Animation and design thumb|The animation crew was inspired by ancient Chinese art for the aesthetics of the movie To achieve a harmonious visual look, producer designer Hans Bacher and art director Ric Sluiter, along with Robert Walker and Head of Backgrounds Robert Stanton collaborated to establish a proper chronological location for the film in Chinese history. Since there was no general consensus on the time of Mulan's existence, they based the visual design on the Ming and Qing dynasties. An important element of Bacher's design was to turn the art style closer to Chinese painting, with watercolor and simpler design, as opposed to the details of The Lion King and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Bacher further studied more than thirty-five film directors ranging from the silent era German Expressionism, British and American epics of the 1950s and 60s, and the Spaghetti Westerns for inspiration for composition, lighting, and staging that would establish settings that enhanced the characters. Additional inspiration was found in the earlier Disney animated films such as Bambi, Pinocchio and Dumbo to establish a sense of staging.
Animation and de,sign thumb|The animation crew was, inspired by ancient Chinese art for the aesthetics of the movie To achieve a harmonious visual look, producer designer Hans Bacher and art director Ric Sluiter, along with Robert Walker and Head of Backgrounds Robert Stanton collaborated to establish a proper chronological location for the film in Chinese history. Since there was no general consensus on the time of Mulan's existence they based the visual design on the Ming and Qing dynasties. An important element of Bacher's design was to turn the art style closer to Chinese painting, with watercolor and simpler design, as opposed to the details of The Lion King and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Bacher furt.her studied more than thirty-five film directors ranging from the silent era ?German Expressionism, British and American epics of the 1950s and 60s, and the Spaghetti Westerns for? inspiration for composition, lighting, and staging that would establish settings that enhanced the characters. Additional inspiration was found in the earlier Disney animated films such as Bambi Pinocchio and Dumbo to establish a sense of staging.