Friday Creature Feature - Mushu

I wrote about Mushu a bit when celebrating Year of the Dragon, but since he's the Disney dragon who's actually supposed to be Chinese, I felt like he deserved a personal spotlight this year, not just a group post. Basically it's just an excuse to gush about Mushu and say why I love him.

Long before Mulan was in the picture, Mushu had failed as a guardian (see Fa Deng's decapitated head for the results) and was demoted to ring the shrine's gong. Dunno how long Mushu endured that humiliation and shame, but it can't have been fun. In an act of clumsiness, he broke the Great Stone Dragon in an attempt to wake him (though I kind of wonder if the spirit of the Stone Dragon in his wisdom wanted to send Mushu on the journey with Mulan).

After lying his way into war with Mulan, he looked for a way to redeem himself. He was clever and strategic, despite his lacking people skills (like telling Mulan to punch Yao). Despite his reasons being selfish, if it weren't for Mushu forging the general's message, Shang's forces wouldn't have been in place to fight and defeat the Huns. And if they hadn't fought the Huns in the mountains, they wouldn't have been in the capital to save the Emperor. So Mushu's selfishness inadvertently gave Mulan the opportunity to save China.

Coming clean to Mulan about his lies, Mushu started a wonderful redemption, unlocking some impressive teamwork. Mushu was instrumental in saving China. So while Mulan received accolades from the masses, Mushu was content to once again have the respect (sort of) from Mulan's ancestors. Too bad the praise went to his head, which contributed to about half the soap opera drama in the sequel (which I still won't talk about more).

Honestly, I think it's hard to not love Mushu. He's voiced by Eddie Murphy in the first movie (still not discussing the second) and I've yet to meet anyone who hates him. His wit and comedic timing make Mushu quotable and memorable. Plus, he's travel-sized for your convenience.

For more Mushu fun, check out some of his other appearances:

Mushu appears as a summon in Kingdom Hearts, but as I haven't played it, I'll let Michael talk about that.

He was a recurring character/cameo on House of Mouse.
PS: Why isn't that on Disney Plus yet?

I've yet to meet Mushu at a Disney Parks meet-and-greet, but on rare occasion he's at Epcot.