Written in Stone

Stephen Schwartz was originally signed to the Mulan project as a lyricist and composer. He completed two songs: "China Doll" and "Written in Stone" [5] Partway into the project, Dreamworks also hired Schwartz to compose music for The Prince of Egypt. Disney gave Schwartz an ultimatum to work exclusively on Mulan;[6] he refused and left the project. As a result, Disney removed both "China Doll" and "Written in Stone" from the film.

Scwartz was replaced by Matthew Wilder and David Zippel.[7] [5] "Written in Stone" was essentially replaced by "Reflection",[8] [9] While Written In Stone "focused more on the way Mulan’s path in life was already laid out for her", Reflection would take on a more introspective tone.[5]

Lea Salonga, who played the singing voice of Mulan, auditioned for the film with “Written in Stone”.[10] She also recorded a demo of the song.[11] "Written in Stone" plays when Mulan "gets into soldier's clothing and rides her horse off to join the army".[12] Salonga performed the piece at Moore Theatre for a one night only concert in 2012.[13]

The stage musical Mulan Jr. reinstated "Written in Stone"[14][15] As the opening number it "confirms the strict social environment that exists in China" and that "traditions have dictated Chinese behavior for centuries".[16] This sets up the central conflict of the musical whereby Mulan aims to reject her 'Written In Stone" traditions and write her own destiny with the approval of her ancestors.[16] A significant theme of the song is honor of one's family, ancestors, and country, which is reinforced throughout "Written in Stone", Pt. 1, Pt. 2, Pt. 3 and its three reprises.[16]

Schwartz described 'Written In Stone" as "one of my favorite songs I have ever written for an animated feature",[8] and noted that while he was disappointed to leave the project, he was "very happy with the songs [he] had written for the film thus far".[17]