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Score Composed and Conducted by:
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Joel McNeely
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Score Orchestrated by:
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David Slonaker
Nan Schwartz
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Songs Composed by:
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Jeanine Tesori
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Release Date:
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January 25th, 2005
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Availability:
Regular U.S. release, but priced at bargain rates often below $8.
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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you enjoy Joel McNeely's often underrated work and are
open to his large-scale orchestral efforts for an otherwise miserable Disney
sequel.
Avoid it... if you can find absolutely no merit in any aspect of a
Disney sequel, especially one that follows a revered Jerry Goldsmith
score.
Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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Mulan II: (Joel McNeely) There have been some truly
terrible products coming out of the sequel division at Walt Disney Pictures
over the past eight or so years. The quality of these sequels is so wretched
that each one serves as proof that the studio is about profit first and
artistry second, draining every last dollar out of any and every original
idea that someone else at the studio has conjured in the past. If only
Disney would take this money in the sequel division and pump it into fresh
new feature films, then maybe the studio would achieve the same quality and
respect for its product that it received in the early 1990's. Let us not
forget that Beauty and the Beast was nominated for a best picture
Oscar. In the string of modern, animated musical features, Mulan came
right at the end of Disney's dominance in the 1990's, providing a strong
Jerry Goldsmith score and popular Matthew Wilder songs that officially
ushered out the Alan Menken era. Most critics would argue to some extent
that it's been down the toilet for Disney's quality in the genre ever since,
and it's no coincidence that this current era of poorer Disney output
coincides with the release of atrocities like The Little Mermaid 2
and The Return of Jafar (or, if you want to see the absolute worst,
try the Tarzan and Atlantis sequels with re-used footage from
television cartoons!). The rumor mill has speculated for some time that two
Mulan sequels were in the works, although delays and rewrites on this
first one have suspended the second sequel for the time being. While Disney
attempts to occasionally send these sequels to the theatres, Mulan II
is another "straight to video" (or DVD, these days) venture, which is
Disney's way of admitting, according to some, that their product
stinks.
The problem with these sequels, specifically, is that the
money doesn't exist to rehire the original songwriters, composers, actors,
and other crew that often made the original a success. While some of the
cast returned for Mulan II, the musical aspect of the project was a
complete turnover, leaving Goldsmith's score and Wilder's songs largely in
the dust. Enter composer Joel McNeely, whose career is almost as frustrating
as one of these Disney sequels. Joining the likes of Mark McKenzie and Cliff
Eidelman, McNeely is among the younger generation of composers who has
immense talent, has shown it at certain times, but has never been able to
burst through into major Hollywood pictures on a consistent basis. Even more
so than the others, McNeely's career has been all over the map, with his
compositions over the past ten years including television shows,
mini-series, IMAX pictures, animated sequels, light comedies that nobody has
heard of, and even some additional music for feature projects with
mainstream composers. His entry into the world of Disney is intriguing in
its consistency and quality of output, but he is stuck in that sequel
division of the studio that we all love to hate. His scores to Return to
Neverland and The Jungle Book 2 in 2002 and 2003 have led to
Mulan II and Pooh's Heffalump Movie in 2004 and 2005. Perhaps
the frustrating aspect of this entire scenario is that McNeely's work is
really quite good for these awful films, and it goes to show that Disney
hasn't completely cut off their budget in the music area of these sequels.
McNeely's work for them is orchestral on a large scale, and could easily
suit a feature film. But he has the immediate disadvantage on something like
Mulan because any aware adult or pre-teen will recognize that the
songs and score themes from the first film are absent from the second. This
again plays to the notion that young children don't care, and why suffer
from a screaming child in the back of your SUV when you can slide Mulan
II into the roof player as an effective pacifying device? Does artistic
continuity really matter at that moment?
For score collectors, it does. If you do care about the
continuity of the music (and let's not even get into the controversy about
the voices), then something like Mulan II will always leave a
slightly sour taste in your mouth. In this case, one of Wilder's songs ("A
Girl Worth Fighting For") has been shortly reprised and none of the now late
Jerry Goldsmith's material is adapted or present. The songs for Mulan
II are written by Jeanine Tesori, composer of the plays "Thoroughly
Modern Millie", and "Caroline, or Change" (recognized in 2004 for being the
first female composer to have two hit musicals running concurrently on
Broadway), and despite her talents, her work for three songs in Mulan
II does not compare to Wilder's originals. McNeely does seem to have
studied the score from the feature film, and does his best to skirt the
probable legalities that hinder direct transferring of Goldsmith themes by
incorporating ideas similar to Goldsmith's in clever ways. He does compose a
magnificent new title theme for his score, though, and its song version,
"Here Beside Me," is superior in melody, vocal performance, and depth of
orchestral accompaniment to the other songs on the album. Its feature film
quality carries over to the score, which exists at considerable length in
the absence of the normal number of songs. While not as robust as
Goldsmith's original score, McNeely once again holds his own, showering the
sequel scene with work worthy of far better films. He maintains the oriental
spirit of Mulan and incorporates a chorus into his ensemble to
maximize the non-vocal renditions of the film's song material. Thematically
pleasant and occasionally powerful with immense scope, McNeely provides
always competent and sometimes outstanding work for Mulan II. On
album his score occupies two-thirds of the total running time, which is far
more generous than the one equally strong, but sadly inadequate McNeely
score cut available on the concurrent album for Pooh's Heffalump
Movie. Overall, for film score collectors, and especially those of you
who bemoan the absence of Joel McNeely from the spotlight, Mulan II
is a surprisingly rewarding score despite the weakness of the film and its
songs. ****
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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• 1. Lesson Number One (cast song) (2:26)
• 2. Main Title (1:09)
• 3. Like Other Girls (cast song) (2:25)
• 4. Girl Worth Fighting For (Redux) (cast song) (1:31)
• 5. Here Beside Me (cast song) (2:35)
• 6. (I Wanna Be) Like Other Girls - performed by Atomic Kitten (2:50)
• 7. Journey Begins (2:59)
• 8. In Love and in Trouble (4:37)
• 9. Attack (4:06)
• 10. Shang Lives! (4:28)
• 11. Here Beside Me (Instrumental) (2:35)
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Insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
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