10 Best Dragons In Film & TV
6. Mushu - Mulan
Sassy sidekicks seemed to be a must for Disney animated movies in the ‘90s, and of those Mushu remains one of the most popular. The quick witted dragon was brilliantly played by Eddie Murphy, and always had a comeback up his sleeve, even if he was useless in a fight.
The character almost didn’t feature in the film at all though. Disney execs weren’t quite sure how Mulan would be able to hide a pet dragon, or whether Mushu’s large frame would be too tricky to animate and would distract from Mulan herself.
When animators discussed the idea of a much smaller dragon, as does exist in eastern dragon stories, Disney were sold. It’s a good job too, as it’s hard to imagine Mulan without him.
Apparently though, that won’t be left up to imagination much longer. The upcoming remake of Mulan has gained plenty of attention for ditching love interest Shang, but Mushu hasn’t made the cut either.
It’s difficult to know exactly how successful Mushu’s transition to live action would have been, but then if you aren’t sure about a key character, why remake a film at all? However good the remake is, it’ll always feel like something’s missing from it.