Music the Fictive Dream - "I'll Make a Man Out of You" - Mulan
Music the Fictive Dream - "I'll Make a Man Out of You" - Mulan
"I'll Make a Man Out of You" is from the Disney movie Mulan released in 1998. The song was written in the United States by composer Matthew Wilder and lyricist David Zippel. The song is performed by Donny Osmond as the singing voice of character, Captain Li Shang.
Mulan | I'll Make a Man Out of You | @disneykids
This song is featured in the movie Mulan. This movie is based on a 6th century Chinese legend, The Ballad of Mulan which tells the story of a woman who is disguised as a man joining the army to fight in her fathers place. The song, "I'll Make a Man Out of You" serves a very important purpose in this animated movie. The song is a pivotal training montage showing Mulan struggle severely at the beginning and then use her dedication and intelligence to become the best soldier that she can be. At the end of the song, we see her carrying the weights across her shoulders faster and easier than any of the men and we see her tying together the two weights to make it easier for her to climb up the pole, achieving something that none of the other warriors could.
This song, along with the whole movie itself, has a good amount of social commentary embedded into it. The hyper-masculinity of the music paired with the audience's awareness of Mulan being a woman, share a message that women can achieve difficult feats as well. This song challenges gender norms and performativity as well as simply challenging strict definitions of masculinity and femininity.
The musical elements of this song are all built up around a theatrical yet military style type of song. The song uses a mix of western and eastern musical styles. The fast tempo that continues to build up as the song progresses, not only makes the song more engaging to the listener but also shows the progression of Mulan's training. The syncopated rhythm of the song adds to the upbeat energy which builds throughout the song. Some of the most memorable lines from the song that are fun to listen to but also drive the story along and add social commentary to gender norms are, "Tranquil as a forest, but on fire within" and the chorus, "Be a man / You must be swift as the coursing river / With all the force of a great typhoon." These lines are about what it means to be a “man” but Mulan ends up showing them that she is just as capable. Another important line from the song is right at the beginning, “Did they send me daughters when I asked for sons?” Which is ironic because that is exactly what happened.
Overall this song is one of my favorite Disney songs and I think that the song is one of the most memorable from the movie. The song adds to plot while also having a much broader application.
Works Cited
“Mulan: The story behind 'I'll Make a Man Out of You' and its other hit songs.” Entertainment Weekly, 19 June 2018, https://ew.com/movies/2018/06/19/mulan-ill-make-a-man-out-of-you-story/. Accessed 9 April 2026.
Osmond, Donny. “I'll Make a Man Out of You.” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27ll_Make_a_Man_Out_of_You. Accessed 9 April 2026.
This song is THE best Disney song. I love what you had to say about the fast tempo in relation to Mulan's training progression. I’ve never thought of that before, and it makes so much sense. My favorite part of this song is in the second verse, when the pitch is increased; it intensifies the training, I think. I also appreciate the sequence at the end with no music; the harmonizing sounds strong and united as a reflection of how most militaries are.
ReplyDeleteThis has always been my favorite Disney song, I think you did a really good job at analyzing it. One of my favorite parts of it is how it displays the progress of training through it's ever changing chorus. It starts with the lead singing alone, but as it goes on and the training increases, unified voices are added to the chorus to show how the soldiers have become increasingly trained and disciplined, so now they are in sync in both singing and action.
ReplyDeleteYour blog connects the idea of a “fictive dream” to “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” in a really interesting way, showing how the song creates an exaggerated, ideal version of masculinity. It points out that while it feels powerful, it’s still a constructed image, not reality. What’s cool is how the movie challenges that idea through Mulan, proving strength doesn’t have to fit that one mold.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great song to listen to when I watched this movie. Great song that you choose.
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