This 26-Year-Old Disney Classic Was Almost A Rom-Com (& Would’ve Been Ruined)

Most Disney animated movies, particularly those with female characters as their leads, lean more towards a romance or rom-com style, and one now-classic Disney movie almost became a rom-com, completely ruining what made it so special. Disney continues to be the leading studio in the world of animation, with many of its animated movies now considered classics. Disney’s reign began in 1937 with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first animated feature film produced in the United States and the first cel-animated feature movie.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs set the tone for the rest of Disney’s animated works and kicked off its Disney Princess branch. Although there are no official rules and requirements to join the group of Disney Princesses, these characters share various details. However, there have been some that have broken the mold but are still considered Disney Princesses. The most notable one is Mulan, as she wasn’t born royal and her story was different from the ones of past Princesses, but she was almost just like her predecessors.

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Mulan Was Originally Planned As A Rom-Com

Mulan was directed by Barry Cook and Tony Bancroft and was based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, who took her father’s place in the conscription for the army by disguising herself as a man. The development of Mulan began in the late 1980s as Disney developed an interest in Asian-themed legends. During the earliest stages of pre-production, Mulan was conceived as a Tootsie-like rom-com (via The Art of Mulan), in which Mulan, portrayed as a misfit tomboy who loved her father, Fa Zhou, would have been betrothed to Li Shang, whom she had never met.

On Mulan’s betrothal day, Fa Zhou would have carved her destiny on a stone tablet in their family’s temple, which she would have shattered in anger before running away to forge her own destiny. When writer Chris Sanders joined the project in 1993 as Head of Story, he didn’t like the rom-com aspect of the story and urged producer Pam Coats to make the story more faithful to the original Chinese legend. Thanks to this, Mulan’s story was changed so she would leave home because of her love for her father instead of running away from an arranged marriage.

Changing Mulan’s story from a rom-com to a coming-of-age one was key in making the character more selfless and appealing, and gave her a lot more agency than previous Disney Princesses had. Mulan stood out from past Disney Princess movies as her story didn’t revolve around a love interest, and she wasn’t a “damsel in distress” – instead, Mulan took control of her actions and destiny and became a legendary warrior, with her relationship with Li Shang being a secondary story.

Mulan was also the first Disney Princess not to be born royal or married to royalty, as Shang is just a high-ranking military officer, which wouldn’t have happened had her movie been a rom-com. Mulan continues to be praised as one of the most interesting and empowering female characters in Disney history, which might not have happened had her story revolved around her possible marriage. Mulan was saved from falling into the Disney Princess trap and brought some freshness to the franchise, and leaving the rom-com approach was key to its success.

Source: The Art of Mulan.

Mulan (1998)

Director

Barry Cook , Tony Bancroft

Release Date

June 19, 1998

Runtime

87 Minutes