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107-413: Mulan II is a 2004 American animated direct-to-video musical adventure film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and DisneyToon Studios and distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment . The film was directed by Darrell Rooney and Lynne Southerland ( in her directorial debut ) and produced by Jennifer Blohm, from a screenplay written by Michael Lucker, Chris Parker, and Roger S. H. Schulman . It
214-496: A Imperial Chinese army captain and also Captain of the Royal Guards of China. During his appointment in the first movie, Shang is a highly capable leader with a dedication to his cause to match, albeit at times being too "by-the-book" and putting his duty above his feelings, in contrast to Mulan. He is exceptionally handsome due to his dashing good looks, extremely masculine facial features and strong muscular fit physique. He
321-585: A canyon with streaming river further down. Later, when it is revealed he is alive (with help from his gray-spotted white horse), Mushu and Cri-Kee saves the day by pretending to be the Golden Dragon of Unity and freeing the princesses from their vows. Mulan and Shang get married, and later combines both families' temples so that Mushu can remain as Mulan's guardian. In Chinese naming convention , personal names in Chinese, unlike Western names, present
428-487: A giant panda as the soldier's steed after Khan, Mulan's horse, refused to help him and Cri-kee. Like many dragons, he is able to breathe fire, at first unsuccessfully, but masters it in time to stop Shan Yu's falcon, Hayabusa, from alerting the Huns to Li Shang's presence. At the start of the film, Mushu does not make his official appearance until after Mulan runs away from home to serve in her elderly father Fa Zhou's place in
535-438: A cage with Cri-Kee in it. She covers her eyes while crossing a road and demonstrates the ability to show how lucky this cricket is. After Fa Li and all the dressers have finished beautifying Mulan, Grandma Fa gives her a few items to make her look perfect (apple, pendant, jade necklace and Cri-Kee). She constantly encourages her to find a good husband. During the rainy night, she recognizes that her granddaughter has run away to join
642-406: A canyon, Cri-kee forces Mushu to tell the truth and later becomes friends with Mushu again at the end. Cri-Kee appears a playable character to unlock for a limited time in the video game Disney Magic Kingdoms . Hayabusa (voiced by Frank Welker ) is Shan Yu's pet saker falcon , who acts as his master's eyes and ears from a distance. At the end of the first film, his feathers are burned down by
749-434: A direct-to-video movie may get a limited theatrical screening in order to build excitement for the actual release of the video such as was done for 2010's Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths , and Planet Hulk , 2016's Batman: The Killing Joke or 2013's Sharknado . In some cases, other direct-to-video films can also be theatrically released in other countries. As DVDs gradually replaced VHS videocassettes ,
856-475: A doll, which Shan Yu found earlier and left behind in the village ruins, at the shrine to honor the villagers who were killed in the attack. In Mulan (2020), Cricket (portrayed by Jun Yu) is a young hapless soldier that joins the ranks of the Chinese army and befriends Mulan, Yao, Ling, Chien-Po and Chen Honghui. Cricket explains that his parents named him as such so that he can bring good fortune to himself and those around him. Despite being clumsy and shy, he
963-703: A duty to their hearts. That night, Yao, Ling and Chien-Po take the princesses out to a nearby village, and they mutually declare their love. Mulan pursues them, becoming happy that the princesses have followed their hearts. Mushu wakes up Shang, who pursues the group and reprimands them for forgetting about their duties. Mulan and Shang erupt into a heated argument, and decide that they are too different for each other and break up. The group begins travelling across bandit country, and Mushu realizes that Mulan's break-up with Shang has only made her miserable. Overwhelmed with guilt, Mushu confesses to his actions, losing Mulan's trust yet motivating her to fix things with Shang. The group
1070-520: A fireball from Mushu to stop him from warning the Huns of Li Shang's presence, who then taunts him as " Mongolian barbeque " while Cri-kee laughs at him. When Mulan returns from rescuing the Emperor, he can briefly be seen being ridden by Mushu and Cri-kee. The two then leave Hayabusa behind to enact Mulan's plan. He isn't seen afterward. In video games, Hayabusa appears in Kingdom Hearts II
1177-408: A girl who will admire his strength and battle scars. He growls loudly after Chien-Po says to him, 'Yao, relax and chant with me." In the second film, he reveals a rewarding plaque that has a picture of himself on his chest and falls in love with Princess Mei, the emperor's middle daughter. She accepted the idea that "my duty is to my heart" and is the easiest to be won over. In his encounter, he puts
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#17327984524431284-407: A good heart. Mushu is very sensitive about his size, claiming to Mulan that his small stature was simply for her convenience rather than his default state. He also hates being mistaken for a lizard, insisting that he doesn't do "that tongue thing". He has the body of a snake, the horns of an elk, the claws of an eagle, and the face of a camel, resembling a legendary dragon found in Chinese art around
