Mulan II
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| Mulan II | |
|---|---|
 DVD Case |
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| Directed by | Darrell Rooney Lynne Southerland |
| Produced by | Jennifer Blohm |
| Written by | Michael Lucker Chris Parker Roger S.H. Schulman |
| Starring | Ming-Na B.D. Wong Mark Moseley Lucy Liu Harvey Fierstein Sandra Oh Gedde Watanabe Lauren Tom Jerry Tondo Pat Morita George Takei June Foray Freda Foh Shen Soon-Tek Oh Frank Welker Jillian Henry |
| Music by | Joel McNeely |
| Editing by | Pam Ziegenhagen |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Home Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | November 3, 2004 (Italy, Norway) February 1, 2005 (USA) |
| Running time | 79 minutes |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | Mulan (1998) |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
Mulan II is a Disney direct-to-video animated feature released in 2004 and a sequel to the 1998 animated film Mulan. It was directed by Darrell Rooney and Lynne Southerland, and features Mulan, and her new fiancé, General 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.
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[edit] Plot
As the movie begins, General Shang asks Mulan for her hand in marriage, which she 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 her and his pedestal, his place of honor as a guardian. The reason for this is because Mulan would be getting married to Shang, thus she becomes a part of his family which requires her to have his family ancestors and guardians. Wanting to keep his job and his friend, Mushu attempts to tear the couple apart (especially for selfish reasons).
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 Chien-Po, Ling and Yao (from the first film), to safely escort the princesses to their new kingdom. However, due to Mushu's interferences and the fact that the three princesses are upset by their arranged marriage and actually love Chien-Po, Ling, and Yao, Mulan decides to go against her orders and, despite Shang's wishes, stop the joining of kingdoms. One night, Chien-Po, Ling and Yao take the princesses out to a town where they impressed the girls with their antics. Meanwhile, Mushu tricks Shang into thinking Mulan is taking advantage of him.
They then go through bandit country. Mushu confesses to Mulan on what he had done. Enlightened about the news (yet extremely peeved at Mushu), Mulan tries to talk to Shang when bandits attack. While saving the three princesses, the bridge they're on breaks, and General Shang and Mulan are left dangling off a broken bridge. Since the rope can only support the weight of one person, Shang sacrifices his life to save Mulan and lets go of her hand, falling into the river. Mulan then continues alone to Qui Gong. Not wanting the princesses to be forced into marriage, and because Shang is dead, she offers herself to marry one of the ruler's sons. Shang, who actually survived the fall, finds out about it and tries to stop her. Mushu decides to help by pretending to be the Great Golden Dragon of Unity, who forces the ruler to stop the marriage. Mulan and Shang get married and the princesses are released from their vows.
At the end, Shang combines the family temples. Mushu gets to keep his job, and in his happiness, Mushu accidentally reveals himself to Shang, even though Mulan already told Shang about Mushu.
NOTE: The problem of saving China through uniting the two kingdoms is never fully resolved, however since Mushu (when pretending to be the Great Golden Dragon of Unity) tells the king of Qui Gong that the princesses can marry whomever they choose, it's possible that the alliance was kept even though they didn't marry (since the king would not want to go against the orders of a deity).
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role(s) |
|---|---|
| Ming-Na | Fa Mulan |
| Mark Moseley | Mushu |
| B.D. Wong | General Li Shang |
| Lucy Liu | Princess Mei |
| Harvey Fierstein | Yao |
| Sandra Oh | Princess Ting-Ting |
| Gedde Watanabe | Ling |
| Lauren Tom | Princess Su |
| Jerry Tondo | Chien-Po |
| Pat Morita | The Emperor of China |
| George Takei | First Ancestor Fa |
| June Foray | Grandmother Fa |
| Freda Foh Shen | Fa Li |
| Frank Welker | Cri-Kee\Little Brother |
| Soon-Tek Oh | Fa Zhou |
| April Winchell | The Matchmaker |
| Lea Salonga | Mulan (singing voice) |
| Judy Kuhn | Princess Ting-Ting (singing voice) |
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, respectively and Gedde Watanabe does his own singing for the sequel. Little Brother's voice talent is Frank Welker , instead of Chris.
[edit] Soundtrack
[edit] External links
- Mulan II at the Big Cartoon DataBase
- Mulan II at the Internet Movie Database
| Mulan | |
|---|---|
| Films | Mulan | Mulan II |
| Characters | Fa Mulan | Mushu | Li Shang | Shan Yu |
| Songs | "I'll Make a Man Out of You" | "Reflection" |
| Soundtracks | Mulan: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack | Mulan II Soundtrack |
