Disney’s Mulan opened on this day 25 years ago. Although not a hit on the blockbuster level that the Mouse House had gotten used to in the 90s, it was still a decent box office success, earning $120 million stateside (which was…a lot more in 1998 than it is now. Sorry, Lightyear, but it’s true). Reviews were also solid, although many critics spent all of their write-ups gushing about how “revolutionary” it was that Mulan didn’t marry a prince at the end of a movie (ironically, she would later become a prominent member of Disney’s “Princess” line-up despite not, you know, being a princess), and to hear them talk, you would think that the film singlehandedly invented the concept of “girl power” overnight. But I digress. The point is, people really liked Mulan, and most importantly, it brought the world “I’ll Make a Man Out of You”–which is one of the greatest Disney songs of all time. So that alone is a reason to celebrate.

Of course, being a Disney animated feature, the movie had a pretty big promotional campaign, including…damn it, you’ve all heard about the fucking sauce, so why am I telling you about it?

Curse you, Rick & Morty, for stealing my OT thunder! Yes, yes, this marks the first–and probably only time–that a cartoon series got a fast food chain to bring a discontinued item back. Also, as far as I am aware, this might be the only time McDonald’s had a unique dipping sauce for a movie tie-in (if I am wrong about this, please tag me in a comment. I love learning about this stuff!).

Like many people, I didn’t actually try the sauce when it was new (also, how come no one talks about the silly Chinese takeout-style boxes the McNuggets were served in for this?). Instead I had it during its 2018 relaunch. Some claimed it tasted different than before and that McDonald’s wasn’t using the same recipe. Others were like “you last had this sauce twenty years ago, how the fuck would you be able to tell?” In any case, I’m glad I got to have the Mulan dipping sauce (and am even more happy I didn’t get stabbed while getting it–seriously, fellow humans, it was dipping sauce! Calm the fuck down!).

But that wasn’t the only way McDonald’s helped sell the release of Mulan. There was also a series of Happy Meal toys that Rick & Morty hasn’t referenced (so far). Eight action figures were available, and while I didn’t have the whole set (someday, eBay, someday), the ones I got were pretty great. The Mulan figure especially was ridiculously good, not only coming with removable battle armor, but also being fully poseable. And if you got your hands on Khan the horse, she could ride him!

Have a great day, y’all!