1391-481: A high-profile star) can generate well in excess of $ 50 million revenue worldwide. A production studio may decide not to generally release a TV show or film for several possible reasons: a low budget, a lack of support from a TV network, negative reviews, its controversial nature, that it may appeal to a small niche market , or a simple lack of general public interest. Studios, limited in the annual number of films to which they grant cinematic releases, may choose to pull
1498-405: A massive stone statue) with ease. In the second film, he falls in love with Princess Su, the youngest sister. The most childlike, she is easily swayed and is soon convinced of Mei's opinions. She loves food as much as Chien-Po, and when the group stops traveling for a while, she spends her time picking fruit from trees. Chien-Po discovers this, and the two of them bond easily. He even saves her when
1605-663: A mentor and teacher to Mulan who leads the Imperial Regiment; and Chen Honghui (portrayed by Yoson An ), a confident and ambitious recruit in Tung's unit, as well as Mulan's most important ally and love interest. The army recruited Yao , Ling and Chien-Po to fight the Huns . Like other newly recruited soldiers, they lacked military skills before they were trained. They were harder to train than most. Even Mulan learned faster than they. Eventually, their training paid off and
1712-474: A spunky heroine to the Disney canon of distressed princesses, but despite its excellent voice cast, this sequel merely apes the success of live-action martial arts films". In early 2002, it was reported that Disney was working on Mulan III . Raymond Singer and Eugenia Bostwick-Singer, writers of the first film, submitted two stories to Disney, in which they suggested a new character named Ana Ming. Like this film,
1819-467: A stigma of lower technical or artistic quality than theatrical releases. Some films released direct-to-video are films which have been completed but were never released in movie theaters. This delay often occurs when a studio doubts a film's commercial prospects to justify a full cinema release or because its release window has closed. In film industry slang, such films are referred to as having been "vaulted". Like B-movies shown in drive-in theaters in
1926-460: A successful live action film straight to DVD, due to a lack of budget in comparison to the original. During the Golden Age of Porn in the 1970s, many pornographic films were released in theatres, some of which became some of the highest-grossing films in their release years, and in the pornography industry altogether. Toward the 1980s, porn began to shift to video release, because video allowed
2033-469: A third of the average cost of a Hollywood release. According to Variety , American Pie Presents: Band Camp sold more than one million copies in a week. Some direct-to-DVD releases recently have tended to feature actors who were formerly bankable stars. In 2005, salaries for some of these direct-to-DVD actors in the multimillion-dollar range from $ 2 to $ 4 million ( Jean-Claude Van Damme ) and $ 4.5 to $ 10 million ( Steven Seagal ), in some cases exceeding
2140-500: A trend in China; these films are called "Online Big Movies" ("OBM"; 网络大电影 in Chinese, or simply 网大). The word "Big" in the name was meant to be sardonic , as most of these films are often made on a very low budget and featuring mostly unknown cast members and sometimes nonprofessional actors. However, increasingly, the budget for these films have been slowly climbing up, due to the success of these films on digital distribution platforms;
2247-523: A war against the deadly Hun army. Knowing that Mulan's exposure will lead to the disgrace of the Fa family, the spirits of the ancestors choose to send the Great Stone Dragon to retrieve her. For the task of awakening him, they send Mushu, who would rather go himself. After several unsuccessful attempts, he eventually ends up accidentally destroying the dragon statue. In order to escape punishment from
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#17327984524432354-483: Is a cricket that was given to Mulan while getting her ready to meet the Matchmaker. He is first seen in possession of Grandmother Fa, who crosses a road while covering her eyes to demonstrate Cri-kee's ability. His actions lead the Matchmaker to reject Mulan. Afterward, Mulan releases Cri-kee, but he continues to follow her and later befriends Mushu before joining him on his mission to protect Mulan. During an ambush by
2461-578: Is a playable character to unlock for a limited time in the video game Disney Magic Kingdoms . He is also an unlockable racer in Disney Speedstorm . In the 2020 live-action remake , the character of Li Shang was dropped in response to the Me Too movement , due to the nature of a military conscript having a relationship with a commanding officer. Instead, Li's role was fulfilled by two new characters: Commander Tung (portrayed by Donnie Yen ),
2568-472: Is also a meetable character in Adventureland at the parks alongside Mulan. It is possible that it the name Mushu could be a shorter form of mushkhushshu , an unrelated yet similarly characterized, red snake-like, hybrid creature from Mesopotamian mythology . Another theory suggests that its name comes from the popular Chinese takeaway dish moo shu pork . Cri-Kee (voiced by Frank Welker )
2675-425: Is attacked by bandits that attempt to kidnap the princesses. Although the princesses are saved, Mulan and Shang are left dangling on a broken bridge; Shang allows himself to fall into the ravine so that Mulan can lift herself up. Heartbroken, Mulan declares that the princesses won't be forced into a loveless marriage and continues on to Qui Gong alone. Mulan presents herself to Qui Gong's ruler, Lord Qin , and lies that
2782-597: Is based on Mulan's younger brother from The Ballad of Mulan and Mulan's younger sister in the Ming dynasty play Mulan Joins the Army . First Ancestor Fa (voiced by George Takei ) is the ghostly eldest member of the Fa family and acts as leader of the ancestors. He carries a staff with him. When he is summoned, he brings Mushu to life by saying the word "awaken". He usually stops the other ancestors from fighting and requests (what he thinks are) better plans such as summoning
