At 20 Years Old, "Mulan" Still Brings Honor To Us All

Scene from Mulan

"This is what you give me to work with? Well honey, I've seen worse."

So goes the opening line to Disney's 1998 film Mulan, which over the course of its opening song deconstructed the idea of what their franchise's "Disney Princess" could be. Through a sense of irony, a discomforted tomboy named Mulan prepares for a meeting to be judged on her looks and skills. There is no care for what she actually thinks, just that she follows tradition and bring "Honor to Us All." Over the next 20 years, Disney has done plenty to create female characters that are strong, independent, and break gender stereotypes in ways that have regenerated the studio's relevance. However, it was with Mulan that they created something special, something that not only showed that a woman could do a man's job, but that gender tropes go both ways. It's important to see your own reflection, your true identity, staring straight back at you. Disney may have harped on this matter several times, but rarely with the clarity and perfection as that of their fiercest, most exciting movie that they've ever released. 

R.I.P. Marni Nixon (1930-2016)

Marni Nixon

On January 24, 2016, singer and actress Marni Nixon died in Manhattan, New York at the age of 86 from breast cancer. It is likely that you don't know her face or name that well, but you'll likely recognize her voice. Dubbed by Time Magazine as "The Ghostess with the Mostest," she largely made her career in film working behind the scenes as a singer dubbing for actresses ranging from Deborah Kerr to Natalie Wood to Audrey Hepburn in films like The King and I, West Side Story, and My Fair Lady. She was also proficient on stage as a singer and sometimes toured with performers like Liberace and Victor Borge. She enjoyed a Hollywood career without the tassels of fame, serving as the underrated talent that made some of cinema's greatest musicals work so well. Her name may not be familiar, but her work will live on forever in Oscar history thanks to her tireless work to make lesser singers shine.