Movie Info
Movie Name: Shrek 2
Studio: DreamWorks Animation
Genre(s): Animated/Comedy/Family
Release Date(s): May 15, 2004 (Cannes)/May 19, 2004 (US)
MPAA Rating: PG
Meet the Parents…Shrek style
Shrek and Fiona are celebrating their new married life…but Shrek learns it is time to meet the in-laws. A trip to Far Far Away is in order and Fiona, Shrek, and Donkey find that Fiona’s parents aren’t approving of the new ogre in the family. Shrek finds an assassin by the name of Puss in Boots is after them but makes a quick ally of the feline. With Donkey and Puss, Shrek sets out to make Shrek a more suitable husband for Fiona but doesn’t realize that it is all a plot by Fiona’s Fairy Godmother to get Fiona to wed her own son Prince Charming. Now Shrek is in human form and facing a deadline to rescue Fiona again.
Directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, and Conrad Vernon, Shrek 2 was the follow-up to 2001’s Academy Award winning Shrek. The movie received positive reviews and became one of the biggest moneymaking animated films of all time.
I can give you anything…
The Shrek films are basically a series of parody movies. The movie’s basis is mostly feels like every Disney stereotype for its basic plot but then goes from everything from Cops to Alien to Ghostbusters. The writing is generally pretty smart and the ties are clever. All the films are well done, but not necessarily my thing.
The parody format of the movies kind of take me out of the film, and I feel it tries too hard. It is set as a medieval parody but constantly makes modern references. I know that is the point of the film, but I had the same problems with movies like Disney’s Aladdin (which had Ed Sullivan) and Beauty and the Beast (which had the Eiffel Tower). I don’t have as much of a problem with it here since in theory in this world they have the equivalents of some of the items and people. Fortunately, the story uses these parodies in a smart way that help develop the plot beyond just being a parody.
It’s inside of me!!!
The movie looks great and employs great voice actors. Mike Myers continues to do a solid job as Shrek and Cameron Diaz is a nice Fiona (though she really isn’t in the movie much). Eddie Murphy’s Donkey I find a bit over-the-top and annoying (something that did carryover from the first film…though a bit toned down). John Cleese and Julie Andrews are great for Fiona’s parents and Ruper Everett plays the smarmy Prince Charming well. Jennifer Saunders is a nice edition as the “evil” Fairy Godmother and the movie of course introduces Puss in Boots (who had his own film in 2011) which lets Antonio Banderas gets to relive his Mask of Zorro days.
I do probably enjoy this movie a bit more than the previous Shrek because I am adjusted to a bit to the world of Shrek. The Shreks aren’t my favorite films, but I can recognize moments of greatness within them (love the “I’m a real boy” moment with Pinocchio in this one). With a huge success, it was obvious that Shrek would continue. Shrek 2 was followed by Shrek the Third in 2007.
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