Mulan II is a 2004 American direct-to-video Disney animated film directed by Darrell Rooney and Lynne Southerland is a sequel to the 1998 animated film Mulan. The entire cast from the first film returned, except for Eddie Murphy (Mushu), Miriam Margolyes (The Matchmaker), Chris Sanders (Little Brother), James Hong (Chi-Fu), and Matthew Wilder (Ling's singing voice). Murphy and Margolyes were replaced by Mark Moseley and April Winchell, respectively, and Gedde Watanabe does his own singing for the sequel.
The animation was co-produced by Walt Disney Animation (Japan), Inc.; SD Entertaiment, Inc.; Wang Film Productions Co., Ltd – Cuckoos Nest Studio; T2 Studio; Jade Animation Company Ltd.; and Gullwing Co., Ltd.
Summary[]
Mulan and her new fiancé, General Li Shang, are on a special mission: escorting the Emperor's three daughters across the country to meet their soon-to-be fiancés. The film deals with arranged marriages, loyalty, relationships, making choices, trust, and finding true love.
Plot[]
The sequel takes place approximately one month after the events of the first film. There is much to celebrate in China, as Shan Yu and the evil Huns are long gone, and the Middle Kingdom is at peace. Fa Mulan is shown to be idolized by many of the local children, especially young girls, as a result of her heroic deeds.
One day, Li Shang, who has been promoted to general in between the films, proposes to Mulan, who happily accepts. When Mushu learns of the engagement, he is pleased at first. However, the First Ancestor of the Fa family informs Mushu that if Mulan marries Shang, Mulan will become a part of Shang's Family, thus his family's ancestors and guardians would take over and Mushu will no longer be a guardian of the Fa family. Hearing this, Mushu becomes worried about losing his job, especially when the ancestors show their happiness at Mushu returning to his gong-ringing duties. Mushu later decides to try to break the couple up, though his cricket friend Cri-Kee is against this.
Mulan and Shang are celebrating their engagement at the home of the Fa family with everyone in China when the couple is summoned by the Emperor, who reveals that the Mongols are threatening China and he plans to form an alliance with the neighboring kingdom of Qui Gong to help fend them off. To solidify the alliance, he asks Mulan and Shang to escort his three daughters: Princesses Mei, Ting-Ting, and Su, to Qui Gong, where they will be married to the three sons of Lord Qin, the ruler of Qui Gong. If Mulan and Shang do not complete the mission in three days, the alliance will crumble and the Mongols will destroy China.
Mulan and Shang set off, bringing along their soldier friends Yao, Ling, and Chien Po. It is revealed that despite the trio's involvement in the rescue of China, they are unable to find wives of their own since the Matchmaker had thrown them out. During the trip to Qui Gong, Mushu tries to cause problems between Mulan and Shang, who he finds out have different views on various things such as their thoughts on the princesses' arranged marriage, but Mushu's attempts all backfire. However, his dismay from his failed ideas also causes Mushu to accidentally destroy the carriage the princesses are riding in, forcing them to continue on foot. He takes this as a success in his plan to break up Mulan and Shang.
Meanwhile, the princesses each fall in love with Yao, Ling, and Chien Po, and the feelings are mutual among the soldier trio. The following night, Mushu continues to try breaking Mulan and Shang up. He is successful in tricking Shang into thinking that Mulan is manipulating him and this leads to utter friction between the two. Eventually, the trio takes the princesses to a nearby village where they eventually profess their love, much to Mulan’s initial disbelief that turns into delight. She came to the village to confront the three couples after she found out about them from Mushu, but she becomes supportive of the couples. Unfortunately for everyone, Shang arrives and reprimands the trio for disregarding their duties, having discovered a letter Mei was writing to the Emperor in the princesses' tent while Shang was looking for the group earlier that night. He and Mulan erupt into a heated argument regarding official duty, loyalty, love and heart: ultimately, they break up after feeling as though they are too different for each other. Mushu, who woke up Shang from his sleep at the camp despite Cri-Kee's attempts to stop Mushu from making his plan to break up the couple work, is delighted that his plan finally became a success, only for Cri-Kee to be disappointed by his selfishness in doing so.
During the group's travel through a bandit country, Yao, Ling and Chien Po have a chance alone with the princesses, who the trio subtly admits their true feelings to, which they are happy to hear. This makes Shang think about his and Mulan's breakup. While being alone with her, Mushu sees that her breakup with Shang has only made her miserable, so he eventually confesses about his actions out of guilt (at the insistence of Cri-Kee), causing her to lose her trust in him for his family guardian job yet motivating her to fix the misunderstanding with Shang. But before she can do that, the group is attacked by bandits seconds later, two of whom try to kidnap Mei. Though successful in rescuing her, Shang and Mulan are left dangling precariously from a wooden bridge over a canyon after one bandit capsized it. Since the bridge can’t sustain their combined weight, Shang lets go to save Mulan and falls into the canyon, much to her bereavement.
