13 Things Du Didn’t Know About Mulan 

Awww Oh, Snap! Quiz Retro Silly Whoa Yum

This weekend ABC Family is doing a very royal lineup of Funday movies, and we can’t wait to rewatch one of our favorites,

is funny, beautifully animated, and features one of the most courageous and loyal Disney characters out there. In preparation for your weekend viewing, here are 13 things you might not know about this beloved film:

2. It took 700 animators, artists, and technicians to complete the film.

3. They brewed 1,630 pounds of coffee during production.

4. The directors, Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook, made a cameo towards the end of the film.

5. The character of Cri-Kee was championed by the late Joe Grant, who was one of the oldest Disney animators at the time (he worked on

). He first suggested the character, and all throughout development, Joe would slip sketches of Cri-Kee under the directors’ door.

6. The filmmakers had to take several passes at the “Reflection” lyrics. They wanted to express that Mulan really didn’t want anything, except to be herself and to make her dad proud.

7. When Chi Fu calls out the names of people to serve in the army, they’re actually the names of some of the staff. The glowing Chinese calligraphy is also the names of artists that worked on the production.

8. In the sequence where Mulan prepares to leave home, we see a face looking at her every time she makes a decision. These faces represent the ancestors, and make us feel like they know what she’s doing.

9. Filmmakers wrote three song options for Mushu to sing when he introduced himself to Mulan, but every time they added one in, it seemed to halt the movie. Mushu’s song was eventually cut from the film.

10. There was a lot of debate about how low Ming-Na Wen, the voice of Mulan, should make her voice when Mulan was pretending to be a boy. It was hard to have her do a low voice throughout the entire film, so the directors had Ming-Na start low, and cheat her way back up to her normal voice.

11. At one point in development, the general was not Shang’s dad, but they changed that later on, feeling that it gave

more emotional weight. Both Shang and Mulan do what they do to honor their fathers.

12. Jackie Chan voiced Shang in the Chinese version of

13. According to producer Pam Coates, the crowd bowing to Mulan at the end wraps up what the team was trying to express with the film. Mulan is a woman who, because she is true to her heart and true to herself, actually alters the way society thinks.

Video: Disney’s Ultimate Action Movie Trailer

Breaking (and Magical) Beauty and the Beast News Will Make Your Day

Quiz: Which Into the Woods Guy is Your Type?

20-Something Life Advice From Disney Characters

March Gets Magical with a Disney Parks Attraction Tournament

The Definitive Ranking of Lyrics from The Little Mermaid

quiz: the most princessy disney princess trivia ever

quiz: can you guess which disney character is the odd one out?

quiz: guess the disney movie from the really bad synopsis

quiz: which disney leading lady shares your style?

disney dogs ranked from cute to cutest

huge sweepstakes opportunity: enter to live like cinderella at walt disney world

© Disney. All Rights Reserved. Disney Lifestyle