A 24-year-old Futurama episode silently parodied a $304 million Disney film from just 2 years earlier

Futurama is no stranger to parodies, but the animated sci-fi comedy avoided its usual standby in 2000 before turning its attention to spoofing a Disney film that had been released just a few years earlier. Almost all of Disney’s animated films have permeated popular culture, so it’s no surprise that Futurama is just one of many shows that pay homage to entries in the legendary franchise. Some of the best Futurama the episodes are parodies, but the episode in question did things a little differently.

Although the show’s parodies are often reserved for the Futurama anthology episodes, this is not always the case. Futurama is proud to incorporate elements of diverse properties in its own canon, even if it can sometimes be a bit over the top. However, Matt Groening’s show has the ability to subtly acknowledge famous films and TV shows without drawing too much attention to the source material. An 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 disguise themselves as men so they can join the fight

from Disney Mulan tells the story of a female character who disguises herself as a soldier in order to fight against the Huns, as women were not allowed to participate in battle in the Ancient Chinese setting. Although Futurama season 3, episode 2, ‘War is the H-Word’ doesn’t focus entirely on Leela’s plotHis story follows an almost identical arc to that of Mulantitle character. It is very well buried, but the tribute is certainly there.

Certain elements of “War is the H-Word” are borrowed directly from Mulanlike Fa Mulan and Leela changing their respective names to Ping, and the slightly less discreet Lee Lemon. Interestingly, instead of Mulan being unable to maintain her composure due to being so attracted to Li Shang – her superior officer – it’s Zapp Brannigan in Futurama who can’t seem to take her eyes off her fraudulent new recruit, hilariously unaware that it’s just Leela in disguise. Leela and Brannigan also don’t end up together, unlike their Mulan homologues.

‘War Is The H-Word’ Is Harder to Spot Than Previous Futurama Parodies

Futurama puts its Mulan parody episode in a very different sci-fi setting

At any time Futurama chooses a movie or TV show to parody, it often also falls into the science fiction category. Why Futurama already has all the tropes of the genre, the two stories tend to blend together perfectly. MulanThe story fits well into Leela’s “War is the H-Word” arc, but because the story was removed from its original setting in Ancient China and released in the 31st century, FuturamaDisney’s reworking of the narrative makes it much harder to detect.