This document provides a compare and contrast essay analyzing the animated films "Mulan" and "Brave". Both films feature brave female protagonists who defy expectations. Mulan disguises herself as a man to serve in the army instead of her sick father, while Merida contends with an ill-fated wish that turns her mother into a bear. The essay discusses similarities in the films' adventure style, family-focused themes, and unconventional heroines who challenge their prescribed roles.

1. SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN
THE DESIGN SCHOOL
FOUNDATION IN NATURAL BUILD ENVIRONMENT
NAME: LEE JO YEE
STUDENT ID NO: 0314880
FILMS SELECTED: "MULAN" AND "BRAVE"
WORD COUNT: 960
ENGLISH 2 (ENGL 0205)
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT 1: COMPARE – CONTRAST ESSAY
LECTURER: CASSANDRA WIJESURIA
SUBMISSION DATE: 5TH DECEMBER 2013
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2. Heroines
We have watched cartoon ever since we are small. Examples like Tom and Jerry, Scooby
Doo, Spongebob and etc. Remember all those laughter and giggles that they have brought to you
when Tom purposely bang his head onto the wall while chasing his forever enemy Jerry and
Spongebob's ridiculously high-pitched funny tone. In another words, they are called the
animation too. "Animation or animated movie is a motion picture consisting of a photographed
series of drawings,objects, or computer graphics that stimulates motion by recording very slight,
continuous change in the images, frame by frame." according to an American Heritage Dictionay
(The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2009). The
animated pictures later on is enhanced with the voice narration by the voice artists to make live
the characters inside, including various funny or scary sound effects.
I always been a fans of animation and am the one who let my mouth wide open for those
astonishing imaginary scenes that are very unlikely appear in normal real life movie. They are
just the eye candy for you! Hence, I would like to introduce some of the best animations that I
have watched, especially for the girls: "Mulan" and "Brave". When Brave has came out in 2003,
it has created a small commotion for the audience as the main character, Merida has vividly
reminded them about the famous unforgettable heroine --- Mulan . "Mulan" was out in the year
of 1998 and it was without a doubt a very successfully animation. I have to agree with the
argument because although Mulan and Brave were produced in different times, they are very
similar in many ways such as the style of the movie, the features of the main characters and the
theme of the movie.
Let's start the rolling ball with the style of the movie. Both animations fall under the
category of Adventure and Thriller. The story started with Mulan as a very filial piety girl. When
her family has received the order from the Palace to fight for the country, she was reluctant to
see her sick father went on to take the mission as her father was the only man in the family.To
save her aging father from military service, Mulan joins the army in his place --- chopping off
her hair and masquerading as a boy named Ping. On the other hand, the miscommunication
between Merida and her mother has lead her to run away from home and make an awful wish to
the witch --- to turn her mother into a bear so that she can be free. However it costs her a hard
attempt to cancel the wish and brings her mum back. The intriguing storyline not only keep you
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3. sitting at the edge of your chair for the adventure to begin . Strong and powerful songs
throughout the animation such as " I'll make a man out of you" was played during the military
camp training in Mulan and a more scottish themesong "Touch the Sky" from Brave.
Both movie depict a same theme that is the love towards our family. Mulan's reason for
joining the war is heartrendingly sad, as well as considerate. It was heart wrenching for Mulan to
see her old father was forced to join the war because she loves him so much. The fear of losing
him has given Mulan the courage to make such decision. There is no doubt Merida and her
proper, queenly mother love each other, but just as mothers and daughters have throughout
history, they drive each other nuts. Queen Elinor can’t understand why Merida won’t grow up
and accept her royal responsibilities, and tomboy Merida — who longs to ride and hunt like her
gregarious father — can’t understand why her mum won’t just leave her to it. When Merida’s illfated wish turns Queen Elinor into a bear, it ironically helps Merida relate to her mother more as
a person and the love towards her.
Lastly, is the main character of the animation. Both Mulan and Merida are different from
any Disney princess that you have seen. They are brave, strong, self-reliant and clever. When the
Huns troops charge down the side of a snowy mountain (Mulan - Mountain Fight), Mulan takes
the cannon and fires the rocket at the snow mound. The impulse of the rocket together with the
snow mound has caused an avalance which spreads over the Huns, burying them. This act has
shown that Mulan is highly intelligent and calm heroine. As for Merida, she is another brave and
clever little girl that is very skillful in archery. During a competition among the sons of three
clans in wining Merida's heart, Merida disguises herself and enters as one of the competitor and
shoots the targets over her mother's objections. You could rarely find a girl who master archery
greater than men during that age. Besides, the interesting part of the story is that both
protagonists are forced to have an arrange marriage in the beginning of the animation but they
failed to perform like normal girls in their society . Hence without giving up, they fight for their
faith.
In conclusion, the similarities in these two movies can be seen from the style of the
movie, the theme of the movie and the main character. It is so sad to see that girls nowadays
have been spoiled with luxuriates and accepting their fate blindly due to their gender. Mulan and
Merida should be some frictional characters that we should look up to because of their spirit to
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4. fight to change their fate. Apart from the famous tagline in Brave: " Change your fate" , the
Emperor of China in Mulan said: "You don't meet a girl like that every dynasty".
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