Mulan's Journey
The support phase under Victoria Lynn Schmidtt’s template of the heroine's journey is the first step towards the protagonist finding and embracing her true self. In the 1998 Disney movie “Mulan” this step occurs after the main character, Mulan, is exposed for being a woman in the army. Upon this discovery, she gets kicked out of the military, despite having single-handedly saved the entire army from an enemy attack. This discovery not only brings shame to her but dishonors her family as well. At this point in the film, Mulan is truly at her lowest, the only characters still standing by her are her horse, a small dragon named Mushu, and a “lucky” cricket. In order to console a crying Mulan, it is at this point that Mushu confesses something to her. He had lied to her about being sent by the ancestors, and rather, had gone with her because he had been disgraced, and needed a way to get his job back. The cricket also chimes in, confessing that he is not in fact a lucky cricket. Th...