By the way since we rewatched Mulan yesterday I just want to say it's one of the best Disney movies period. It moves so quickly and has to set up so much but it's so tight and has no boring or wasted scenes, it balances the drama and comedy

And not only are the songs really good and memorable, it couldn't really function without them because they do so much heavy lifting in moving this story that has to pack such a massive amount in.

Esp obviously "make a man out of you" which is not ONLY the entire training montage but ALSO sets up and endears you to the supporting cast, AND covers how they bond with Mulan.

There's a giant supporting cast (Mulan's family, three soldiers, Shang, the snooty chancellor, THREE animal sidekicks) but you get a real sense of all of them, and Harvey Fierstein has a lot of lines which could've just been utilitarian but which he makes funny with his reads

They don't make Mulan disdainful of tradition or femininity and the character conflict just comes from the fact that her talents don't align with the specific things expected of her.

Mulan is a good fighter, but not innately, and you see her get fit at roughly the same rate as everyone else. There's a huge emphasis on her strengths being her ingenuity and perseverance. Anyway that's it just appreciating Mulan.

I thought this was clear from saying "rewatched" and specifically mentioning songs but this thread is about Mulan 1998