Mulan II
Disney management has often been accused of sacrificing the long-term quality of its animated features for the short-term pay-off of direct-to-video sequels to its middling modern successes. But as this soundtrack-sequel to the studio's 1998 quasi-feminist Chinese folk-tale proves, the music of such ventures can often compare favorably with that of the original. This new collection's buoyant "(I Wanna Be) Like Other Girls" is offered up in two versions: A more traditional stage musical take and an antic cover by Atomic Kitten that's pure teeny-bopping Disney Channel fodder. That's Harvey Fierstein lending his gravelly pipes to the equally spry redux of "A Girl Worth Fighting For," while the decidedly more angelic pipes of Kiwi teen soprano phenomHayley Westenragrace the elegant "Here Beside Me" by Joel McNeely and Kate Light. Selections from McNeely's deft, emotionally understated orchestral score flesh out the collection.--Jerry McCulley