All right, wheres the REAL Mulan?
One of the biggest problems with Mulan II is the characters. Mulan seems to have lost much of her quiet strength and determination. Instead of being a driving force, she mostly reacts to things–and not in a believable way. She’s upset by the princesses’ arranged marriage, and she preaches about following your heart. She seems baffled by her own culture. This Mulan promotes the idea that your heart’s desire should always come first, even if lives are at stake. That’s the opposite of what she did in the first movie: That Mulan didn’t join the army for her own happiness. She made a sacrifice so that she could save her father from certain death. Li Shang is in bad shape here, too: He throws temper tantrums. He was stoic in the first movie, holding in his anger for the most part. Here he transforms into a spastic, ugly fellow when he gets mad. Ling was a silly and fun-loving character in the original movie. Here, he’s terribly obnoxious with his corny jokes. Mushu isn’t voiced by Eddie Mur
