Lacking the epic sweep of the original, II attempts deeper meaning by likening Mulan and Shang’s “opposite attracts�? relationship to the ancient Chinese teachings of yin and yang, but soon devolves into such fortune cookie platitudes of “following your heart�?, “listen to your heart�? and every other cliché involving the word “heart�?. Although adequately voiced by Moseley, Mushu is saddled with a repetitive sub-plot that mostly makes him unlikable; in fact, most of the slight comedy borders on the insipid (Shang in particular is forced to act the fool) and insulting (the whole bit with the Ancestors really is like watching, say, the Disciples enact a Three Stooges sketch). That is until a jarring dramatic climax as powerful as anything from the first film, reminding you just how enduring these characters truly are.

To the film’s credit, it does retain a surprisingly strong level of suspense throughout (but falters in the final legs with a muddled, confusing resolution) and better-then-average animation and songs, which include Salonga’s “Lesson #1�? (the “softer side�? of “I’ll Make a Man Out of You�?), a reprise - with new lyrics - of the first film’s “A Girl Worth Fighting For�? (which, unlike in the original, fits in a lot better in this setting) and the Rodgers and Hammerstein-esque “Like Other Girls�?.

(c) Disney

For a peek into what might have been a lot better movie, take a look at the Deleted Scenes section of the Bonus Features: in an unused prologue reminiscent of the best of the James Bond films, we see Mulan and Shang, now a sort of “secret ops�? unit, fight their way out of a sticky situation on top of a giant Buddha statue. Yes, a lot more interesting then what we are offered in the main feature itself; for further proof of the dynamics of this early version, Shang proposes to Mulan … while they’re rappelling off a cliff. In the introduction of the scene, the producer gives the lame excuse that the scene “didn’t fit into the storyline as it was developing�? … baloney, it was too ambitious (read: too expensive) for a direct-to-video production, and that’s why it was cut.

Further Deleted Scenes include examples of how the princesses were originally conceived: as manipulative brats. In addition to such disposable DVD filler as Mushu’s Guess Who game and an Atomic Kitten “(I Wanna Be) Like Other Girls�? music video (which actually doesn’t even show Atomic Kitten), the other Bonus Features include The World of Mulan interactive featurette (while “collecting�? stamps on your “passport�?, you learn about such Chinese customs as arranged marriages and kung fu - déjà vu the Mulan Special Edition - with key “making of�? moments interspersed throughout; after you “collect�? all four stamps, you are taken to a secret special feature familiar to anyone who has read their placemat at a Chinese restaurant) and The Voices of Mulan, a brief and shockingly under- populated feature that only includes Ming-Na, Morita, Tondo, Watanabe, Tom and the film’s “very special guest star�?, ice skater Michelle Kwan (like anyone could recognize her voice).