Mulan II (February 1, 2005)

This is the only sequel to Mulan (1998). Its plot is essentially an escort mission. At the start of the film Sheng proposes to Mulan and they become engaged. They are interrupt, however, by a request from the Emperor. They are given the task to safely transport his three daughters, princesses Mei, Ting-Ting, and Su to their arranged suitors; they are to be married in an attempt at diplomacy to avert a potential war. This plan goes array, however, when the princesses fall in love with fall in love with the soldiers from the original film, Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po, who were merely tasked with acting as bodyguards for the princesses. The central dilemma is deciding between following your duty or your heart. Apart from this, Mulan and Sheng have a falling out because of their differing opinions on how to complete the mission. Mulan wants to follow her instincts and her heart while Sheng prefers to follow a plan and his duty. This argument is aggravated by Mushu who tries to divide the Mulan and Sheng because, once they are married, he will lose his job as guardian. Briefly, the animation is overall good. The characters, on the other hand, are good. The character designs remain the same, with a slightly simplified look, and the movements are fluid and lively. The princess, however, all look basically the same. I wish, like the soldiers they end up with, their body types were varied. Similarly, the backgrounds have a sameness to them- all saturated and bland. Back to the plot, it is boring and predictable. The soldiers get everything they want in a girl, there is no compromise or intrigue. Because of this, they end up seeming like objects rather than fleshed out people. The soldiers fare no better- their singular drive is love seemingly undoing their character development from the first film; Even then they were not interesting enough to carry a film. Mushu also reverts into a selfish jerk. He sabotages Mulan’s relari8onshup with Sheng instead of looking out for Mulan’s best interest. He also loses his humor and endearing personality. Finally, Mulan and Sheng start off well, but they fall into the “miscommunication couple” troupe. This is mostly due to Mushu’s meddling, however, but it is aggravating all the same that they did not see through it. Overall, Mulan II is a severe downgrade from first film and is not worth watching. Its plot is uninteresting and its characters, both old and new, are mere caricatures striped off any complexities.

Final Rating 1/10