An ace Disney animated feature. The story, set in ancient China, starts wonderfully well, with Mulan, feisty daughter of the Fa family, seizing the emperor's scroll while her disabled father sleeps, and taking his place in the war against the Huns. Though floundering at first, Mulan, disguised as a boy, soon proves herself a tougher and brainier fighter than many a male and earns the trust of the man she adores - who just happens to be a young and handsome general in the emperor's army. If the film has a fault, it's that, in its efforts to appeal to the kiddie market, it doesn't take itself seriously enough. So Mulan is saddled with cute guardians in a cricket and a miniature dragon (Eddie Murphy) out to win his godly spurs. But these characters are convincingly integrated into the action after a while and Mulan rightly gets to fight the final duel with the Hun leader herself. Though a shade too westernised, this will still thrill and delight family audiences everywhere.

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