Comic Relief in a Little Dragon

One of my favorite forms of comedy is comic relief.  I think it has something to do with the fact that in a serious moment with a lot of built up tension there is a natural inhibition to want to break the tension and comedy is a great way of achieving that.  Disney has seemed to master this relief technique through their use of comic relief stock characters that are usually the protagonist's sidekick. Mushu the dragon from Mulan, Olaf from Frozen, and Gus and Jaq from Cinderella are just a few of the many examples of comic relief characters from animated Disney movies.  I think the reason Disney uses the comic relief character so regularly is because in children's movies there needs to be alleviation of dense storylines in order to keep children engaged while at the same time offering a laugh for adults as well. 

When I was little I remember watching Mulan constantly, but unlike most little girls who loved the beautiful Chinese princess, my favorite character was Mushu.  He never ceased to make me laugh no matter how many times I watched the movie.  His sassy, quick wit in combination with his physical humor is what makes him the most memorable character to me.  A great example of Mushu's comedy is when Mulan and the rest of her Chinese infantry are under an attack by the Huns.  Mulan narrowly escapes by causing an avalanche which prevents the Hun from continuing their attack, but it puts her and her gang at risk of getting caught in the avalanche as well.  In the link above Mushu is rushing around on top of the falling snow in search of Mulan and he mistakenly pulls up a Hun out of the snow and realizing his mistake shoves him back under the snow. As a child it didn't phase me that Mushu sends a Hun to his death by shoving him back down into the snow after he realizes his mistake because of the comic incongruity of searching for Mulan, but instead finding the opposite, a Hun.  The avalanche scene continues to be funny because Mushu makes a snarky comment after he happens to save the lucky cricket who he doesn't always get along with which alleviates the tension created by the intense scene.  
These two examples illustrate different parts of the same concept of comic relief.  The first illustrates it by showing that something unexpected and wrong happened and then is corrected.  It results in someone dying (specifically the Hun), but because it is done comically there is no sadness or remorse felt by the audience.  Disney makes sure the humor of the accident occurring is in the forefront of our mind, not the death of the Hun soldier.  This deflection of the thought of death through humor is a type of euphemistic tactic so children don't have to think about the fact people are dying.  The second example is the actual tension breaker which takes the viewer away from the situation at hand through a comic interlude.  The situation is very dire, but Mushu very casually decides it's appropriate to make a joke about the fact that the cricket is lucky for being found and saved by him.  This type of comic relief that takes the viewer out of the given situation gives viewers a break from the treachery and enables them to laugh even though bad things are still occurring in the scene around them.  
For me the character of Mushu is so great because he brings so much to the storyline and serves as a huge importance in the movie by making people laugh even during tragic scenes.  I think comedy helps people cope with pain even when they don't realize it.  Comic relief is used in movies time and time again because it is proven to evoke feelings of catharsis which is satisfying to the audience.  Do you think comic relief is necessary?  Do all movies need it in order to be successful?