Mulan, the 1998 Disney classic, is a beloved movie for many reasons. It has a strong female lead, a powerful message about standing up for what you believe in, and some of the most memorable musical numbers in Disney history. But what many people don’t realize is that the movie also contains some surprisingly sexual moments.
The first of these moments comes when Mulan is getting ready for her first meeting with the matchmaker. She is wearing a traditional Chinese dress and her grandmother is helping her get ready. As she is putting on her makeup, her grandmother tells her to “think of a happy thought” and Mulan’s eyes light up. This is a subtle reference to the fact that Mulan is thinking of her crush, Li Shang.
The second moment comes when Mulan and Li Shang are in the mountains and they are both exhausted. Li Shang tells Mulan to rest her head on his shoulder and she does. This is a tender moment between the two characters and it is clear that there is a strong connection between them.
The third moment comes when Mulan and Li Shang are in the camp and they are both trying to get some sleep. Li Shang is lying on the ground and Mulan is lying on top of him. This is a very intimate moment between the two characters and it is clear that they are both attracted to each other.
The fourth moment comes when Mulan and Li Shang are in the mountains and they are both exhausted. Li Shang tells Mulan to rest her head on his shoulder and she does. This is a tender moment between the two characters and it is clear that there is a strong connection between them.
The fifth and final moment comes when Mulan and Li Shang are in the camp and they are both trying to get some sleep. Li Shang is lying on the ground and Mulan is lying on top of him. This is a very intimate moment between the two characters and it is clear that they are both attracted to each other.
Overall, Mulan is a beloved movie for many reasons, but it also contains some surprisingly sexual moments. These moments are subtle and sweet, and they add an extra layer of depth to the movie.
While preparing her for the matchmaker, one of the women at the boutique strips Mulan naked behind a screen and dumps her into a tub of soapy water. Mulan appears only in silhouette behind the screen, and then everything below her neck is concealed beneath the soap suds.
While introducing herself at the training camp, Mulan takes Mushu's advice to slap Yao on his backside because "[men] like that."
At a few points throughout the movie, several characters trading insults drop a few subtle innuendos about each other's sexuality.
Shang removes his shirt for the training sequence, prompting a snark about his being a "pretty boy" from Yao and some ogling from Mulan.
After a doctor tends to a wound to her chest, we briefly see Mulan topless with her breasts tightly wrapped in surgical bandages. In alarm and embarrassment, she then pulls a blanket up to conceal them.
Immediately after Mulan says the following quote, "I never want to see another naked man again.", a whole flock of fully nude men jump into the lake for a bath, but nothing too explicit is shown since they were running very quickly.
At one point, Mushu stares at Mulan's chest while boastfully claiming to have the power to see straight through her armor. Taking offense at this, she gasps in embarrassment, and holds one arm over her breastplate.
At one point while disguised as the male Ping, Mulan insists on slipping out of the camp to a nearby pond one night to bathe. Mushu respectfully covers his eyes with his ears when she removes her clothes, and all of her private parts remain either out of frame or concealed beneath the water in the pond for this sequence.
Later, much to Mushu's alarm and distress, Ling, Yao, and Chien-Po arrive at the same pond and start stripping, also intending to bathe. We briefly see them in silhouette from behind as they're shedding clothes, and then only from above their waists or below their thighs. Mushu, meanwhile, cries out "Oh! We're doomed! There are a couple of things I *know* they're bound to notice!"
While these three men and "Ping" are introducing themselves to each other, we see them framed between the naked Yao's calves as he stands proudly declaring himself "king of the rock" (a small island in the middle of the pond) and daring them to try to depose him. While nothing above his knees is in the frame for us, Mulan covers her eyes, clearly embarrassed at what she's seeing. After Mushu rescues her from having to play their game by scaring them away, Mulan summons her horse Khan and slips behind him to conceal herself while getting dressed. The three naked men, meanwhile, scramble up onto the rock and are briefly shown in silhouette.
Mulan then complains that she never wants to see a naked man again, whereupon dozens of naked men stampede right past her into the pond, everything below their waists just out of frame.
Seeing Mulan lingering longer than she should as she gazes after Shang, Mushu chides her for flirting and orders her to her tent.
In the "A Girl Worth Fighting For" musical sequence, Ling gets out a rice-paper pin-up of his ideal girl, and Mulan briefly averts her eyes in embarrassment until it is revealed to be chastely drawn. The men sing "You can guess what we have missed the most since we went off to war" while gazing appreciatively at some pretty young women picking rice, and Mushu lets out a wolf whistle. Several of the rice-pickers ogle "Ping" and titter to each other about the handsome young "lad" in armor while Mulan blushes and turns away.
Several the men disguise themselves as female concubines to get past some guards, with one nervously asking Mulan whether his dress makes him look fat (and therefore unattractive). One of the guards they're snookering remarks that these "concubines" are ugly, but the other disagrees and actually seems to be trying to flirt with one of them briefly.