FILM REVIEW; A Warrior, She Takes on Huns and Stereotypes

Disney takes a sledgehammer to the subject of gender stereotyping in ''Mulan,'' a film that not only breaks the cross-dressing barrier but also ratchets up the violence level for children's animation. ''Sign me up for the next war!'' exclaims the heroine's grandmother, in a show of what does not precisely qualify as progress for women. And for all its supposed daring in presenting a bold female warrior, ''Mulan'' takes no steps forward when it comes to Disney's animation renaissance. This is the most inert and formulaic of recent Disney animated films, right down to the clowning sidekicks and would-be ''Under the Sea'' production number. This time there's a big musical sequence about basic training.

''Who spit in her bean curd?'' wisecracks one character in this supposedly Eastern fable, which often seems about as Chinese as chop suey. When not falling back on ancient shtick, ''Mulan'' rails against gender prejudice by trotting out every storytelling stereotype in the Disney playbook. These include the Destiny ballad, in which a questing young person sings about becoming his or her true self (''When will my reflection show who I am inside?'' Mulan wonders musically), and the fight against cartoonishly wicked heavies. Political correctness as intense as this film's leaves gray-faced, yellow-eyed Huns as the only group available for demonization.

Mulan, the rare Disney character to have two parents and a granny, must count on marriage to settle her fate as the story begins. A group of twittering female relatives doll her up demurely for a visit to the matchmaker, singing ''Wait and see, when we're through, boys will gladly go to war for you.'' Even the tiniest viewers should see how wrongly and repressively she is being treated. In case they miss the point, the film shows girls and boys being made to play with dolls and swords respectively, and not being allowed to switch roles.

Mulan (with the voice of Ming-Na Wen) makes her own switch when her father is conscripted for military service and nobly prepares to leave home despite his infirm health. So his daughter bravely takes his place. She disguises herself as a man and joins the army, accompanied by a tiny dragon named Mushu who perches on her shoulder to give advice. Though Mushu has the very funny voice of Eddie Murphy to make him lovable, this black-sounding character is treated as a servile clown. When he hollers ''Call out for egg roll!,'' there's something to offend everyone.

Reverent as it is in the depiction of Mulan as a woman warrior, the film presents most of its male characters as buffoons. (Or worse: ''I never want to see a naked man again!'' exclaims Mulan after having to watch the other soldiers bathe.) The exceptions are the wise old Emperor (voice of Pat Morita), Mulan's estimable father and a General's son named Shang (with the voice of B. D. Wong), who has the huge square jaw of any Disney hero. For all of Mulan's courage and independence in rebelling against the matchmakers, this is still enough of a fairy tale to need Mr. Right.

Though the plot and setting present exotic new opportunities for the filmmakers, the China of ''Mulan'' has surprisingly little depth of field or background detail. The Great Wall and the Forbidden City are here, but so are a lot of empty spaces and scenes in which only one figure moves. As directed by two first-time feature filmmakers, Barry Cook and Tony Bancroft, the film works harder at staging computer-enhanced battle scenes with swooping camera movement and loads of extras, more little figures than its technical prowess can accommodate. (Try looking at the back rows in any crowd scene.) When animation strains to mimic overpopulated live-action films, it loses sight of its own magical ability to envision wondrous, fanciful things we could not otherwise see.

''Mulan'' has several songs by Matthew Wilder, who comes to Disney after having produced the No Doubt album called ''Tragic Kingdom.'' But the musical sequences have little of the jauntiness that was previously supplied by songwriters like Alan Menken and Elton John. And they are not especially musical; the fluid choreography of vastly better-made films like last year's ''Hercules'' is strikingly absent this time, so images just seem busily piled on while music blares. There's a hit to accompany the closing credits mostly because Stevie Wonder (with the band 98 Degrees) jolts it to life.

MULAN

Directed by Barry Cook and Tony Bancroft; written by Rita Hsiao, Christopher Sanders, Philip Lazebnik, Raymond Singer and Eugenia Bostwick-Singer, based on a story by Robert D. San Souci; edited by Michael Kelly; musical score by Jerry Goldsmith, with songs by Matthew Wilder and lyrics by David Zippel; production designer, Hans Bacher; produced by Pam Coats; released by Walt Disney Pictures. Running time: 86 minutes. This film is rated G.

WITH THE VOICES OF: Ming-Na Wen and Lea Salonga (speaking and singing voices of Mulan), B. D. Wong and Donny Osmond (speaking and singing voices of Shang), Eddie Murphy (Mushu) and Pat Morita (the Emperor).