2889-411: Is forbidden by the empire's law and punishable by death. Shang spares her life, and after helping her save the empire, he falls in love with her and joins her family for dinner. In Mulan II , Shang is the main character instead of Mulan (who was the previous film's main protagonist), because he fell in love with her. The film begins with Shang proposing marriage to Mulan, to which she gladly agrees. He
2996-634: Is initially thrilled about the engagement, until the ancestors inform him that if Mulan marries Shang, his family ancestors would become her guardians and 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
3103-517: Is mutual, and do not want to marry the princes, despite their duty. Mulan, knowing this, leaves the trio with the princesses, and goes to offer herself to the royal family instead. The trio arrives with the princesses, as does Shang. Mushu pretends to be the Great Golden Dragon of Unity who commands that they are allowed to marry whoever they want, allowing them to be with Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po. Presumably, they did marry, though nothing
3210-528: Is not surprised as he was already aware of Mushu's existence, as Mulan had already told Shang about him. Afterwards, Shang and Mulan embrace while the thrilled Mushu is happy to have his role back. The trailer for the film was first released on January 27, 2004, with the 2-Disc Special Edition release of Alice in Wonderland . The trailer was also attached to other VHS and DVDs released by Walt Disney Home Entertainment in 2004. A behind-the-scenes sneak preview
3317-422: Is promoted from captain to general by the emperor, and he and Mulan are directed by the emperor to escort his three daughters to a conflicting kingdom in hopes that an arranged marriage between them and the three princes of the opposing nation will bring peace. He and Mulan go through many conflicts around their relationship thanks to Mushu's meddling, and midway through the film, he is assumed dead after falling into
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3424-451: Is reserved and thoughtful, a more logical and calming influence to Mulan's adventurous personality. Shortly after his initial introduction in Mulan , Shang is appointed newly as an army captain by his father, who is a general. Later through the film, he becomes friends with Ping (who is Fa Mulan disguised as a man), after his life is saved. Shortly after, he learns she is actually a woman, which
3531-419: Is short, stocky and has a permanent black eye. In the first film, he enjoys picking on Mulan for fun at first but eventually becomes her friend. He is also arguably the most loyal of the three, and is the first to lead the charge to help Mulan as she goes up against the vast Hun army with their last remaining rocket. His clumsiness reveals that he is not as powerful a man as he claims to be. He states that he wants
3638-417: Is shown to be fondly annoyed by this but Shang does agree to stay for dinner. In her second film, she plays a game in the house of Fa and brings in food for the perfect couple Mulan and Shang. The character is absent in the live-action adaptation, being replaced by Hua Xiu . In Mulan (2020), Hua Xiu (portrayed by Xana Tang), is the sister of Hua Mulan and the second daughter of Hua Zhou and Hua Li. She
3745-492: Is shown to be very adept at using a bow and arrow. The character is most likely a reference to Cri-Kee from the animated film. Mushu is Fa Mulan's closest companion throughout the Mulan series. He is a scrawny, reddish-orange Chinese dragon with blue horns and a smart-aleck personality. He is voiced by Eddie Murphy in his first appearance and Mark Moseley (a professional Eddie Murphy impressionist) afterward. At first, Mulan's companions were to be two reptilian creatures;
3852-401: Is the only ancestor whose head is cut off, a result of Mushu's misguidance to him when he was a guardian. One said that her great-granddaughter had to be a cross-dresser. Many of these ancestors clamor about Mulan when she is away. Mary Kay Bergman did the voice of the female ancestors in the first film and in the second film, they are voiced by Tress MacNeille . Captain/General Li Shang is
3959-641: Is the sequel to Walt Disney Feature Animation 's 1998 animated feature film Mulan , featuring original songs that were written by composer Jeanine Tesori and lyricist Alexa Junge and a musical score composed and conducted 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
4066-435: The 2020 live-action remake , he is portrayed by Chen Tang . His gruff characteristics are kept, but he is portrayed as being more jovial than his animated counterpart. Ling is the group's middleman of medium height and very slim build. His signature color is yellow in the first film and blue in the second film. He is a friendly and enthusiastic man with a joke for every occasion. Though he teases Mulan at first, he, like
4173-529: The Tribeca Film Festival in April, where it was reviewed positively, but only received modest distribution offers. At the time, it was not very common for consumers to make digital movie purchases. As part of a push by the service towards original content, the subscription video on demand service Netflix began to acquire feature films for distribution on its service in the 2010s, including
4280-418: The boss battle against Shan Yu, where he can grab Sora , lift him into the air, and throw him. Hayabusa also appears as a non-player character in the video game Disney Magic Kingdoms , appearing only in one of Shan Yu's animated activities. In the 2020 live-action film , Hayabusa is replaced by Xianniang (portrayed by Gong Li ), a powerful sorceress allied with Bori Khan who can transform herself into
