amends and memories, inviting "him" into their friend circle!
  • Kind of a minor thing, but notice how during the bathing scene, Mushu makes a point of covering his eyes (with his ears) so that way he doesn't see Mulan totally naked—and though it is mostly a funny moment, Mushu goes in to save Mulan from being discovered to be a woman by biting Ling (on his butt) and distracting the others.
  • Mulan (as Ping) overhears Chi Fu chew Shang out as being an "unfit" captain, not to mention that his soldiers aren't ready for war. Mulan initially tries to cheer up Shang with a playful suggestion that they beat up Chi Fu, before she gives him this meaningful line:
    Mulan: For what it's worth, I think you're a great captain.
  • The picture of Chi Fu with the emperor is clearly intended to be a funny moment, but the characters translated reveal that it was a gift from his younger brother.
    • The characters also reveal something else heartwarming. No matter what happened, later on, naming your kid "bully" is a pretty darn mean name to give a baby. Thankfully, Chi Fu's parents weren't those parents: The characters used are another meaning for Chi Fu that translates roughly to "Joyous Fortune". Now, maybe Chi Fu didn't bring 'joyous fortune' to the other characters, but it's nice to know that at the very least it wasn't because he was messed up from having the type of folks who would give a name like "to bully" to an infant as their actual, official name.
  • It's subtle, but "A Girl Worth Fighting For" has a lot of friendly moments between the soldiers. In the beginning, they're worn-out from the long march and morale is low, but Ling cheers them up by suggesting that instead, they think about what (or rather, who) would make the journey worthwhile, and by the end, everyone except Mulan is in high spirits, singing, smiling, joking, shoving each other around, throwing snowballs and making snowmen. That is, until they see the burned-out remains of the village.
    • There is a moment that Mulan finds Actually Pretty Funny. When Chi Fu starts singing about a girl he has, Yao whispers to "Ping," "Yeah the only girl who'll love him is his mother." Mulan can't help but smile.
  • Shang makes a Due to the Dead to his father, using a sword and General Li's helmet. Mulan as Ping goes up to him and says, "I'm sorry" in her normal and not fake-deep voice. Shang, who has been aloof due to The Chains of Commanding, offers her a gentle pat in thanks. Mulan then leaves a little girl's doll by the memorial before moving to follow.
  • No one questions "Ping's" manhood when Mulan holds the murdered little girl's doll to her chest. Shang looks completely understanding about it, showing that despite his macho personality, he knows that it's appropriate to show sadness or grief during such times.
  • During the mountain battle, when Mulan grabs a cannon, runs out to the oncoming Hun horde, and ends up scrambling to light the cannon, with Shan Yu coming up with his sword drawn. Shang immediately starts running after her, yelling for her to come back- as do the trio, swords drawn and screaming a war cry. Of course, it immediately turns hilarious once they realize that she's triggered an avalanche: Shang stares in disbelief at the oncoming wave of snow (until Mulan grabs his arm as she sprints past and drags him away) and the trio turn tail to run screaming in the opposite direction, but the fact that they saw their fellow soldier and friend in trouble, facing a man who they know has easily slaughtered an entire village and a significant portion of the imperial army, and still chose to run towards that danger is utterly heartwarming.
    • In the same vein: when it looks as if Mulan is about to be executed, Yao, Ling, and Chien Po rush to defend her before Chi Fu stops them. Considering how distraught they were moments before over "Ping's" injury, it's highly unlikely that their horror was due to suddenly seeing her as just a Damsel in Distress rather than a respected friend in immediate danger. Especially when you take the above example into account. Not to mention their devotion to her is even more heartwarming considering that Yao and Ling had been the most relentlessly mean to her at the start.
    • Mulan/Ping risks her life to save Shang, and they are just barely rescued from falling off a mountain. Once Shang regains consciousness, it seems that Mulan/Ping is preparing to get chewed out by her commanding officer, but:
      Shang: Ping... you are the craziest man I have ever met. [smiles] And for that I owe you my life. From now on, you have my trust.
      Ling: Let's hear it for Ping! The bravest of us all!
      Yao: You're king of the mountain!
      (entire company cheers)
  • The trio keeping a worried vigil as Mulan's wound is being treated.
