Mulan II

Mulan II is a 2004 American direct-to-video animated musical adventure film produced by the Japanese office of Disneytoon Studios. It is directed by Darrell Rooney and Lynne Southerland and written by Michael Lucker, Chris Parker, and Roger S. H. Schulman. It is the sequel to Disney's 1998 animated feature film Mulan, featuring songs by Jeanine Tesori and Alexa Junge and musical score composed by Joel McNeely. Much of the voice cast from the first film returned, excluding Eddie Murphy (Mushu), Miriam Margolyes (The Matchmaker), James Hong (Chi-Fu), Chris Sanders (Little Brother), and Matthew Wilder (Ling's singing voice). Murphy, Margolyes, and Sanders were replaced by Mark Moseley, April Winchell, and Frank Welker, respectively, while 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. Meanwhile, Mushu attempts to break up their relationship to keep his pedestal. The film deals with arranged marriages, loyalty, relationships, making choices, trust, and finding true love. The film was released as a direct-to-video title in the United States on December 28, 2004. Unlike its predecessor, which gained critical acclaim, Mulan II was poorly received by critics. Plot One month after defeating the Huns, Mushu enjoys his restored status as a guardian spirit, to the dismay of the Fa family ancestors. General Shang asks Mulan for her hand in marriage, and she happily accepts. Mushu is initially thrilled about the engagement, until the ancestors inform him that if Mulan marries Shang, his family ancestors and guardians would become hers; as a result, Mushu will lose his job. The Emperor calls upon Mulan and Shang and informs them of the threat the Mongols pose to China. To oppose them, the Emperor intends to strengthen China by forging an alliance with the kingdom of Qui Gong, arranging for his three daughters, Princesses Ting-Ting, Mei, and Su, to be married to Qui Gong's princes, and assigns Mulan and Shang to protect them on their journey. Although uneasy at the idea of arranged marriage, Mulan agrees to the mission. Mulan and Shang, along with Yao, Ling and Chien-Po, set out with the princesses to Qui Gong.