Mulán 2

Mulan was personally one of my all time favourite Disney movies and movies in general and so when the moment i saw this movie around I was puzzled as to why I have not heard of it, then I realized ... It was direct to DVD. I gave this movie a chance though despite my opinion on some of the other Disney straight to video sequels and boy am I glad I did as this movie is a ball to watch. The movie's plot is simple but perfectly functioning it is the story about Shang and Mulan being engaged to marry but before the wedding having to transport three princesses to another country for an arranged marriage that will end the war, all the time Mushu trying to destroy Mulan's wedding and the three princesses falling in love with three warriors from the first film. The movies scenery and animation are ace almost living up to the ridiculously high bar of the first. Now while the characters are flat and generic, with only the characters from the first standing out, they are funny and provide some cool character arcs. The direction lends this picture an amazing sense of pace despite the movie curiously lacking laid out acts. It makes for some funny jokes cute animation and fast paced even with a generic and schmaltzy plot. So overall a fun movie worth checking out in hd!

I watched Mulan II and i will have to say that it was abit disappointing. Mulan is back,and is engaged to be married to her fiancé,General Shang. When all of a sudden,they are given a mission to escort three Chinese princesses abroad. The music is great,but the animation was weak and at times went overboard with the details. The voice cast were'not as good as the first movie with Eddie Murphy out of the picture as Mushu and the other originals as well. But,i loved the music,the exceptional characters and how the story went. It wasn't as dramatic as the first but there was some parts that truly reminded me of the first. Overall,it's not a bad sequel...and i rate it a good ol' 6 out of 10.

I didn't think Mulan II was awful and I certainly didn't hate it. I found the material to be pretty sophisticated for a Disney movie, particularly for a sequel. The relationship issues were were complex and thoughtful, and I agree with a previous comment that the movie does a good job of building and expanding on what we saw in the first movie. I enjoyed the addition of the the three daughters as characters as well and the return of Ling, Yao, and Chien Po. Overall I thought the movie was charming, entertaining, and it made me grin. There were also some very dramatic scenes in the movie that I thought were just outstanding and ground-breaking for a Disney animated feature.

Having said that, I also have to say that I was disappointed that the feel of the movie did not match the first. In fact it was completely different, and I found many of the characters to be extremely out of character, particularly Shang and Mulan. They just did not seem like themselves, based on our understanding of who they are from the original film. There are moments in which the way they react to events is completely over the top (for example, Shang's anger when he thinks Mulan is gossiping about him to the princesses). His facial expressions even become exaggerated in cartoon fashion. Basically, the movie did not have the serene, serious, yet beautiful feeling of the first. Instead it was like the movie was completely thrown to a group of writers and directors who were given semblances of who the characters are and then ran off with it. Shang, Mulan, and Ling acted so off sometimes that it seemed like their voice actors changed. I was surprised that B.D. Wong, Ming-Na, and Gedde Watanabe were still doing their parts, despite how familiar I am with their voices.

Mulan II is enjoyable, but it's nothing like the first. I think I could best describe it as watching a Mulan fan fiction come to life.... entertaining but with a few ummms in there.

Mulan 2 picks up a month after part 1 closes, with Mulan and General Shang receiving special orders to escort 3 princesses to be wed and thus create a joined alliance that protects China.

Mulan, the hero of China, and General Shang's love is threatened when Mushu, Mulan's guardian immaturely tries to break them up to save his Guardianship pedestal. The story entreats us with a theme of following your heart, which the princesses find is to be like ordinary girls, and not lose their lives even if to save the kingdom.

I really enjoyed Mulan 1, the soundtrack is beautiful, and though I was worried Mulan 2 would not be as good a story, with close attention to detail due to a few changes to cast and so forth, I was pleasantly surprised. Mulan 2 treats us to a sequel that is both touching, fun, and endearing. I didn't find the soundtrack themes as good as part 1, but was enjoyable, and sequence music was fine as well. The animation is very good, and the story has good pacing, and care of plot. A movie to be enjoyed by parents and kids alike.

8/10

Mulan was one of Disney's greatest films ever made with beautiful animation, excellent voice acting, intense action, and an entertaining story. So, when some of the Disney sequels came out at the time (Return of Jafar, Cinderella II, and Hunchback of Notre Dame II), I waited so desperately to see a sequel that would capture the magic of the original.

Sadly, my expectations were quite low when after the first 10-15 minutes of this film since it failed to be the same positive levels that made the original such a masterpiece and the characteristic was one of the few main problems of this sequel. I'll show you by contrasting the characteristic of the original and this sequel.

In the original, Mulan was a conflicted woman who was doing what is right for his family by protecting his father from getting himself killed. In this sequel, Mulan's personality is to now be a staunch feminist as she and Shang try to love each other. In the original, Mushu was a well-intentioned but slightly misguided sidekick who gave me some laughs with his comedic moments throughout the film. In this sequel, he's a selfish villain who attempts to break up the relationship between Mulan and Shang. In the original, Mulan's army buddies were hilarious and were quite enjoyable characters. In this sequel, they are now being one-dimensional characters repeating the same characteristic over and over again.

With the characteristic out of the way, there are a few good things about this movie. The voice acting is very terrific and did their best with the material they've been given and the animation, while below the original's standards, is obviously quite good and is the best animation I've seen in a Disney direct-to-video sequel this far.

Sadly, those two positive aspects got suffered by it's predictable story (with some overused clichés from other new direct-to-video sequels) and it's uninspiring message about "Following your heart" which makes it a little less entertaining for children and their adults.

Although, not a horrible sequel (unlike Cinderella 2, which was by far the worst direct-to-video sequel I have ever seen), Mulan II lacks the heart of the original and has a uninspiring message that just doesn't measure up. I'm sure the kids will enjoy it, but in terms of direct-to-video sequels, the adults might have a hard time remembering this.

Rating: 5.6/10