Shrek 2 ( 2004 )

Rated: PG for some crude humor, a brief substance reference and some suggestive content

Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:May 19, 2004 Wide
Box Office: $436,471,036
Review :
Like most sequels ''Shrek 2,'' which opens nationwide tomorrow, tries to compensate for potential lost novelty by taking everything people liked about the original and adding more.

The prickly main characters, who since the first ''Shrek'' opened in 2001 have become cuddly plush toys, have returned: the grumpy title character (the voice of Mike Myers); his ogre princess bride, Fiona (Cameron Diaz); and of course the splendidly annoying Donkey (Eddie Murphy). The lessons that DreamWorks derived (and distorted) from William Steig's sublimely dyspeptic picture book are reiterated: be yourself; love yourself for who you are. For myself I accept ''Shrek 2'' for what it is -- a slick and playful entertainment that remains carefully inoffensive beneath its veneer of bad manners -- but I don't really love it.

The filmmakers have added a passel of new supporting characters, movie star voices and satiric targets. Whereas ''Shrek'' mocked the world of Disney (the former realm of the DreamWorks honcho Jeffrey Katzenberg), the sequel, directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon, widens its scope to Hollywood as a whole, here done up in medieval 3-D cartoon drag as a place called Far Far Away.

It seems that Fiona is the estranged princess of this land of high-end boutiques whose names seem more like sly product placements than actual jokes. She decides to reconcile with her parents (Julie Andrews and John Cleese) and to introduce them to her new husband. (Their first family meal is a bit like ''Guess Who's Coming to Dinner,'' but with an ogre.) Donkey of course tags along, now that his relationship with Dragon has hit the skids, and they are soon mixed up with a wily super-agentlike Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders), whose spoiled and loutish frat-boy son, Prince Charming (Rupert Everett), was once betrothed to Fiona.
To get Shrek out of the picture, the King hires Puss in Boots, a swashbuckling hit-cat with the voice of Antonio Banderas. Once the honorable cat comes over to Shrek's side, Donkey complains that there's room for only one annoying talking animal sidekick. And he does have a point, though Mr. Banderas's campy suavity and Puss's convincingly animated fur add some new looks and rhythms to the formula.

While this ''Shrek'' revives the raucous spirit and winking allusiveness of its predecessor, some elements of the animation have advanced noticeably. The settings, especially the interiors of castle rooms and dim taverns, are lighted more realistically than in ''Shrek,'' and the flesh and fur, in their various hues, have a more lifelike texture. All of this gives the picture more visual warmth and richness, but in comparison to the most recent Pixar movies it still looks cold and stiff. The human characters in particular look like cheap knockoffs of the toys in the ''Toy Story'' movies.

In terms of its attitude toward the audience, DreamWorks 3-D animation is in some ways the opposite of Pixar, choosing to divide its viewers by age rather than uniting them. The music (including Butterfly Boucher's cover of David Bowie's ''Changes'' and a rendition by Mr. Banderas and Mr. Murphy of ''Livin' la Vida Loca''), the in-jokes and the occasional touches of bawdiness are intended to placate insecure adults while the bright colors and jaunty storytelling enchant their children and teach them to be themselves, like all the other kids with Shrek dolls and ears.

This kind of strategy is hardly uncommon in pop culture these days, and ''Shrek 2'' executes it with wit and aplomb. The script, by Mr. Adamson, Joe Stillman, J. David Stem and David N. Weiss, has jokes that grown-ups and precocious kids will congratulate themselves for getting, and plenty of broader humor (which actually works better). The movie's goal is to enchant children with an old-fashioned fairy tale while simultaneously mocking and subverting its fairy-tale and nursery-rhyme premises. This is sometimes enjoyable and genuinely imaginative (appearances by the Gingerbread Man, who looks like Mr. Bill of ''Saturday Night Live,'' and the Three Blind Mice are especially clever), but it also leaves a sour, cynical aftertaste.

Mr. Steig's ''Shrek'' is a celebration of ugliness that also happens to be one of the most beautiful children's books ever written, with respect both to its pictures and its prose. Of course it is unfair to compare that slim volume to the franchise it has spawned, which is a phenomenon in its own right. Certainly ''Shrek 2'' offers rambunctious fun, but there is also something dishonest about its blending of mockery and sentimentality. It lacks both the courage to be truly ugly and the heart to be genuinely beautiful.

Synopsis:
The natural order of fairy tales is interrupted in the sequel to the Academy Award®-winning blockbuster "Shrek." "Shrek 2" sends Shrek, Donkey and Princess Fiona on a whirlwind of new adventures... The natural order of fairy tales is interrupted in the sequel to the Academy Award®-winning blockbuster "Shrek." "Shrek 2" sends Shrek, Donkey and Princess Fiona on a whirlwind of new adventures with more fairy-tale favorites to lampoon along the way. After battling a fire-breathing dragon and the evil Lord Farquaad to win the hand of Princess Fiona, Shrek now faces his greatest challenge: the in-laws. Shrek and Princess Fiona return from their honeymoon to find an invitation to visit Fiona’s parents, the King and Queen of the Kingdom of Far, Far Away. With Donkey along for the ride, the newlyweds set off. All of the citizens of Far, Far Away turn out to greet their returning Princess, and her parents happily anticipate the homecoming of their daughter and her new Prince. But no one could have prepared them for the sight of their new son-in-law, not to mention how much their little girl had…well…changed. Little did Shrek and Fiona know that their marriage had foiled all of her father’s plans for her future…and his own. Now the King must enlist the help of a powerful Fairy Godmother, the handsome Prince Charming and that famed ogre killer Puss In Boots to put right his version of "happily ever after." "Shrek 2" brings back the voices of Mike Myers as Shrek, Eddie Murphy as Donkey and Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona. Joining the all-star voice cast are: Academy Award® winner Julie Andrews ("Mary Poppins") and Oscar® nominee John Cleese ("A Fish Called Wanda") as Fiona’s royal parents, Queen Lillian and King Harold; Antonio Banderas ("Spy Kids") as Puss In Boots; Rupert Everett ("My Best Friend’s Wedding") as Prince Charming; and Jennifer Saunders ("Absolutely Fabulous") as the Fairy Godmother. The computer-animated comedy is directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon, and produced by Aron Warner, John H. Williams and David Lipman.

Starring: Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Antonio Banderas, Rupert Everett, Jennifer Saunders Director: Conrad Vernon, Kelly Asbury, Andrew Adamson Screenwriter: Andrew Adamson, J. David Stem, David N. Weiss, Joe Stillman Producer: Aron Warner, John H. Williams, David Lipman Studio: DreamWorks Distribution LLC