At sunrise the next morning, Mulan objects to the princesses going through their arranged marriage and travels alone to Qui Gong, where she lies to Lord Qin that the princesses have been killed at the canyon and offers herself in their place as a bride. Qin agrees and arranges for her to marry his eldest son, Prince Jeeki. However, Shang has survived and meets up with the three couples before he tells them that Mulan was right about her views on love when it comes to marriage. Shang heads off to Qui Gong, where he interrupts the wedding ceremony into revealing himself to be alive and states his intention to marry Mulan on the spot out of his love for her. Angered at this along with the interruption on the wedding, Lord Qin orders Shang to be seized when Mushu, posing as the Golden Dragon of Unity, suddenly interrupts to fix the whole situation. He forces Lord Qin to let Mulan and Shang marry before he unofficially officiates the ceremony and declares the princesses to be released from their vow, allowing them to marry Yao, Ling and Chien-Po, who came to Qui Gong with the princesses.
Sometime later, back at the Fa family home where Mulan and Shang are having a wedding reception following their official marriage there, Cri-Kee gives his support to Mushu while he is getting ready to return to being a gong ringer. The ancestors prepare some chores for him as payback for constantly demanding them during the past month. Just then, Shang arrives at the Fa family temple with Mulan and combines their family temples, shocking the ancestors and allowing Mushu to keep his job as family guardian. In his joy, he accidentally reveals himself to Mulan and Shang, who comments on Mushu's small stature. However, having already forgiven Mushu for everything he did to the couple, Mulan reveals that she had told Shang everything about Mushu like the misunderstanding he caused. Mulan and Shang live happily ever after as Mushu demands the dismayed ancestors to prepare some special pampering for him.
Cast[]
- Ming-Na Wen as Mulan
- B.D. Wong as Li Shang
- Mark Moseley as Mushu
- Lucy Liu as Mei
- Harvey Fierstein as Yao
- Sandra Oh as Ting-Ting
- Gedde Watanabe as Ling
- Lauren Tom as Su
- Jerry Tondo as Chien Po
- Pat Morita as The Emperor of China
- George Takei as First Ancestor Fa
- June Foray as Grandmother Fa
- Freda Foh Shen as Fa Li
- Soon-Tek Oh as Fa Zhou
- Frank Welker as Cri-Kee
Additional Voices[]
- Jeff Bennett
- Jillian Henry as Sha-Ron
- Michelle Kwan as Shopkeeper
- Jack Angel
- John Cygan
- Debi Derryberry
- Bill Farmer
- Teresa Ganzel
- Mickie McGowan
- Paul Pape
- Jan Rabson
- Judy Schacher
- Mindy Sterling
- Kari Wahlgren
- Cathy Cavadini
- Abby Craden
- Elizabeth Daily
- Terri Douglas
- Sandy Fox
- Jennifer Hale
- Mona Marshall
- D.A. Nichols
- Paige Pollack
- Lynwood Robinson
- Kath Soucie
- Abbey Thickson
- Jim Ward
- Tress MacNeille
- Liliana Mumy
- Rob Paulsen as Prince Jeeki
- Kevin Michael Richardson
- Brian Tochi
- April Winchell as The Matchmaker
- Keone Young as Lord Qin
Loop Group[]
- Cam Clarke
- David Cowgill
- Rachel Crane
- Lanai Chapman
- Elisa Gabrielli
- Jackie Gonneau
- Angela Haney
- Wendy Hoffman
- Karen Huie
- Art Kimbro
- Mark Robert Myers
- Melissa Osser
- Zoe Poll
- Grace Rolek
- Diana Sherman
- André Sogliuzzo
Uncredited[]
- Lea Salonga as Mulan (singing voice)
- Judy Kuhn as Ting-Ting (singing voice)
Reception[]
The film was panned by film critics. It holds 0% on review aggregator, Rotten Tomatoes. According to Scott Gwin of CinemaBlend, "Mulan II is a direct-to-DVD disgrace that takes everything excellent about its predecessor film, rips it to shreds, and uses it for rat cage lining." Other critics called it trivial or falling short of realistically representing China.
Original concept[]
Barry Cook, the director of the first film, was asked to write a treatment for the sequel. He turned in a one-page draft that featured Mulan and Shang about to be married when the emperor sends them on a mission up North. The finale would have featured Mulan and her allies, which included her ghost ancestors, taking on Shan-Yu and his ghost army.[1]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The Chinese-Canadian author Xiran Jay Zhao, using context clues from Mulan II, was able to determine that both that film and Mulan (which ended one month before in the story) take place in the year 497.[2]
References[]
- ↑ Director Barry Cook remembers the Peoples of Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida at Animated Views
- ↑ See Zhao's short for more information.
