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We all know the story of Mulan, a Chinese girl who hacked off her hair and dressed in drag in order to fight the Huns and save her family’s honor, falling in love in the process. Mulan 2 was a direct to home DVD, and about as watered down as most Disney sequels. Disney has smacked Mulan together with its ugly stepsister in The Ultimate Mulan 2-Movie Collection.

Released in 1998, Mulan did okay business, compared to most Disney releases. The Disney pantheon had a new princess, and Eddie Murphy got to play the most racially confused dragon since Sean Connery’s Dragonheart. Featuring the talents of Ming Na, B.D. Wong, Pat Morita and George Takei, Mulan may not have made history, but it was a solid release.

Mulan 2, on the other hand, sucked. It was trite, boring, overly silly and the music just fell flat. It lacked all the grandeur of Mulan, but that’s okay as it was a straight to DVD film, and no one really cares about those, anyway. Even Eddie Murphy, who frequently makes disastrous career choices, managed to stay away. The story picks up as Shang comes to propose to Mulan, but the lovebirds are interrupted by orders to escort three princesses to Qui Gong so that they may be married to three princes, and therefore the Mongols will not invade and destroy China. Only the three princesses don’t want to marry their appointed princes, and Mushu doesn’t want Mulan to marry Shang, because he’ll lose something or other (I was really too bored to care by this point). Hilarity ensues and eventually the day is won with much singing.

This three disc set is packed with bonus features, though not as many as you’d expect from a set that brags it’s three-disc status. Mulan features two discs, with deleted scenes, featurettes on the music, the typical dumb game, commentary and Mulan facts (disc two has a wealth of production detail on the film, well worth perusing if you’re a fan). Mulan 2 contains a lesser, mirror image of Mulan’s bonus features – deleted scenes, games, and music videos.

The big question is, what’s new? My answer, sadly, is not a damn thing. They didn’t even bother to update the previews. It’s sad, and a missed opportunity on Disney’s part – though I doubt they notice. Both films have been and probably will continue to be out for sale, and the only reason I could fathom for buying this set is if it dangled dangerously close to being slapped in the vault. But as there is no danger of that here, there is no real need for the set.

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