Mulan II

File:Mulan2DVD.jpg
***Mulan II*** is a 2004 American direct-to-video Disney animated film directed by Darrell Rooney and Lynne Southerland and is a sequel to the 1998 animated film *Mulan* (originally released in theaters). The entire cast from the first film returned, except for Eddie Murphy (Mushu), Miriam Margolyes (The Matchmaker), Chris Sanders (Little Brother) and Matthew Wilder (Ling's singing voice). Murphy and Margolyes were replaced by Mark Moseley and April Winchell; Little Brother was voiced by Frank Welker, and Gedde Watanabe does his own singing for the sequel. *Mulan II* features Mulan and her new fiancé, General Li Shang 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

A month after the events of the first film, General Shang asks Mulan for her hand in marriage and she happily accepts. Hearing about their engagement, Mushu is thrilled for them until the leader of the ancestors informs him that if Mulan gets married he will lose his job as a guardian dragon and have to leave Mulan and his pedestal, which is his place of honor as a guardian. The ancestors are happy with this because Mulan would be getting married to Shang, and would become a part of his family, which would require her to have his family ancestors and guardians. Wanting to keep his job and his friend, Mushu attempts to tear the couple apart, having noticed that they are not very compatible, while Cri-Kee tries to foil his attempts and keep the couple together. Meanwhile, the Emperor calls upon Mulan and General Shang to escort his three daughters, Princesses Mei, Ting-Ting and Su, across China to be betrothed to three princes so that an alliance can be formed with the kingdom of Qui Gong. If the task is not completed within three days, the alliance will crumble, and the Mongols will destroy China.

Mulan and Shang set out, along with Yao, Ling and Chien-Po, to safely escort the princesses to their new kingdom. Unfortunately, the princesses fall in love with Yao, Ling and Chien-Po, and Mulan, who has long believed arranged marriages are wrong, decides to go against her orders and, despite Shang's wishes, stop the joining of the kingdoms. One night, Chien-Po, Ling and Yao take the princesses out to a village and declare their love for them. Meanwhile, Mushu tricks Shang into thinking Mulan is taking advantage of him. While traveling through bandit country Mushu is pressured by Cri-Kee to confess to Mulan what he had done. Although Mulan is angered by what Mushu tried to do, at the same time, she is enlightened about the news, and she attempts to reconcile with Shang, only to be attacked by Mongols moments later. While saving the princesses, the bridge Mulan and Shang are standing on breaks, leaving the two dangling off by a loose rope. Realizing that the rope can only support the weight of one person, Shang sacrifices his life to save Mulan and allows himself to fall into the river below.

Devastated by Shang's apparent death, Mulan continues on the trip alone to Qui Gong. Not wanting the princesses to be forced into a loveless marriage, she offers herself to marry one of the ruler's sons. Shang, who actually survived the fall, soon hears about the news and rushes to stop the marriage, but the ruler denies it. Mushu decides to help by pretending to be the Great Golden Dragon of Unity, and forces the ruler to stop the marriage. Still under the guise of the Great Golden Dragon, Mushu marries Mulan and Shang and releases the princesses from their vows. Some time later, Shang combines the family temples, meaning that Mushu gets to keep his job, much to the ancestor's dismay. In his happiness, Mushu accidentally reveals himself to Shang, even though Mulan had already told Shang about him.

## Cast

* Ming-Na Wen as Fa Mulan
* Mark Moseley as Mushu
* BD Wong as General Li Shang
* Lucy Liu as Princess Mei
* Harvey Fierstein as Yao
* Sandra Oh as Princess Ting-Ting
* Gedde Watanabe as Ling
* Lauren Tom as Princess 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
* Frank Welker as Cri-Kee/Little Brother
* Soon-Tek Oh as Fa Zhou
* April Winchell as The Matchmaker
* Mary Gibbs as Sha-Ron (uncredited)
* Lea Salonga as Mulan (singing voice)
* Judy Kuhn as Princess Ting-Ting (singing voice)
* Beth Blankenship as Princess Mei (singing voice)
* Mandy Gonzalez as Princess Su (singing voice)
* Keone Young as Lord Qin

**Additional voices**

* Jeff Bennett
* Dave Fennoy
* Fred Tatasciore
* Rob Paulsen
* Corey Burton
* Tress MacNeille
* Sherry Lynn
* Andrew Kishino
* Steve Blum
* Mickie McGowan
* Kevin Michael Richardson
* Jan Rabson
* Jess Harnell

## Soundtrack

 Released
 Length
 Label
 Producer
Graham Stack
Brett Swain

 Source
 Allmusic

The soundtrack contains songs from the film performed by various artists, as well as portions of the film's score composed by Joel McNeely. It was released on January 25, 2005 by Walt Disney Records.

1. "Lesson Number One" – Lea Salonga and Chorus
2. "Main Title" (Score)
3. "Like Other Girls" – Judy Kuhn, Beth Blankenship, and Mandy Gonzalez
4. "A Girl Worth Fighting For (Redux)" – Gedde Watanabe, Jerry Tondo, and Harvey Fierstein
5. "Here Beside Me" – Hayley Westenra
6. "(I Wanna Be) Like Other Girls" – Atomic Kitten
7. "The Journey Begins" (Score)
8. "In Love and in Trouble" (Score)
9. "The Attack" (Score)
10. "Shang Lives!" (Score)
11. "Here Beside Me (Instrumental)"

## Reception

### Critical response

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, gave the film a rating of 0% based on reviews from 5 critics, with an average score of 3.9/10.[2]