Mulan

A feisty young go-getter rises above the male-dominated world in which she lives to survive the perils of war and, eventually, to bring honour to her family. The Huns have invaded China; hence the Emperor's call to arms demanding one male from every family. Mulan's father is too old and frail to fight, so Mulan shaves her head and, accompanied by a mythical dragon (a comic sidekick), takes her place in the Emperor's army, where she proceeds to inject inspiration into her fellow warriors.

Using richly hued, angular animation, this vibrant, action-filled Disney offering is immensely entertaining. The script is mostly drum-tight and brimming with gags; there's even some amusing but sensitively illustrated play on the complexities of Oriental religious customs. If the songs are merely endurable, scenes like the amazing sight of the enemy charging down a mountain slope and Eddie Murphy's hilarious dragon help make this the cracker it is.