4387-475: The 2013 documentary The Square , and its first feature film in 2015 — Beasts of No Nation . Netflix pursued a simultaneous release strategy for its films, partnering with a distributor for a limited theatrical release (in order to maintain eligibility for awards requiring theatrical release, such as the Academy Awards ) simultaneous with their availability to subscribers. As this practice violates
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4494-579: The 2014 film The Interview was released simultaneously on digital and at selected cinemas, after major chains dropped the film due to terrorist threats by a hacking group believed to have ties to North Korea (whose regime is satirized in the film). The group had also leaked confidential data from the internal servers of the film's distributor, Sony Pictures . The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in worldwide closures of cinemas due to economic restrictions and guidance against public gatherings, which prompted direct-to-digital releases for several major films;
4601-411: The 2020 live-action film , as her surname is now Hua instead of Fa , Mulan assumed the pseudonym Hua Jun during her time in the army. Fa Zhou (voiced by Soon-Tek Oh and portrayed by Tzi Ma in the live-action remake) is Mulan's father who is very strict and also a famed war veteran who got injured in war. He is Li's husband and Mulan's father. At first glance he seems like he only cares about
4708-524: The 2020 live-action film , the Fa family name is changed to Hua (花) in English. Hua is the Mandarin pinyin romanization of the same word as Fa, which was based on Cantonese romanization. Fa Mulan (speaking voice by Ming-Na Wen , singing voice provided by Lea Salonga and portrayed by Liu Yifei in the live-action film) is a young woman who is willing to give up her life to save her father. She enters
4815-714: The Chinese film Lost in Russia was acquired by ByteDance for 630 million yuan (almost 100 million in US dollars) and streamed on its platforms (including TikTok ) for free in lieu of a theatrical release, as part of a larger relationship with the company and the film's distributor Huanxi Media. A number of U.S. films were shifted directly to video-on-demand rentals in lieu of a theatrical release, while some have been sold directly to subscription services, including Disney+ , Max , Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video . OV ("original video") are movies made for direct-to-video release in
4922-420: The Emperor, leading Mushu to deem him a lucky bug after all. In the second film, he becomes an enemy to Mushu when he tries to break up Shang and Mulan to keep his job. Cri-kee does whatever he can to foil Mushu's plans and ensure that the duo stays together, even after Mushu causes an accident that results in the destruction of a carriage that Mulan and Shang are using to transport the Emperor's daughters. Later in
5029-513: The Great Golden Dragon of Unity, forcing Lord Qin to ally himself with the Emperor, while allowing Mulan and Shang to marry and freeing the princesses from their vows. Sometime later, Mulan and Shang officially marry in Mulan's village, and Mushu accepts the loss of his position. However, Shang combines the family temples, enabling Mushu to continue being a guardian spirit. While celebrating, Mushu accidentally reveals himself to Shang and Mulan, but Shang
5136-409: The Great Stone Dragon. When Mushu returns with Mulan, he gives him his job as a guardian again, though showing a frustrated face. At the beginning of his second film, he performs a trick using a smoke formation. Other ancestors , members of the company including the farmer and his wife (a parody of the famous painting American Gothic ), and the counter who is always fiddling with his abacus . Fa Deng
5243-410: The Huns, he and Mushu were nearly killed when the wagon that they're in catches fire and explodes and Cri-kee follows Mulan (who has picked up Mushu while fleeing). Mushu later rescues him from an avalanche that Mulan caused to wipe out the Huns. After Mulan is expelled from the army, Cri-kee finally confesses that he isn't a lucky cricket at all. Despite this, he and Mushu help Mulan stop Shan Yu and save
5350-466: The Huns, which they did not appear to have received the same credit for. They gladly joined the escort to get the emperor's daughters to the Qui Gong princes they are engaged to. Along the way, they develop feelings for the princesses, Yao with Mei, Ling with Ting-Ting, and Chien-Po with Su. They take the princesses to a carnival for some amusement. Eventually, all three princesses admit that their feeling
5457-487: The Japanese market. OVA (" original video animation ") is distinguished from OVM ("original video movies") or V-Cinema, which usually refer to non-animated works. Different production studios may use other labels like "V drama". The OVA market developed in the mid-1980s. The lax restrictions and censorship in comparison to broadcast television appealed to filmmakers, allowing them to include more controversial content, as
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#17327984524435564-463: The United States was Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation in 1992. The practice of creating and releasing regular fiction specifically for video did not really take off until 1994, with Disney 's The Return of Jafar and Universal 's The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure , neither of which was intended to hit theaters at any point in its production. Several of
