Gender
Mulan, at the start of the film, feels out of place in her society, unable to conjure the feminine graces required of her to impress the matchmaker who is in charge of her fate. In fact, she is rather clumsy and tomboyish, preferring to spend time with her animals and have fun than to study the etiquette required of her as a woman. When she fails to impress the matchmaker, Mulan sings a song about her identity, and her failure to live up to her feminine exterior, singing, "Who is that girl I see, staring straight back at me? When will my reflection show who I am inside?"
No sooner has Mulan lamented her failure as a female than she decides to enlist in the army and pretend to be a man in order to save her ailing father from having to enlist. Decisively, she cuts off her hair and dons armor in order to join. Here, she must embody a completely different gender, and in the course of her charade, she has varying degrees of success. Eventually, she proves to be an exceptional soldier, impressing her superior Shang and then, eventually, China as a whole. It is illegal for her to serve as a woman, but her heroism is so incredible and impressive that no one minds that she is a woman. In Mulan's story, we see a narrative of female empowerment, and a narrative about the unexpected benefits of not always fitting in with one's gender.
The Pride of Being a Warrior
In the film, serving in the army is a source of great pride for the characters. When the Emperor sends out conscription notices calling for soldiers, the men that he summons do not try and resist the forced enlistment, but embrace it as an honor to serve their country. Even Mulan's father, who walks with a cane and has already served, sees the opportunity to fight in the army as a noble and welcome one.
When Mulan enlists in his stead, she slowly learns how to become a competent soldier, working hard to improve her strength, agility, and strategy. Her hard work eventually pays off and she becomes a hero to China. By fighting in the army, Mulan is able to protect her country and also bring honor to her family.
Bravery and Courage
Part of what makes Mulan such a strong hero is that she is extremely brave and courageous. While her recklessness and bravery seem foolish in the context of her home life and at the matchmaker's, it is a boon when she is serving in the army. She often takes it upon herself to be proactive and fight for what she believes is right. Even when she sees the Huns are still alive, after she has already been banished from the army, she chooses to go to the city and warn the people that the Huns are still at large.
Throughout the film, Mulan does not back down, and it is this quality that earns respect among her peers, and eventually among her countrymen. Captain Shang is also extremely courageous, continuing to lead his troops forward to the Imperial City even after finding his own father and his soldiers massacred at the encampment. Bravery and courage are seen as highly important qualities, and they are embodied by both Mulan and Shang.
Family
Mulan does not have any particular ambitions to join the army. Rather, she does so out of love for her father, whom she feels is not physically capable of joining the army and serving again. Thus, we see that she is willing to put her own life in danger to save his, demonstrating just how much she values her family.
Additionally, in the beginning of the film, Mulan is deeply troubled by her inability to bring honor to her family. She is less concerned with her ability to impress the matchmaker than she is with her ability to reflect well on her mother, father, and grandmother.
Finally, we see the importance of family in the spirits of the ancestors that Mulan's Grandma conjures after Mulan enlists in the army. They are an assembly of long-passed ancestors who discuss Mulan's fate and try to figure out how to help her.
Identity
Mulan's journey is as much about identity as it is about duty. She is a young woman struggling to find her place in the world, and when she sees that she can help her father, she embraces the opportunity to assume a new identity. She addresses the theme of identity after Shang banishes her from the army, saying to Mushu, "Maybe I didn't go for my father. Maybe what I really wanted was to prove I could do things right, so when I looked in the mirror, I'd see someone worthwhile." In this, we see that Mulan's actions arise not just from an altruistic desire to help others, but also from her confusion about where she fits in the world. She joins the army in order to learn more about herself and carve out a stronger sense of identity, a goal at which she ends up succeeding by the end of the film.
Unconditional Love
When Mulan returns home, she goes to her father and tells him about the honors she has received from the emperor. Now that she is a war hero, she hopes that her father will forgive her for running away without telling him and assuming a new identity. His response is unexpected, as he tells her that the thing he is most proud of is the fact that she is his daughter, and that he is relieved that she has safely returned home.
In this moment, we see that Mulan's value to her family has more to do with her existence itself and their love for her than it does with her achievements. Thus, we see that unconditional love is an important theme in the film.
Late Bloomer
Early in the film, Mulan worries that she is not up to the task of facing the matchmaker or being a perfect Chinese bride. Her father comforts her by pointing out the nearby cherry blossom tree, saying, "What beautiful blossoms we have this year. But look! This one's late. But I bet that when it blooms, it will be the most beautiful of all." In this, Mulan's father suggests that just because she hasn't come into her own yet, it does not mean that she will not be beautiful when she does. In fact, he suggests, it probably means she will be more beautiful.
Then, at the end of the film, after Mulan returns home, the Emperor turns to Shang and tells him, "The flower that blooms in adversity...is the most rare and beautiful of them all." He uses a metaphor to advise Shang to follow Mulan to her home, suggesting that she is a rare and special woman.
