A Hero's Journey: Mulan

Stage 1: Departure

The call to adventure in Mulan is when China is invaded by the Huns. They are lead by Shan-Yu. The Emperor orders that one man from every family has to fight against the Huns to protect their country. Mulan does not want her father to fight because he is old and feeble. To protect him she impersonates a soldier.  Mulan’s refusal to call happens when she does not want to abandon her family. She eventually realizes that in order to save her father she must go to war for him. Mulan’s supernatural aid is Mushu. He helps her keep her guise as a soldier and aids her in saving China from the Huns. Mulan crosses the first threshold when she enters the world of warfare. She must convince everyone at the training camp that she is indeed a man. The belly of the whale is when Mulan helps her country fight against the Huns in a series of battles.

Stage 2: Initiation

The road of trials in Mulan is when Captain Li-Shang’s troops realize that the Huns are going to invade the Imperial city and they need to protect the Emperor. The next part of the initiation stage is meeting with the Goddess. Since Mulan is a woman she instead begins to fall in love with Li-Shang. Mulan’s temptation away from the true path is when she feels like she is not good enough to be a soldier. Shan-Yu is violent and makes Mulan question whether she made the right decision by joining the military in place of her father. She is tempted to give up. The atonement with the father comes when Mulan is revealed as a woman. Even though the men did not approve of this, Mulan gained strength and realizes that she can still save her country despite her being a woman. Mulan’s apotheosis is when the Emperor bows down to her, causing the entire country to bow down too. She becomes the most honored person for saving China from the Huns. The ultimate boon in Mulan is when she saves the Emperor from the Huns. He is so grateful that he gives Mulan Shan-Yu’s sword and the crest of the Emperor to honor her family.

Stage 3: Return

There is not a refusal to return in Mulan. She respectfully declines the Emperor’s offer and returns home to stay with her family. Mulan’s magic flight back home is her horse. The rescue from without occurs when Shan-Yu and Mulan are fighting on the roof top and Mushu helps save Mulan by shooting fireworks at Shan-Yu. The crossing of the threshold is when Mulan returns home with the gifts from the Emperor, hoping that her family will forgive her. Mulan started out in the beginning of the movie as a dishonorable girl and throughout the course of her journey became a strong woman. Mulan mastered two worlds, seeing the importance of family honor and the atrocities of war. When Mulan invites Shang to stay for dinner she is showing the final step in stage three, freedom to win. She is safe with her family and Shang represents her integrating the new world into her old life.