5671-408: The actors' theatrical rates. With the increasing prominence of digital distribution platforms in the 2000s and 2010s, direct-to-digital releases began to emerge alongside, or in lieu of home video. In November 2007, Ed Burns ' Purple Violets became the first film to "premiere" exclusively for sale on iTunes Store , being exclusive to the platform for a month exclusively. It had premiered at
5778-471: The ancestors as their chance to get rid of Mushu is now crushed. At this point, Mushu reveals himself to Shang, who already knows about him thanks to Mulan. In the Kingdom Hearts video game series, Mushu appears in Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories as a character to summon by Sora , and returns in Kingdom Hearts II in the world Land of Dragons, having the same role in
5885-649: The ancestors, he pretends to be the Great Stone Dragon and secretly sets out to make Mulan a war hero. Mushu is extremely diligent and with the help of Cri-Kee, helps Mulan defeat Shan-Yu, resulting in him being returned to the position of a guardian. In the second film, Mushu learns that he will lose his job after Mulan and Shang get married (to the delight of the ancestors, who see this as an opportunity to be rid of Mushu), so he tries to break them up. His actions cause rifts between him and his comrades: Cri-Kee begins to hate Mushu for his devious acts and tries to stop him from destroying Mulan and Shang's relationship, Khan shares
5992-479: The animated sequels, like MGM 's The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue from 1998, have sparked criticism due to the deliberate neglect of the original source material by creative content limits as these franchises will abruptly discontinue. Several other film series will be continuous if they become more successful, like Scooby-Doo for instance (their video debut Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island became one of
6099-453: The army as a man named Ping . She faces the worst enemy China's ever seen, the Hun leader Shan-Yu, who has an army willing to destroy anything in their path. An ancestor said that she was a troublemaker from the start. She succeeds in fighting them and saves all of China single-handedly without any help. The Emperor of China awards her for her effort and the whole of China celebrate her return. In
6206-420: The army in her father's place, and she picks up a lantern and prays to the ancestors, awakening First Ancestor Fa. When Mulan returns home with Shan Yu's sword and the Emperor's crest, she comments that Mulan should have brought a man home and is shocked when Li Shang arrives, causing her to jokingly say to sign her up for the next war. When Mulan asks Shang to stay for dinner, she asks him to stay forever. Mulan
6313-472: The best-selling DTV films of all time ). By 1994, an average of six new direct-to-video films appeared each week. Erotic thrillers and R-rated action films were the two most successful genres. Family films became more important than such genres later in the 1990s, as retailers stocked more copies of blockbuster films instead of more titles. According to the Los Angeles Times : Often,
6420-540: The budget for these films can now range from less than 1 million yuan to upwards of 10 or 20 million yuan. Although these "Online Big Movies" rarely feature well-known actors, in recent years, many "Online Big Movies" have hired veteran actors from Hong Kong action cinema and Taiwanese cinema to join its cast. These movies are also to be differentiated from films that are made for theatrical release but were later acquired by digital streaming services, in that these "Online Big Movies" are produced by internet companies with
6527-403: The cane, stands straight and accepts his assignment scroll, not caring about his old crippled body despite his limping and visible pain. Mulan fears and worries that he is risking his life, especially after seeing him collapse after some sword exercises. When Mulan returns in a triumph of defeating Shan Yu, she gives him Shan Yu's sword with the blade wrapped in cloth and the crest of the emperor;
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#17327984524436634-400: The carriage ends up falling in the water. At the carnival, they both order some dumplings , ginger , Ginsengs and soybeans . In the 2020 live-action remake , he is portrayed by Doua Moua . He is just as rowdy as his comrades in this version, but still holds his love of food. General Li (voiced by James Shigeta ) was Li Shang's father and a high-ranking member of the Chinese army who
6741-510: The chopstick nose trick that Ling believes to have invented), had to try harder than his partners to impress her. Unlike most people, Ting-Ting is amused by his puns, but would not laugh, claiming to dislike laughter, though the reason is that she thinks her snorting laugh is embarrassing. He begins to doubt himself. At the carnival, when some fireflies accidentally set off firecrackers that hit Ling, she cannot contain herself at his misfortune. She snorts, but Ling doesn't mind and thinks it's cute. At
6848-563: The completed film from the theaters, or never exhibit it in theaters at all. Studios then generate revenue through video sales and rentals. Direct-to-video films are marketed mostly through colorful box covers, instead of advertising, and are not covered by publications like Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide . The first direct-to-video release to go into production was E. Nick: A Legend in His Own Mind in 1984 produced by CineTel Films . Direct-to-video releases have historically carried
6955-444: The deceased Fa ancestors ever since he failed to protect a family member, a soldier named Fa Deng, resulting in the soldier's demise by decapitation . In contrast to Mulan, Mushu is in most situations more zany, impulsive, and enthusiastic. He strives to be one of the family guardians again, but is content to help Mulan, even if he is the one who starts the trouble. He can also be selfish at times, but his heroism proves that he has