    • And when she is revealed as a woman, they try to go and protect her when Shang pulls out his sword to execute her for her treason. Keep in mind that earlier, they were kinda sexist with how they described their ideal women as beautiful, ogling them for their heroics and/or even how she would be as a chef in the kitchen and brushed off "Ping's" ideal woman being "a girl who's got a brain" and "always speaks her mind". But here, their character development from bullies toward her showcases that they don't even care that she is a woman. She's their friend first. Sadly Chi Fu stops them by reminding them of the law, but they tried at least.
  • "Don't you worry, okay? Things will work out. We started this thing together, and that's how we'll finish it. I promise." ... from Mushu, who had originally been using Mulan as a ticket to becoming a guardian again.
    • When Mushu admits to Mulan that "we're both frauds", he goes out of his way to point out that at least Mulan's motives (saving her father) were better than his (regaining his position).
  • The entirety of the final fight at the Imperial Palace is crammed with these.
    • When the Emperor is captured by Shan Yu, we see Shang, Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po trying to break into the palace to rescue him. Mulan runs over and tells them she has a plan. Shang looks understandably hesitant to follow her, but Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po immediately drop what they're doing and run over to help her. It clearly doesn't bother them a bit that she's a woman or that she had to lie to get into the army - all they know is that their friend, who has been a great problem-solver in the past, has a new idea! That, my friends, is the very definition of True Companions.
    • During the ensuring "I'll Make A Man Out Of You" reprise, when Mulan and the three guys are getting ready to infiltrate the palace, and Shang taps on Mulan's shoulder and throws his cape around the pillar. Considering his attitude towards her after finding out "he" was a "she", it's especially heartwarming to see him joining in with her plan with no reservations.
      • Also more heartwarming? Mulan is incorporating the first lesson that Shang taught her: how to retrieve the arrow using weights. Shang's Smile of Approval is that Mulan is using his teachings to think outside the box.
    • Mulan's plan was initially that Shang would defeat Shan Yu and receive the glory due to him. She wasn't in it for any war medals or prizes; she was doing it because it was right and she believes in her captain. Of course, things go pear-shaped because she forgot that Shan Yu is twice Shang's body weight and has more experience, but it's the intent that matters.
    • Technically, no one is allowed to touch the Emperor, the representative of heaven. The Emperor lets it slide when Chien-Po apologizes before picking him up and evacuating him to safety as Shang holds off Shan Yu. After all, the man saved his life and with it, China's independence from the Huns.
    • Shan Yu manages to knock out Shang just as Mulan is about to evacuate on the Improvised Zipline. Yao sees her hesitating about leaving her commander and orders her to hurry up! Mulan makes another decision: cut the line so that Shan Yu can't follow.
    • Oddly enough, Shan Yu reacting to Mulan revealing herself as the "soldier from the mountains". There's no mockery, no disbelief, just Shan Yu recognizing Mulan as his true Worthy Opponent, and putting all of his effort into getting payback. After going through much of the story being disrespected or humiliated because of her gender, this could he seen as the first time Mulan has ever been treated as an equal to a man. Even though he's trying to kill her, Shan Yu really only sees Mulan as a soldier, her being a woman is irrelevant to him.
    • While they're running from Shan Yu, Mulan admits she doesn't have a plan to Mushu. Then they stop and see the fireworks tower from the window. When Mulan says "Mushu," he goes, "Way ahead of you, sister" and takes Crick-Ee to commandeer the fireworks. It's perfect sync.
    • It's a brief moment, but after they save the Emperor and Shan Yu turns to Shang and Mulan on the ground, Shang puts his arm out protectively in front of Mulan. He has a visible Oh, Crap! look when Mulan succeeds in goading Shan Yu to chase her and struggles to get up.
    • After Shan Yu's defeat, all four men close ranks protectively in front of Mulan when Chi Fu starts trying to threaten her again, only reluctantly moving aside when the Emperor specifically gestures for them to do so.
      • Shang actively defends Mulan from Chi Fu, almost threatening a man who answers only to the Emperor, before the Emperor himself arrives. And even then, Shang tries to defuse the situation.
        Chi Fu: Stand aside, that's creature's not worth protecting!
        Shang: She's a hero.
        Chi Fu: She's a woman! She'll never be worth anything-
        Shang: (seizing the front of his tunic) Listen, you pompous-
        Emperor: That is enough.
        (cue Oh, Crap! moment from everyone present)
        Shang: Your Majesty, I can explain-
        Emperor: (silently gestures for them all to move aside)
      • To reiterate, Shang has spent most of the movie dealing with Chi Fu's taunts and unhelpful criticisms, never even threatening him. But the moment the arrogant Chi Fu threatens and insults Mulan, Shang doesn't hesitate to angrily grab him with the heavy implication he would've gotten more violent had the Emperor not stepped in. Mulan really does have a soft place in Shang's heart.
