Shrek 2

Shrek 2 is a magnificent follow on to the original beloved tale of an antisocial ogre and his donkey sidekick. Shrek 2 may not seem like a gamble, but it was. Anytime a story of beloved characters continues there is the concern that the story will be bad and the characters will be ruined. That is certainly not the case here as the characters shift shapes but remain true to their personalities.

Shrek 2 picks up where the original Shrek left off. Fiona and Shrek are married and off on their honeymoon. The story artists were able to include a number of pointed Disney jabs in this first honeymoon montage including Tinkerbell in a jar and an intrusive Little Mermaid. Of course when the couple returns to the swamp the honeymoon is interrupted by the ever faithful, and ever talkative, donkey. Plus there are a bunch of men in tights with a royal summons for Fiona and her new husband to appear before her parents, the king and queen of Far Far Away.

The story really begins when Shrek, Fiona and donkey travel to Far Far Away, a kingdom that looks surprisingly like Los Angeles. This image conscious burg with its picture perfect king and queen aren’t ready for the likes of Shrek and his green bride but everyone attempts to adapt. The king and queen are voiced well by John Cleese and Julie Andrews as parents shocked and taken aback by Fiona’s ogreish transformation and her great green husband. With their characters the writers go a bit Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, the queen thinks that Fiona seems happy and lets it go at that. The king wants her daughter to be happy, in a more traditional way.

Enter in Fairy Godmother, notice the absence of the word good, and her self-centered son Prince Charming played here by Jennifer Saunders and Rupert Everett. The real charm of both Shrek films is their ability to turn the fairy tales that we grew up with on their ear and exposing their flaws. Here Fairy Godmother resembles Martha Stewart, a slave driving control freak bent on dominating her market, potions, and forcing the populace into pleasant conformity. Prince Charming, instead of being the answer to every girl’s dream, is a vapid narcissist who can’t string together a sensible sentence, whines constantly, and is completely dependent upon his mother.

Shrek seeks his new father-in-law’s approval, but as it so often happens he is denied and instead faced with an assassin cat named Puss in Boots. Puss is the most memorable of the new characters, voiced by Antonio Banderas; he is a take on every Zorro like swashbuckler. A tiny cat with big wide eyes, Puss is an unlikely but lethal assassin. He comes to respect Shrek and aids him in his quest to take down Fairy Godmother and regain his lady. Of course it is the competition between donkey and Puss that provides the majority of the comic relief. As donkey put it so eloquently ‘the position of annoying talking animal has been filled.’

There are potions and action aplenty, in this film there is also a significant amount of music. Though Shrek banned all of donkey’s singing in the first film, this film seems filled not only with prominent soundtrack music but also with singing.

There are a few questionable jokes, most especially one involving Pinocchio’s undergarments. Luckily Shrek 2 again maintains the balance between attracting kinds and entertaining adults. Most of the adult oriented jokes are subtle enough to pass over kids’ heads, there are numerous movie references, and there is plenty of action and interesting scenery for the kids to look at. In addition to being as fun and as funny as the original, Shrek 2 reiterates the mantra that beauty is only skin deep. Add to the mix some classic new characters and Shrek 2 is a worthy successor to the wonderful Shrek and will continue the green ogre’s dominance of the box office.

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