7062-498: The downfall of live-action family films at the box office is their strength on video. Their appeal is to families with young children, who may go to only a couple of movies per year but who will watch many videos multiple times. The teens and young adults who drive blockbuster box office statistics stay away from family movies. Some horror films that are unsuccessful in theaters, like Witchcraft , begin successful direct-to-video series. Studios may also release sequels or spin-offs to
7169-414: The dresser waiting for Mulan to come. She is Zhou's wife and Mulan's mother. She is frustrated when her daughter's hair is messed with hay and sends her inside to have her bathed and cleaned up. She and all the dressers help her get dressed after the bath. After they have finished beautifying Mulan, she sends her to the impatient matchmaker who then gets enraged by Mulan's accidents. Fa Li consoles her after
7276-412: The end, they are able to get married because of Mushu. In the 2020 live-action remake , he is portrayed by Jimmy Wong . He is depicted as being much friendlier and adept at quoting poetry. Chien-Po , or Po for short, is bald and by far the tallest and most obese of Mulan's friends. His signature color is blue in the first film and green in the second film. He is the calmest and most spiritual of
7383-534: The explosion in quantity and variety of such movies established and cemented genres like J-horror and yakuza films . The success of OVAs and V-Cinema has resulted in less stigma regarding direct-to-video releases in Japan than in western markets. While there are still OVA and V-Cinema releases, the market is considerably smaller than it was in the 1980s and 1990s. In the mid-to-late 2010s, low-budget B-movies that are made exclusively for digital streaming became
7490-461: The family/clan name first. This convention was followed in the first film; his family name was given to be Li and he was addressed as "Captain Li." In the second film, the convention was overlooked and Shang was used as his family name by mistake. In video games, Shang appears in Kingdom Hearts II as a supporting character in the world Land of Dragons, having the same role in the story as in Mulan . He
7597-415: The film a rating of 0% based on reviews from 5 critics and an average score of 3.9/10. According to Scott Gwin of CinemaBlend , " Mulan II is a direct-to-DVD disgrace that takes everything excellent about its predecessor film, rips it to shreds, and uses it for rat cage lining." TV Guide reviewer Robert Pardi gave the film a 2 out of 5 star rating, saying, "The original Mulan was heralded for adding
7704-461: The films did not need to rely on sponsored advertisements for financial support. The result was animated films with greater sexual, violent, or political content. The market continued to expand during the Japanese asset price bubble and began to decline with the collapse of the bubble in the late 1980s and early 1990s. With the rise of VHS home video and the decline of the Japanese economy in
7811-414: The honor of the family and that he is quick to frustration with Mulan. He first appears putting an incense stick on the hanging dish and praying to the honorable ancestors while Mulan is seeing the matchmaker. Nothing distracts him from his prayers, even when chickens go running around in the shrine to crazily devour the chicken feed . When Chi-Fu calls him from the Fa family for military duty, he puts down
7918-484: 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. In order to protect his position as guardian, and believing that Mulan and Shang are incompatible due to their different behavior, Mushu tags along to sabotage their relationship, while Cri-Kee attempts to stop him. While desperately trying various ways to sabotage Mulan and Shang's relationship, Mushu accidentally destroys
8025-407: The idea of the creatures being dragons had not been established. Feeling that two sidekicks would overcrowd the story, the animators then decided on a two-headed dragon, which was green and grotesque. After the animators decided on a single-headed dragon, they established Mushu's physical concept. For better use, the animators shrunk Mushu to a smaller size. Around the time when the music of the film
8132-502: The last minute due to the success of another film with a similar subject matter or an ultimate studio decision. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is an example of this. However, despite the movie's critically acclaimed success, its box-office performance was very poor, which has been attributed to the last minute nature of its theatrical release. The film had much better commercial success in its subsequent home video releases. Other times,
8239-567: The late 1980s, film studios struggled to recoup investments on big-budget films. Inspired by the success of OVAs, Toei released its first V-Cinema, Crime Hunter , in March 1989. Following Toei's success, other studios began to release a slew of direct-to-video movies. Relaxed censorship in V-Cinema gave way to the premier and rise of expressive auteur directors such as Takashi Miike , Hideo Nakata , Shinji Aoyama , and Kiyoshi Kurosawa . As
8346-455: The matchmaker rejects her. During the rainy night, she weeps for her daughter who runs away with Khan the Horse, and her husband Fa Zhou consoles her while watching over her at the same time. When Li Shang shows up in the middle of a conversation between Fa Li and Grandmother Fa about Mulan's war exploits and that she should've brought a man home, Fa Li is left stunned. According to her second film,
