User:Changedforbetter/sandbox

Mushu is a fictional character in Disney's animated film Mulan (1998). He was originally voiced by actor and comedian Eddie Murphy. A Chinese dragon, Mushu was originally a guardian of Mulan's family before being demoted for failing to protect a family member during battle. He plots to redeem himself by ensuring Mulan's success when she enlists herself in the army in her father's place, against the instructions of her ancestors.

Creation and casting
Mushu is not part of the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan on whom the film is based, and was created specifically for the animated film. At one point, Mushu was intended to be two characters: a Gryphon and a Phoenix. Disney chairman Roy E. Disney suggested the character of Mushu upon learning that dragons can be any size in Chinese folklore. Inspired by Robin Williams' performance as the Genie in Aladdin (1992), the filmmakers had considered comedians Joe Pesci, Steve Martin, and Sinbad for the role of Mushu. Pesci was originally cast in the role; an early version of Mushu would have been a serpent with two heads voiced by Pesci and Richard Dreyfuss, respectively. The filmmakers had originally envisioned the character as having a "New York, tough guy, streetwise kind of" voice similar to Billy Crystal and Danny DeVito, but felt this would be too similar to supporting characters from Disney's Hercules (1997) and The Lion King (1994). According to director Tony Bancroft, Mushu had always been described as the oppositive of Mulan's character, and felt an African-American character would deliver the perfect contrast to Mulan's more traditionally Chinese character. They started interviewing several African-American performers, with Disney executive Michael Eisner ultimately selecting Eddie Murphy, who they felt most compatible with the character's facial expressions. Murphy nearly turned down the offer until Disney allowed him to record his part from his home studio in Englewood, New Jersey. Murphy accepted the role partially because he wanted to make some films that his own children would be able to see, having mostly starred in movies intended for adults prior.

Songwriters Matthew Wilder and David Zippel had had written two songs intended for the character to sing. One of them was entitled "Keep 'Em Guessing", in which Mushu would have taught Mulan how to be convincing as a man. The song was cut because Murphy was not interested in signing in the film, despite several attempts to re-write it to his liking. Tony felt that the songs ruined the pacing of the story. They decided to replace it with humorous dialog inspired by the song's lyrics, which led to having Mushu introduce himself to Mulan in the manner of an African-American preacher because they felt they needed a big introduction in the song's absence. In 2020, Ming-Na Wen confirmed that she had yet to meet Murphy, despite having voiced characters in the same film. Murphy is one of the film's few original cast members who did not reprise his role in the sequel Mulan II (2004).

Design
Tom Bancroft, Tony's twin brother, was Mushu's supervising animator, while Chris Sanders was his character designer. Tom was hired to work on Mushu a year before production began on Mulan, a point when Disney had not yet decided what type of character Mushu would be. The animators had considered several animals, including a a two-headed serpent, before settling on a dragon. As the script changed, the character was changed from two different dragons who would eventually become one dragon, as well as a phoenix and a dragon. Tom referenced many aspects of Chinese culture when designing the character, including wood block print artworks and sculptures Chinese temples. He discovered that Chinese dragons are very different from European dragons, describing the former as "thin and snake-like while the European dragons were often thick and more like a crocodile". Tom also researched dragon characters from previous Disney films, including Elliott from Pete’s Dragon (1977), Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty (1959), The Hydra from Hercules (1997), as well as The Reluctant Dragon (1941) to see how animators approached a simplified, humorous dragon during the 1940s. The animator said Mushu is arguably most similar to the latter. Tom was also inspired by the cartoonish work of animator Eric Goldberg, who had briefly sketched Aladdin's Genie turning into a dragon. He described Mushu as a combination of many different animals, possessing "whiskers like a catfish, scales like a fish, cow ears, the hairy lip of a camel, horns like a goat and talons of an eagle".

Critical response
Several reviewers compared Mushu to the Gene from Aladdin, voiced by Robin Williams. Writing for Paste, Josh Jackson said "It seems like all of Eddie Murphy’s best comedic performances since Coming to America are animated".

Writer Mari Ness found Murphy to be an irritating, unnecessary addition to the film, criticizing his reliance on anachronistic humor and deeming him an obvious but unsuccessful attempt at replicating the success of the Genie. The Animated Movie Guide author Jerry Beck called Mushu "the wrong character in the wrong film", explaining that his jokes clash weaken the film and clash with its otherwise serious subject matter. Anthony Brett of The Daily Telegraph panned Mulan II for undoing Mushu's character development by having him attempt to sabotage Mulan and Shang's wedding. He also criticized Disney for replacing Murphy with white actor Mark Moseley, calling it "voiceover blackface".

Legacy
Mushu has been called a fan-favorite character from the franchise. Chinese viewers are reported to have disliked the character. According to University of Southern California professor Stanley Rosen, the character was well-received in the United States, but accused by Chinese audiences of trivializing their culture. When the trailer for the 2020 live-action adaptation of the film was released, several fans complained on social media that Mushu was not featured in the preview. Director Niki Caro confirmed that the character would not appear in the remake, and dispelled theories that the phoenix was an "an updated version of the character". Producer Jason Reed explained that Mushu was omitted because "the dragon is a sign of respect and of strength and power and sort of using it as a silly sidekick did not play well with a traditional Chinese audience". Academics and culture writers defended Disney's decision to remove Mushu, describing it as their attempt "to represent Chinese culture and history in a more authentic manner". Tom also appreciated that removing the character from the remake would allow its team to create their own version of Mulan without the pressure of adapting Mushu, a character he created.

Disney Rewards described Mushu as "One of the most beloved sidekicks in Disney history". Sketches and concept art of Mushu was featured in Tom's book The Art of Disney's Dragons (2016).