The cricket that Mulan’s grandmother gives her is named Cri-Kee.
Grandmother Fa presents Cri-Kee to Mulan as a supposedly lucky cricket before Mulan visits the matchmaker. The tiny insect becomes one of the film’s recurring comic characters and later travels with Mulan and Mushu during her military adventure.
Cri-Kee is not merely a decorative pet. His actions contribute to the matchmaker sequence, and he eventually helps Mushu protect Mulan. Although Cri-Kee admits that he is not actually a lucky cricket, his persistence and accidental interventions repeatedly help the heroes. By the climax, Mushu interprets those actions as evidence that Cri-Kee is lucky after all.
The character was an original creation for Disney’s film rather than a major figure from the traditional Ballad of Mulan. Veteran story artist Joe Grant advocated for keeping the cricket in the movie, even while some filmmakers questioned whether he was necessary to the plot. Frank Welker provided Cri-Kee’s vocal effects.