8453-446: The matchmaker that rejected Mulan in the first film, but she decided there could not be a match for any of them and threw them out. They were discouraged but felt better when Mulan and Li Shang came to recruit them for another mission. Shang claimed to the emperor that just the five of them would be enough protection for his three daughters. Although still as bumbling as ever, Shang knew that they were instrumental in their victory against
8560-495: The mid-20th century, direct-to-video films employ both former stars and young actors who may become stars later. Direct-to-video releases can be done for films which cannot be shown theatrically due to controversial content, or because the cost involved in a theatrical release is beyond the releasing company. Animated sequels and feature-length episodes of animated series are also often released in this fashion. The first feature length animated film to be released direct-to-video in
8667-399: The only other child she likes is Sha-Ron (a faux-Chinese version of the name Sharon ), a little girl who wears a lavender outfit and ox-horns . Grandmother Fa (speaking voice by June Foray and singing voice provided by Marni Nixon ) is Mulan's grandmother. She is very easy-going and gives Mulan the most freedom. She also provides comic relief in the family. She is first seen holding
8774-434: The other two, becomes her friend. He and Yao occasionally have disagreements, but he grows to accept him as their leader. He was the one who coined the phrase "a girl worth fighting for." In the second film, he falls in love with Princess Ting-Ting, the eldest princess. She is the most uptight princess, devoted to honor, and tries be a role model to her sisters. Ling, who wanted a girl who would laugh at his jokes (even knowing
8881-413: The princess's carriage. Now forced to travel on foot, Mulan and Shang briefly argue over what direction they should go, as well as their duties. Seeing this, Mushu manipulates Shang into believing that Mulan is fed up with him, escalating tensions between them. Meanwhile, Mei, Ting Ting and Su fall in love with Yao, Ling and Chien-Po respectively, and the princesses decide to follow Mulan's advice of having
8988-414: The princesses have been killed, offering herself in their place; Lord Qin agrees, and arranges a wedding between Mulan and his eldest son, Prince Jeeki . Shang turns up alive and meets up with Yao, Ling, Chien-Po and the princesses, and heads to Qui Gong. Shang interrupts the wedding and admits that Mulan was right about following her heart. To save Mulan and Shang from Lord Qin's forces, Mushu impersonates
9095-476: The producers to work on extremely low budgets and dispense with some film production elements, like scripts, and the increased privacy and convenience of the format change were preferred by the target market. During the late 1990s and onward, pornographers began releasing content on the Internet. Occasionally, a studio that makes a movie that was prepared as a direct-to-video film will release it theatrically at
9202-462: The release of these titles were outside of usual distribution, studios and directors worked quickly to capitalize on niche markets or upcoming and current trends to increase financial returns. This period of history in Japanese cinema has been described by film journalist Tom Mes as "a far more diverse and vibrant film scene [than previous eras]". By 1995, the V-cinema industry was in decline, but
9309-474: The ruler will not approve of his marriage to Mulan, Mushu reforms by impersonating the Golden Dragon of Unity to force the ruler to let Mulan and Shang marry and even breathes fire at him when he protests. This was enough to convince Mulan, Cri-Kee, and Khan to forgive Mushu for his wrongdoings. Mushu finally accepts the loss of his job, but after Shang combines the family temples, he is thrilled when he realizes that he gets to keep his job after all; this disappoints
9416-401: The same hatred of Mushu for trying to break up Mulan and Shang and at one point retaliates by stomping on him, and Mulan no longer trusts him after being forced to tell the truth out of guilt. Following Shang's apparent death, his guilt rises to the point where he is even willing to sacrifice his job to save Mulan after she agrees to an arranged marriage. Upon learning that Shang is alive and that
9523-410: The second sequel would have been released direct-to-video , but it was canceled before the release of Mulan II . Direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film , television series , short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere . This distribution strategy
9630-407: 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
9737-426: The slipper back onto her foot and sets the table for her with oranges , meat buns and tea . He wanted to marry a girl who would be impressed with his looks and his fighting ability. Although such traits leave something to be desired, he managed to impress her, and when he wins a fight at a carnival and is given a prize, he chooses a stuffed panda bear with three black legs and one white leg and gives it to her. In
9844-576: The sole intent of digital release. In additional to the digital distribution of these films in China, many of the "Online Big Movies" have also been released on digital platforms outside of China, such as on YouTube . Several YouTube channels, such as Q1Q2 Movie Channel Official and YOUKU MOVIE are popular channels that distributes these "Online Big Movies". List of Disney%27s Mulan characters#Lord Qin and Prince Jeeki The following are characters from Disney 's 1998 film Mulan , its 2004 sequel Mulan II and its 2020 remake Mulan . In
9951-499: The story as in Mulan . He is also a playable character to unlock for a limited time in the video game Disney Magic Kingdoms . Mushu does not appear in the 2020 live-action remake , but some of his role in the narrative were taken by a phoenix . Mushu also appears in the Drawn to Animation show at Disney California Adventure Park 's Disney Animation building and Disney's Hollywood Studios 's The Magic of Disney Animation . He
