Shrek 2 (2004)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Directors:

Andrew Adamson
Kelly Asbury

Writers:

William Steig (book)
Andrew Adamson (story)

Release Date:

19 May 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

In summer 2004, they're back for more....

Plot:

Princess Fiona's parents invite her and Shrek to dinner to celebrate her marriage. If only they knew the newlyweds were both ogres.

Plot Keywords:

Shrek | Ogre | Princess | King | Prince

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 34 nominations

Cast

Mike Myers	...	Shrek (voice)
Eddie Murphy	...	Donkey (voice)
Cameron Diaz	...	Princess Fiona (voice)
Julie Andrews	...	Queen (voice)
Antonio Banderas	...	Puss In Boots (voice)
John Cleese	...	King (voice)
Rupert Everett	...	Prince Charming (voice)
Jennifer Saunders	...	Fairy Godmother (voice)
Aron Warner	...	Wolf (voice)
Kelly Asbury	...	Page / Elf / Nobleman / Nobleman's Son (voice)
Cody Cameron	...	Pinocchio / Three Pigs (voice)
Conrad Vernon	...	Gingerbread Man / Cedric / Announcer / Muffin Man / Mongo (voice)
Christopher Knights	...	Blind Mouse (voice)
David P. Smith	...	Herald / Man with Box (voice)
Mark Moseley	...	Mirror / Dresser (voice)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Denmark:A | Switzerland:8 (canton of Zurich) | France:U | Canada:G (all jurisdictions) | Malaysia:U | Iceland:L | South Africa:A | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Brazil:Livre | Finland:S | Germany:o.Al. | Ireland:G | Japan:U | Netherlands:AL | Peru:PT | Philippines:G | Portugal:M/6 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:All | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Taiwan:GP | UK:U (cut) | USA:PG (certificate #40780) | Greece:K

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

This was the first sequel ever nominated for an Oscar as Best Animated Feature.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Shrek enters through the castle gate, he enters on the right side, but when swinging on the chain, he's on the left side.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Prince Charming: Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away, the king and queen were blessed with a beautiful baby girl, and throughout the land everyone was happy, until the sun went down, and they saw that their daughter was cursed with a frightful enchantment that took hold each and every night...
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Pretty Woman (1990)

Soundtrack:

Little Drop of Poison

Respectable effort with a tough act to follow

Shrek 2 has as much humor, talent, and fun as the original classic, and almost as much heart. The film picks up where Shrek left off, with Fiona and Shrek celebrating their marriage, but they are immediately cast into a new adventure when summoned to the land of Far Far Away (a clever parody of Hollywood), to the court of Fiona's mother and father, for a surprise royal wedding ball. The only problem, as it turns out, is that Fiona has married the wrong guy - according to everybody but Shrek, Fiona, and their friends.

The plot, revolving around this central problem, is helped along by nearly constant allusions to virtually every fairy tale in the English canon, and satirical references to many recent popular films. Unsatisfied with the combination of romantic comedy, Hollywood satire and self-parody, the film-makers' also went all out with a clever original soundtrack, making Shrek 2 as much of a musical as anything else.

The voice talent is just as essential as it was in the first film, and there's more of it, with John Cleese and Antonio Banderas giving very memorable performances. And the animation is, unsurprisingly, lovely.

To their credit, Dreamworks kept the core talent in place, but created a somewhat different formula for this film. Even though I expect most fans of the first film to adore the second, I am not sure Shrek 2 is going to make the franchise any new fans. Though more clearly made for adult audiences than the original, Shrek 2 is still warm-hearted family fare. As much as I DO recommend this film, and as entertaining as I think it will be for just about anybody, I don't consider Shrek 2 to be quite the classic Shrek was. It's touching and goofy, to be sure, but it's much more of a Hollywood film than the original, and it doesn't quite reach the same levels. Nevertheless, it is one of the better sequels I have seen, and it was definitely worth both the price of admission and a third or fourth viewing of the DVD.