Login
Like the majority of feature films, 2001's Shrek was designed as a one-off flick. The storyline was hence wrapped up at the film's conclusion since, naturally, a solid box office performance was not guaranteed. When Shrek earned over 8 times its budget at the box office, though, DreamWorks decided a Shrek 2 was warranted, and the creators were left to figure out the best way to continue the franchise. Unlike Pixar Studios, however, the folks at DreamWorks do not possess the patience or the creativity to ensure a sequel is implemented correctly. Therefore, one cannot expect Shrek 2 to conquer the dizzying heights of Toy Story 2 - rather, it's a moderately enjoyable but distinctly lacking follow-up.
At the beginning of this sequel, the titular ogre Shrek (Myers) is happily married to Princess Fiona (Diaz), and the two green giants are enjoying their honeymoon. They arrive home to their beloved swamp to find an invitation from Fiona's parents: the King and Queen of the kingdom of Far Far Away (voiced by Cleese and Andrews). See, the King and Queen caught wind of the wedding and desire to meet the man that their daughter has married. Despite Shrek's understandable reluctance, he and Fiona travel to the kingdom of Far Far Away, accompanied by Donkey (Murphy). Unsurprisingly, the entire kingdom is shocked to see Fiona show up in ogre form with an ogre husband. The King in particular does not approve, mainly due to a binding agreement with the Fairy Godmother (Saunders) which involved him promising Fiona's hand in marriage to Prince Charming (Everett).
One thing which can be said for certain is that the focus of Shrek 2 was on the laughs. Very few of the emotional moments from the first film are present here, as the filmmakers preferred to rely on quick humour and visual gags (including a brilliant Alien riff). As with most DreamWorks pictures, there are several knocks at Disney. There's an unflattering glimpse of Ariel (from The Little Mermaid) as well as the duo of Lumiere and Cogsworth (from Beauty and the Beast). The character of Puss in Boots (Banderas) - a feline assassin - is introduced as well, who provides a number of the best laughs through amusing dialogue. So in this sense, Shrek 2 is good family entertainment. The problem, however, is an over-reliance on pop culture gags which will lose their potency within the next decade. Laughs of the belly variety are few and far between, too. As a matter of fact, most of the gags provoke mere chuckles, and most are no longer funny after a single viewing. So far I've seen this movie twice: in cinemas in 2004, and on DVD in 2010. I almost never laughed as I watched it a second time, whereas the original Shrek still makes me laugh hard no matter how many times I've seen it.
Shrek 2 was directed by the trio of Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon, who were able to keep the film moving along at an agreeable pace and marshal several delightful set-pieces. The animation is phenomenal as well. Similar to its predecessor, the animation possesses a realistic feel in the midst of a cartoon environment. Scenes of rain & snow look almost photorealistic, while the backgrounds are exquisitely detailed. The characters are all incredibly expressive in their facial and body movements, though the humans still retain the slightly awkward look of something designed on a computer. As with the original film, too, the hair looks terrific - Puss in Boots in particular is a marvel. The original Shrek delivered a message regarding the importance of being yourself and looking beyond surface beauty, and Shrek 2 is more of the same - Shrek and Fiona struggle to spread this message to the kingdom of Far Far Away. However, while Shrek 2 is a fun flick, it offers little in the way of the original film's originality or, more importantly, its heart.
A wealth of vocal talent lent their voices to this sequel, including the majority of the original cast who returned to reprise their roles. Mike Myers is once again marvellous as Shrek, while Eddie Murphy fires off line after line of hilarious dialogue in his role of Donkey. Antonio Banderas voiced Puss in Boots here. Since the character is a swashbuckling cat, his performance is all the more amusing since Banderas has portrayed Zorro (a classic swashbuckler) in two live-action movies. Meanwhile, the always-reliable John Cleese is adequate as the King, though he is not allowed much room to be his usual hilarious self. Additionally, one of the original film's strengths was its unpredictable soundtrack, which featured mainstream artists like Smash Mouth and hip icons like Leonard Cohen. This is retained in Shrek 2, with artists like Ricky Martin sharing score space with Nick Cave.
True, Shrek 2 is at times funny, but it's entirely forgettable. Worse, the central characters have been relegated to spectators in their own movie who watch amusing things happening around them instead of to them. So, no, Shrek 2 is not as good as the first - not by a long shot. It is, however, at least enjoyable. It's not as breezy as Shrek (in fact the story drags in places) or as clever, yet it's a respectable enough effort. After the film made big bucks at the box office, Shrek the Third followed in 2007.
6.2/10