      • Likewise, Shang steps forward, preparing to defend Mulan's actions to the Emperor. Technically she's more in the wrong since she deceived him and employed multiple Leeroy Jenkins moments that were chaotic and dangerous. That doesn't matter to Shang; he's all about Taking the Heat so that the woman who saved his life isn't executed. Then we get another heartwarming moment from the Emperor; he refuses to punish or remonstrate Shang for what Mulan did, knowing that the Captain was only doing his best with limited information.
    • And then: "I've heard a great deal about you, Fa Mulan. You stole your father's armor, ran away from home, impersonated a soldier, deceived your commanding officer, dishonored the Chinese Army, destroyed my palace, ANDyou have saved us all."
      • Made more touching by the fact that Mulan visibly cringes during the Emperor's rant, clearly expecting something much worse... and then she's clearly amazed and relieved at the last bit.
    • All of China, including the Emperor, bowing to Mulan.
      • The Emperor bows, everyone else kowtows, which an act of deep respect.
    • Mulan giving the Emperor a hug.
      Yao: Is she allowed to do that?
      Shang, Ling, and Chien-Po: (shrug in a "don't know, don't care" way).
      • Extra mention must be made about that fact. Under any other circumstance, the answer is "absolutely not", and Mulan would have been executed for such a breach of space. Meaning the Emperor is not only letting it pass, but even being touched by the otherwise sacrilegious act like a kindly old grandfather being hugged by his granddaughter shows that, well, that's what he is at heart. Plus, of course, letting it pass in light of everything that's happened. Yet one more reason the Emperor is a Cool Old Guy and the ideal person to wield the Mandate of Heaven.
      • Extra extra heartwarming in that in Mulan II, it's shown that he has three daughters, at least one of whom (Mei, the middle daughter) seems close to Mulan's age. He probably wasn't bothered by her hugging him because his daughters have done so many times.
    • Mulan's group hug with Ling, Chien Po and Yao, showing how close they've all become, and Shang's blundering around Mulan. "Um, you... you fight good." Complete with a pat on the shoulder. A fine adorkable moment.
    • And capped with the Emperor's line about flowers blooming in adversity and then bluntly saying it to Shang when he doesn't get the inherent wisdom: "You don't meet a girl like that every dynasty."
  • At the end:
    Mulan: I brought the sword of Shan Yu, and the crest of the Emperor. They're gifts to honor the Fa Family.
    Fa Zhou: (throws them aside and hugs her) The greatest gift and honor is having you for a daughter. I missed you so.
    Mulan: I missed you too, Baba.
    • Cue Manly Tears.
    • Mulan herself even tears up a bit, adding to the heartwarming feeling. She's clearly super-relieved that her dad isn't angry with her.
    • This commentary just cements how beautiful this scene really is.
    • Zhou scarcely even reacts to being handed the sword of a renowned military leader which his daughter brought home as a trophy, and to being handed the crest of the divine ruler of China. What he cares about is that his daughter is home safe.
  • Fa Li and Grandmother Fa then see that Mulan has returned and reconciled with Fa Zhou. While Fa Li gives a relieved smile that her daughter is safe, Grandmother Fa snarks she should have brought home a man. Fa Li gives her a smirk, knowing Grandmother Fa cares.
  • Shang visits Mulan at her home, prompting a hilariously adorkable moment and heartwarming exchange.
    Shang: Honourable Fa Zhou, I- (notices Mulan standing behind her father and starts to panic) Mulan! Er- you forgot your helmet! (glances at Fa Zhou) W-well, actually, it's your helmet, isn't it- I mean-
    Fa Zhou: (glances at Mulan as though to say "put the poor boy out of his misery")
    Mulan: (taking the helmet) Would you like to stay for dinner?
    Grandmother Fa: (off-screen) Would you like to stay forever?!
    Shang: (grinning) Dinner would be great.
    • Also if you recall, Mulan's helmet fell off her when the weapons wagon exploded. Then it got buried in the snow. Shang somehow dug through and found the helmet, and he did it as thanks for "Ping" saving his life.
    • This time around, Shang and Mulan can start over fresh, not as a false soldier under the command of a strict captain, but as equals and a potential couple.
  • Mushu gets his position as guardian back, and Mulan thanks him and gives him a kiss.

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