Futuramais no stranger to parodies, but the animated sci-fi sitcom avoided its usual wait in 2000 before turning its attention to spoofing a Disney movie that had only been released a couple of years earlier. Almostevery animated Disney moviehas permeated popluar culture, so it’s no surprise thatFuturamais just one of many shows to pay homage to the entries from the legendary franchise. Some of thebestFuturamaepisodesare parodies, but the installment in question did things a little differently.
Although the show’s parodies are often reserved for theFuturamaanthology episodes, this isn’t always the case.Futuramatakes pride in incorporating elements from various propertiesinto its own canon, even if it can be a little on-the-nose at times. However, the Matt Groening show does have the ability to subtly acknowledge famous movies and TV shows without attracting too much attention to the source material. One such example exists in the form of an episode from 2000.
Futurama Season 3, Episode 2, “War Is The H-Word,” Has The Same Plot As 1998’s Mulan
Turanga Leela and Fa Mulan both disguise themselves as men so they can join the fight
Disney’sMulantells the tale of a female character who masquerades as a male soldier so she can fight the Huns, as women were not permitted to join the battle in the Ancient Chinese setting. AlthoughFuturamaseason 3, episode 2,“War is the H-Word,” doesn’t focus entirely on Leela’s plot, her story follows an almost identical arc to that ofMulan’s title character. It’s buried pretty well, but the homage is certainly there.
Instead of Mulan being unable to maintain her composure due to being so attracted to Li Shang - her superior officer - it is Zapp Brannigan inFuturamawho can’t seem to keep his eyes off his fraudulent new recruit.
Certain elements of “War is the H-Word” are borrowed directly fromMulan, such as both Fa Mulan and Leela changing their respective names to Ping, and the slightly less inconspicuous, Lee Lemon. Interestingly, instead of Mulan being unable to maintain her composure due to being so attracted to Li Shang - her superior officer - it is Zapp Brannigan inFuturamawho can’t seem to keep his eyes off his fraudulent new recruit, hilariously unaware it’s just Leela in disguise. Leela and Brannigan also don’t end up together, unlike theirMulancounterparts.
“War Is The H-Word” Is A Tougher To Spot Than Previous Futurama Parodies
Futurama sets its Mulan parody episode against a vastly different sci-fi backdrop
WheneverFuturamachooses a movie or TV show to parody, it quite often also belongs in the sci-fi category. BecauseFuturamaboasts every trope of the genre already, the two stories tend to blend seamlessly.Mulan’s story threads itself well into Leela’s “War is the H-Word” arc, but becausethe story has been removed from its original setting in Ancient Chinaand thrust into the 31st century,Futurama’s reworking of the Disney narrative make it much more difficult to spot.
Futurama
Cast
Futurama is an animated science fiction series that follows Philip J. Fry, a pizza delivery boy from late-20th-century New York City. He is accidentally cryogenically frozen for a thousand years and becomes an employee at Planet Express, a delivery service in the retro-futuristic 31st century.
