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Mulan (Yifei Liu) has always been the tomboyish type, with her qi akin to that of a warrior, always causing concern in her household. But now that she is finally a young woman, she needs to conform to what society expects of her, meaning finding a match for marriage. She is reluctant to do so despite the prodding of her parents Hua Zhou (Tzi Ma) and Hua Li (Rosalind Chao) for her to bring honor to the family by marrying a reputable guy. Meanwhile, the Rouran warriors north of the border led by Böri Khan (Jason Scott Lee) are gaining ground in their revenge plot against the Chinese Emperor (Jet Li). With the help of shapeshifting witch Xianniang (Gong Li), they ransack and massacre one garrison right after the other, prompting a kingdom-wide decree for each family to enlist at least one son in the army. Knowing her father wouldn’t make it back alive given his ailing health, Mulan steals his sword and armor and takes off in the middle of the night, taking his place.
