Film Review #64: Mulan 2

You can imagine the amount of excitement in my mind to hear that the only Disney Renaissance film that I didn't like, was getting a sequel.  Mulan was, in my point of view, the most disappointing Disney Film made between 1986 and 1999.  To my way of thinking, the only silver lining was that the people who liked the first movie were going to have a field day with how awful this film was going to be.  Mulan 2 came out in 2005, following a line of disastrous sequels and preceding a few more awful ones.  But, to the film's credit, this film reaches a new level of awful.  Usually, as bad as these films are, they don't generally bring about a mood of absolute vulgarity and hatred among Disney Fans.  I don't know a single person who likes this film, or anybody who hasn't destroyed their copies of it.  I really didn't like this movie, but I give the film a bit more credit than others do.  It, like the first film, does a few things fairly well, but the rest of the film is absolute pig shit.

Plot: Taking place several weeks after the defeat of the Hun Army, Mulan is revered as the great hero of China.  But the only person who seems to be reaping in the rewards is Mushu, who did nothing in the first film, who also seems to be an absolute prick in this movie, forcing the Fa family's ancestors to wait on him hand and foot.  Mulan, who is dating Shang, is proposed to and the two prepare for a wedding in the future.  But, as they find, they are far more different than they had initially believed.

Any hopes for a wedding are put to the side when the Emperor calls them into action once more, to escort his daughters to a neighboring kingdom to be married and form an alliance to protect against the Mongols.  If they failed, the Mongols would rip across China.  As they do, Mushu learns that if Shang and Mulan marry, he'd be out of a job in guardianship.  This prompts Mushu to try and break Shang and Mulan up.

What's Bad?: There is an alarming number of things in this movie that are absolutely awful.  I guess we should start with the hypocrite that has her name in the title.  Mulan, as we all know, is an idealist who believes in progressive thinking over cultural heritage and beliefs.  So, to hear her complain about the Princesses having to be married to men they don't know, is one thing.  It's another thing entirely to have her force her opinions about love onto these poor girls, who know that their duty to China is more important than their happiness.  The Princesses, thanks to Mulan, decide to throw away their obligations to China in order to be with the soldiers from the first movie, even though it means that the two kingdoms would get overrun by the Mongols!  WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, YOU BITCH!  ALL OF CHINA WILL GET OVERRUN BY THE MONGOLS!  ARE YOU FREAKING STUPID?"

The distinct lack of anything worth telling in the plot also leaves the film without a villain.  But it does have an antagonist.  Mushu.  What?  What the F***?  Really?  The movie is so weak that it requires a douchebag to be a villain?
 
Around the climax of the film, the story decides to "kill off" Shang.  Not only did NO ONE think he was really dead, but there are actually people who think the scene is sad.  Shang, the man with the distinct lack of personality, somehow brings an even weaker personality in this one.  WHO GIVES A RATS ASS IF THIS EMOTIONLESS PRICK DIES?

Oh, and Mulan and Shang need marriage counseling!  BIG TIME!

What's Good?: To my surprise, the animation of this film is pretty damn good.  The good thing about these later Direct to Video films is that the animation is actually legitimate in quality.  This film even rivals the original in terms of artistic skill.

As much as the relationships make no sense by the rules of the plot, the chemistry between the Princesses and the Soldiers is actually fleshed out well.  While not distracting from the absolute nonsense of the plot, we do see why the soldiers and Princesses start to fall in love in this movie.

Overall: WEAK, but plausible.  There are elements that work fairly well, but if the film's protagonist is completely different from the original film, what is the point of making the film then?

Final Grade:   D-