10058-435: The surviving Huns by disguising themselves as concubines . Somehow, they fooled the guards, though none of the three made a very attractive woman (especially Yao, as he kept his facial hair even in makeup). In the second film, the three were given a more substantial role and are shown not to have changed since the first film. Reprised by the original voice actors (sans Wilder; Watanabe did his own singing), they had been to see
10165-409: The term "direct-to-DVD" replaced "direct-to-video" in some instances. However, the word "video" does not necessarily refer to videocassettes. Many publications continue to use the term "direct-to-video" for DVDs or Blu-rays . Both disc-based release types may also be referred to as "direct-to-disc". A new term sometimes used is "DVD premiere" (DVDP). Such films can cost as little as $ 20 million, about
10272-478: The three, and his appearance seems to have been inspired by Buddhist imagery. He is rather naïve compared to his partners, and loves food more than anything, which is the main thing he considers when searching for a woman for he wishes for a wife that will be good at cooking and preparing food. He is very good-natured and would never do anything to upset anyone, making him the most ready to befriend Mulan. He also possesses great strength and can lift multiple people (or
10379-410: The time. He is able to survive more like a mythical creature than an animal; he endures being stomped on, being caught in explosions, and (literally) riding out an avalanche in the first movie. He can also understand other animals, as seen when he converses with Mulan's cricket Cri-kee and horse Khan. At one point when he wants to disguise as a soldier riding a horse to get them out of the camp, he uses
10486-462: The traditional release windows mandated by the cinema industry, major chains have typically declined to screen the films. Since 2018, Netflix has partially backpedaled from this strategy, giving its films a one-month theatrical run before their premiere on the Netflix service. Unique circumstances have also resulted in direct-to-digital releases, sometimes alongside a limited theatrical release;
10593-462: The trio were capable fighters. Even so, they still had trouble doing things right and were rather clumsy. They served largely as the comic relief , often involving slapstick humor that made them reminiscent of the Three Stooges . Eventually, despite some early conflict, the three extended an open hand to Mulan and became her "army buddies", though they, like the rest of the army, thought she
10700-473: The two gifts that honor the Fa Family. On receiving these gifts, he immediately puts them down and confesses that all he ever wanted was Mulan to be happy and safe, informing her that his greatest honor is having her as a daughter thus he survived thanks to his daughter. Fa Li (voiced by Freda Foh Shen and portrayed by Rosalind Chao in the live-action film) is Mulan's mother. She initially stays with
10807-420: Was a man named Ping. As soldiers, they each had a different color uniform: green for Mulan, red for Yao, yellow for Ling and blue for Chien-Po. Unlike most other soldiers, Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po did not seem to think any less of her when they found out she was a woman, and even briefly tried to interfere when Shang was about to execute her. When they later met up, they even agreed to participate in her plan to stop
10914-471: Was also released on October 26, 2004, with the Special Edition release of its predecessor. The soundtrack contains songs from the film performed by various artists, as well as portions of the film score composed by Joel McNeely . It was released on January 25, 2005, by Walt Disney Records . All tracks are written by Jeanine Tesori and Scott Erickson Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave
11021-399: Was killed along with his elite troops in a battle against the Hun army while trying to protect a village. When his son and his battalion discover the aftermath along with what's left of the village, Chien-Po finds General Li's helmet and delivers to Shang as proof that his father is dead. Shang creates a makeshift shrine for his father using his sword and the helmet to honor him and Mulan leaves
11128-459: Was prevalent before streaming platforms came to dominate the TV and movie distribution markets. Because inferior sequels or prequels of larger-budget films may be released direct-to-video, review references to direct-to-video releases are often pejorative . Direct-to-video release has also become profitable for independent filmmakers and smaller companies. Some direct-to-video genre films (with
11235-405: 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. 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
11342-418: Was shown to indicate this. Yao, Ling and Chien Po appear in the video game Kingdom Hearts II as supporting characters in the world The Land of Dragons, having the same role in the story as in Mulan . Yao is the self-appointed leader of the trio. His signature color is red in the first film and purple in the second film. An arrogant and short-tempered individual with a bit of a Napoleon complex , he
11449-454: Was to be created, the songwriters had written a piece for Mushu, for him to sing to assure Mulan that he will be there to help her. After Eddie Murphy agreed to voice the character, Mushu and his dynamic changed. Although the animators canceled the scene, the song was a favorite among the filmmakers. Mushu was once a guardian spirit of Mulan's family, but he has been demoted to the unappreciated position of an incense burner and gong-ringer for
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