Review: 'Mulan' is pretty dress in drag cartoon but gets courtesan thing wrong

Mulan    G     

            Disney just doesn't get it sometimes, and this story was fun and had upbeat songs, too. Set in China, not Japan, these geishas are apparently setting up for court, while in the distance, a warrior camp sets up to send an army to fight the Hun (and that would just be Atilla). Now, keep in mind that it's a cartoon and all, but still, a Geisha is a Japanese "courtesan" who puts on white makeup to pass as Chinese because fair skin is acceptable more so than their slightly darker tones. Not that the Chinese do have courtesans, just not that type of courtesans. And no, Giesha's are not supposed to be improper, or for some darker purpose, and no, Mulan would not have really been able to get away with dressing up as a soldier, or touching the Emperor in the end. Yes, it's Disney, which brought us Pocahontas, the strangest retelling of history yet, so they mess up Chinese history, and it's okay. 
Review by Adam Browne