Mulan 2

Let's get something out of the way... Mulan II is nothing compared to the original. But then again, what Disney direct to DVD sequel is? If you look at this movie for what it really is, you'll notice that it's actually pretty good. Keep in mind it's nothing extraordinary and you can skip this film with a clear conscience, but if you happen to get to watching it for whatever reason you'll probably find the film entertaining and definitely watchable.

The big difference between the first film and this one lies in the direction the development team went for: the original was an ambitious epic about a complex moral dilemma, while the sequel touches on simple black and white issues. Keep in mind that simplicity isn't necessarily a bad thing when done right.

But does simplicity hurt the film? Well, the dialogue is far from witty, the plot is super generic, the character development is a checklist, etc... Yet, does a child care about any of this? After all, direct to DVD sequels are aimed solely at children because a parent doesn't need to be present. No. The simplicity only makes the film more accessible to a younger audience. After all, bite sized lessons and issues are a lot more easy to swallow for a five year old.

To the film's credit, it also gets the essentials right. The plot makes sense, characters are developed, the songs are decent, the pacing works, and most importantly most of the voice cast returns so everything feels right.

Now of course, the film isn't without it's flaws. The biggest issue is this film features way less action than it's predecessor and way less Mulan (she practically disappears in the middle of the film). Mulan's bickering with Shang is also very badly written. Yet, minor complaints.

Overall a decent film. 7/10. It's not a must see and can be left to the children, but if you happen to end up watching the film for whatever reason AND you lower your expectations, you might enjoy it. Well, as long as you're not expecting it to compare to the first one.

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.

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.

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

Disney is one of the kings of exploitation. For every successful (and unsuccessful) franchise film, there comes tons of merchandising, original soundtracks and sing-alongs and *shudder* direct-to-video sequels. Yes, these sequels go direct-to-video because we all know that they're going to be pretty bad, but parents are always looking for cheap ways to entertain their children (telling folk tales doesn't work anymore since no one knows them--another topic that's ripe for academic study, if it hasn't already been pursued) and so Disney somehow manages, by keeping their costs low and targeting their niche market, to keep churning out endless sequels of their hit films.

Mulan has a baby. It goes by the clever name Mulan II. This film, which amazingly contains the voice talent of Ming-Na (in terms of returning talent, that's all you get--ER apparently doesn't cover the bills), contains a cheesy uninspiring message of following your heart. (Even over duty! Oh wait, in the wonderful world of Disney, somehow duty gets accomplished incidentally to following your heart. I like the scary Brothers Grimm better, thank you very much.) Fa Mulan and her general friend/lover/dude are getting married. Stuff happens. More stuff happens. Who cares? Oh yeah, the film is a musical too. Do I remember the songs? Nope. Am I glad that I don't remember them? Yep. The animation was unimpressive, the story was unimpressive, the acting was unimpressive, the exploitation of other cultures by Disney in attempt to capture the almighty dollar? Impressive. It appears as though Disney doesn't really care all that much about their source material as a whole. Chinese history and culture is only so important as it helps Disney make Mulan and its direct-to-video heir to sell to the masses.

So what does this film have going for it? It's not as painful as Little Black Book. But it's close. I watched it on the bus and despite the fact that I wasn't sleepy, I had to the urge to fall asleep just so I could avoid it. If it were night, I would have. I think you can manage to distract kids with this mumbo-jumbo, but honestly, there are far better ways of entertaining your children. 4/10.