Mulan

Week 10:

Mulan is probably my second or third favorite princess, switching on and off with Belle. I even had a Mulan book that my grandmother gave me that I read from all the time. Of course, this was before the introduction of newer movies like Tangled or Frozen. Sometimes, though, the classics are where it is at (not to discount either of the movies mentioned, because I do LOVE them)!

I mentioned Pocahontas being the only Disney princess that was a proven, real person. Mulan, however, was also believed to have lived, just under a different name than of the Fa family (no, not Ping either). To quote the website I include below, "No other woman in Chinese history has inspired more admiration than Mulan, who is considered an embodiment of loyalty and filial piety. The ancient story of Mulan enlisting in the military on her aging father’s behalf is one of China’s most treasured legends and included in every Chinese school textbook. Mulan was an actual person. Her last name was Hua. She was born in a small rural village in northern China, and purportedly lived from 581 to 618 AD during the Sui Dynasty, though other records place her between 386 and 534 AD, during the Northern Wei Dynasty. While the dates may be disputed, her story is unequivocal". More on the legend of Mulan can be found here: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/china-news/the-legend-of-mulan-61005.html

I mentioned Frozen before. I love how in that movie the sisters save each other instead of the man saving the woman. However, Mulan kind of beat Elsa and Anna there. She saved Shang, the emperor, herself, her family, and, o ya, CHINA!

Pretty cool, but let's ring in this menu, shall we? Mushu, o demoted one?

Look alive, people! Here it is! Complete with the Chinese symbols for strength and courage, which Mulan had an abundance of.

Yes, I know it is not very original, but sometimes there is beauty in the most simple of things. Somebody put that in a fortune cookie! I, also, did not cook any part of this meal. I know, I am losing my touch. Hong Kong Chinese Restaurant here in Fort Smith just sounded much better than my sure-to-be burnt version of things. Plus, I probably would've looked like the matchmaker after tea with Cri-Kee (yes, that is spelled correctly) after it was all said and done.

First of all, we had wonton soup and egg rolls. Wontons are commonly food in Chinese cuisine and are a kind of dumpling. Dumplings are briefly pictured in Disney's Mulan. I chose egg rolls, because, well I LOVE egg rolls. Enough said. Also, the egg roll wrapper did reveal a surprise. Look like anyone you know?

Next, we had sweet and sour chicken and pork fried rice. I changed the sweet and sour pork to chicken, because we already had pork in the fried rice and because, since I wasn't getting egg foo young, it was my next favorite. Plus, there actually were a lot of chickens in this movie...and an obnoxious hawk.

Rice was, also, shown in this movie alot. From Mulan eating it before she went to see the matchmaker, to picking up every grain of rice her first day in camp. It is a staple. Kind of like happy-face war-time breakfast served to you by a lizard (ahem) tiny dragon.

As I said, I did not do the egg foo young, but I did take a picture of some I have had before at the very restaurant I ordered from for this meal.

See why I went "lighter"?

I chose to substitute house special lo mein (beef, chicken, pork..YUM! O, and shrimp) instead. I must say I was happy with my choice.

Lastly, we had fortune cookies and sugar donuts. I added the sugar donuts, because they looked like gongs or the medallion Mulan got from the emperor.....ok, ok, they just smelled really good.

We had some interesting fortunes...

I am sure Mulan would agree.

This was funny, because a) there was a lot of running in this movie,

b) I used to think of the song "Let's Get Down to Business" when I ran/worked out when I was younger..now that's going to be stuck in my head this week. Along with "Reflection", another great song from this movie.

, and c) I used to start out thinking nothing could take me down. I laugh in the face of miles of running.

Little tougher now, but I still got this.

Then, I'd end up like this. Not saying how far I went, but ya. Running=pain.

But, it must be done after meals like this one. Just not right after.

Justice's fortune was this:

Ya...Mulan didn't really listen. She just went to war. Here is the back:

I know what you are thinking. How could I possibly relate volleyball to Mulan. Impossible, right? WRONG! At the end of the movie, the Fa family ancestors played a volleyball-like game with an ancestor's head (the one Mushu lost his original guardian job with).

Speaking of the Fa family ancestors, there were a couple interesting ones. There are a few in every family. One, was the "farming" ancestors who looked like Grant Wood's painting "American Gothic".

Two, was the big man, the first ancestor, himself. Although the first ancestor is not voiced by him, doesn't he remind you a little of Uncle Phil from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air?

Here is the victory feast!

Moo goo gai pan (mentioned in the movie), kung pao chicken (due to the kicking/fighting in this movie. It packs a punch), mongolian barbeque (for the roasted hawk), moo shu pork (for our favorite travel-size guardian) would have, also, been good with this meal, but, as you can see, we had plenty and we went with our favorites.

So Mulan goes and becomes a war hero but, like my grandmother, her grandmother (which is one of the funniest characters in this movie I might add) is ALWAYS playing matchmaker. Our elders are the wisest.

However, also like my grandmother, she didn't have to worry, her invitation was accepted (see Mulan 2 for more). With dinners like these do you really blame Shang or Justice for taking Grandma Fa's invitation?

Anyone notice how Mulan was compared to a flower alot? Seeing as she only faced "the bathing scene" once, I'm not so sure she smelled like roses.

I think if I was the matchmaker, I'd pair the emperor and Grandma Fa together. They both had some great advice and humor in this movie. You tell him, Emperor!

There were, also, some hidden Mickey's in Mulan if you looked closely. Here are a couple:

If you scroll back up to the egg roll wrapper, you will see a SECOND surprise on it. Another hidden Mickey with the same hairstyle as the girl in the first picture!! See, Hong Kong was meant to supply this Disney dinner.

Justice's turn to draw and it is...

oooooo, THE Toy Story (said in alien's "the claw" voice).

Coming Soon: Toy Story