Fairy Tales Go Hollywood
Shrek 2 Hits with Ogre-Sized Laughs

With the advent of video, Disney began to release low-budget sequels to many of its most popular titles like The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. Yet, not since Rescuers Down Under has an animated sequel made it to theaters. DreamWorks Animation, a relatively new contender for the animated throne, has broken all the rules by bringing its irreverent Oscar-winning ogre back to the silver screen for another round of fairy tale misadventures.

Shrek 2
Shrek (Mike Myers) and Donkey (Eddie Murphy) find a new ally in Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderas) in Shrek 2. (DreamWorks Animation, 2004)
Directed by: Andrew Adamson and Kelly Asbury
Written by: Andrew Adamson, Joe Stillman and J. David Stem & David N. Weiss, and Chris Miller, based on the book by William Steig
Starring: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Rupert Everett, and Jennifer Saunders

Rated PG (for some crude humor, a brief substance reference and some suggestive content)
Running time: 93 min.

FilmGuru's Rating : 9 out of 10.

After rescuing the princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) from a dragon and evil little regent in the previous film, Shrek (Mike Myers) must now face his greatest challenge: meeting the parents. After returning from their honeymoon, Shrek and Fiona receive a royal invitation to attend a ball in their honor in the kingdom of Far Far Away. While Shrek sees nothing but trouble brewing, Fiona believes that her parents will accept her (green body and all) and her new husband. Of course, the happy duo has Shrek's "friend" Donkey (Eddie Murphy) along just to make things interesting.

While the original film was a send-up of all fairy tale stereotypes, Shrek 2 adds a new twist. In addition to a lot of pokes at Brothers Grimm, it also takes aim at that other fantasy land known as Hollywood. In the first five minutes of the film, there are at least a half dozen parodies of movies, from classics like From Here to Eternity to more recent blockbusters like The Lord of the Rings and Spider-Man. The kingdom of Far Far Away is an obvious mix of Hollywood and Los Angeles, with the town name standing on the hill in big white letters and the main street filled with expensive shops and vendors selling maps to the stars' homes.

The story is not simply one sight gag after another, however. There are some interesting plots woven into this story, making it apparent that Shrek is not a children's film. The layers of character development are quite surprising. As Shrek learns of Fiona's childhood fantasies, he fears he cannot measure up to her expectations. Seeking only to make her happy, he and Donkey embark on a new quest that mixes danger, intrigue, and a lot of laughs. The interplay between Shrek and Donkey is still fresh and funny, and the addition of new characters only adds to the mix.

Of course, the film includes a liberal dose of toilet humor, too. The usual gross jokes involving flatulence and such are rudely outdone by one scene involving the character Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderas) licking himself. Not exactly what I would consider appropriate for school age kids, but I'm old fashioned. There's also some singing, some dancing, and a great climax to the story that parodies a 1980s Bill Murray comedy.

Shrek 2 boasts a stellar cast (aside from the returning one). Julie Andrews and John Cleese play Fiona's mother and father, the queen and king of Far Far Away. Jennifer Saunders plays the Fairy Godmother to perfection. Rupert Everett as Prince Charming, with his droll self-importance, could not have been better cast. Each performance is amazing and gives authenticity to the animated characters.

Having just watched the original Shrek again, I was amazed by the level of detail in that film. To my delight, DreamWorks has taken their animation to a new level of realism that boasts some of the best "human" characters I have seen in computer animation. The skin textures, hair, and facial expressions were amazing lifelike -- albeit in caricature. Of course, the fairy tale characters are also equally interesting. I won't go so far as to say that DreamWorks has outdone Pixar, but they are definitely raising the bar for the competition.