Mulan 2

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

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!

When the story doesn't focus on Mushu trying to sabotage the love between Mulan and Shang in order to keep his status, it's good.

The love story between the three princesses, Yao, Ling, Chien Po is the best part of the movie for me and what brings me back to the film every once in a blue moon. The "Like Other Girls" song is such a classic to me, but maybe it's because I grew up with it.

As far as sequels go, no, Mulan 2 isn't up to par with the first movie, but it's a decent sequel among the many terrible ones they've created.

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.