The soundtrack to the Walt Disney animated feature Mulan II mixes vocal recordings done specifically for the movie, a version of one of those songs by a rock group, and selections from the film's instrumental score. The vocal songs are children's musical-oriented fare mixing sentimental romance and adventure, one of which ("Lesson Number One") is sung by Broadway performer
Lea Salonga, another ("Here Beside Me") by New Zealand singer
Hayley Westenra. In this company, the version of "(I Wanna Be) Like Other Girls" by
Atomic Kitten -- given an anthemic guitar-heavy alternative rock treatment, though the other version on the CD is much more in the soppy Disney children's musical style -- sounds downright ferocious, and a little out of place. Filling out the disc are selections from
Joel McNeely's epic-oriented score and an instrumental version of "Here Beside Me" (for which
McNeely wrote the music). ~ Richie Unterberger