Mulan II (2004)

The first movie is always better than the sequel. Everyone who has seen a Disney sequel will tell you that! Moving on! This movie actually didn't come off as a cash-grab on the original film. Mark Moseley does a very good impression of Eddie Murphey's Mushu. Naturally, since he was Mushu's singing voice in the first film. I actually didn't even notice that Eddie Murphey wasn't in this movie until the credits! They should have done a theatrical release! Disney sequels have an infamous reputation for being bad, but this was not one of them. It was a very enjoyable film! It was mostly character development, not a lot of action. I think that's what got on many fans' nerves. It's a "chick-flick". There's a lot of romance, very little action/fighting.

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'm too lazy to explain too much on this:Pro:1. It's more of your favorite characters. Seriously, if you watch this, it means that you like Mulan so much you want more of her content. You have it.Cons:1. The animation is way cheaper. I don't know how, but you can tell. 2. The songs are even worst, from the already bad amount of songs in the original. 3. It's rarely funny, and that's why I really liked the first one - they're funny. 4. Making a likable character a douchebag is a really ballsy move, and it failed here. Shouldn't have made Mushu the bad guy, should've been the under-developed Mongols instead. 5. The themes are far worse. The last one teaches them to believe in themselves and make sacrifices. This one teaches to break your words and be rebellious. There's a fine line between believing in yourself and being rebellious, and this one perfectly crossed it. 6. Voice acting isn't as good. Mulan is drier, Mushu is less comical and excited. 7. The ending, too easy.Never the less, I got what I asked for, that is more of my lovely Mulan, and I have it. I'm quite happy now. Also for the fact that there's no more sequels.

the original Mulan was an excellent animated film.it had an epic quality to the story,and was fun and exciting.this sequel-not so much.i found the story pretty small in scope and fairly lame.there weren't a lot of fun moments in it either.and it drags on.and on.and on.i nodded off a few times but somehow managed to finish the movie.but really,what a disappointment.i guess that shouldn't be surprising given the track record Disney has with releasing excellent theatrical movies and then capitalising on that success with sub par DTV(direct to video sequels)still this is not as bad as many DTV'S that Disney has released.for me Mulan II is a 4/10