Screenwriter Dean DeBlois describes his work on the animated film of Mulan as a “miserable experience”

Many Disney fans may consider the Mulan movie one of their favorite productions from the factory, however, for one of its main screenwriters, Dean DeBlois, the production and development process of this film was a “miserable experience” which he made sure not to repeat in his next work for the studio, Lilo & Stitch.

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the premiere of this last film, the web Cartoon Brew He has had the opportunity to speak with the screenwriter who has made an X-ray of his career until he reached Lilo & Stitch. In the interview she explained that the intention of the study to create a world full of detail in Mulán translated into long hours of work constantly checking the storyboards.

Also, on that occasion, instead of being at the main Disney studios in Burbank, California, they had to work in a small company studio in Florida, next to the amusement park. A series of factors that make DeBois remember the filming of Mulan as “a miserable experience”.

“Mulan took five years to complete and some of that time was spent in Florida. I just remember the long nights at work. Since the studio was next to the amusement park, you could hear the roller coasters and people laughing and screaming until 10:30 at night. while we were still going over storyboards, while someone was vacuuming in the hallway”.

That’s why when the studio asked him to make a new movie, which would end up becoming Lilo & Stitch, the scriptwriter was very clear about how he was going to work so as not to repeat the same experience than with Mulan. To do this, they tried to reduce the level of detail of the characters and the scenarios so that it would not be so complicated.

“We reduced the details a lot, we eliminated the pockets of the shorts, the prints of the t-shirts and everything that was too complex. We couldn’t afford shadows either, so our characters were always under the shade of a tree or something like that.” However, Lilo & Stitch is not one of the studio’s best-remembered works, while Mulan is.