the disney studios has its formula for annual , full-length animated features down so pat that it's hard to remember which one you're watching at any given moment . 
 " mulan , " their 36th animated adventure , is the latest case in point . 
once again we have a tale focused around a strong central character ( female as usual ; disney is one of the few studios whose heroines--ariel , belle , pocahontas , and now mulan--get equal screen time with their heroes in recent years ) . 
add the requisite love interest and a wise-cracking sidekick or two , pep up the soundtrack with a handful of strategically placed show tunes ( an introspective number by a pool or looking in a mirror , a rousing anthem , a cutesy , montage-backed crowd pleaser ) , pose a few threats to our engaging lead , and tie things all up neatly by the closing credits . 
bob's your uncle ! 
better make that walt's your uncle . . . 
kids will no doubt go ga-ga over " mulan " ( or at least the fast food tie-ins ) , but familiarity can , after a while , leave grown-ups--this reviewer included--wishing for a little more . 
maybe an animated feature without--shock ! 
horror ! --the 
songs , for example ? 
or maybe a film in which a cheeky chihuahua called pepe longs to become a matador from trinidad ? ? 
how about simply ditching the sidekicks altogether ? 
it isn't gonna happen . 
like disney's previous entries , " mulan " is slow to make its mark . 
the animation tends to suffer from some slackness in the early going and the humorous element , a madcap dragon wannabe ( in the guise of a loquacious lizard with a case of dry mouth , courtesy eddie murphy's animated vocal talents ) , plays like an inappropriate if necessary ( formula-wise ) afterthought . 
however , after about an hour everything comes together and the formula , like it or not , clicks . 
highlights include a spectacular cavalry charge on a snow-covered pass ( which , due to the sophistication of today's computer-generated imagery , is hard to tell from the real thing ) , a memorable , show-stopping musical interlude ( " i'll make a man out of you , " penned by matthew wilder and david zippel ) , and last but not least , mulan herself . 
voiced by ming-na wen , mulan is disney's strongest female character to date . 
when hordes of huns pour over china's great wall and threaten to overthrow the imperial palace , the emperor decrees that every family in the land dispatch one man to serve in the imperial army . 
since mulan's father is infirm , but proud , the high-spirited mulan steals her father's armor and , incognito , signs up to face the mongolian menace . 
attracted to , but not distracted by , her commanding officer shang ( b . d . 
wong ) , mulan outmatches her fellow combatants in smarts , wit , and physical ability . 
she's a woman of the '90s a couple of millennia ahead of her time .