For what it's worth, I'm one of the few who didn't think Shrek was all that. I could've just been in a bad mood that day (I only saw it once), I suppose.
Shrek 2 is a definite improvement on the first, even if it does go through a lot of the same tedious cliche-ridden romps, more intent on short spurts of entertaining than getting to the point. Admittedly, this does make the movie a lot of fun in retrospect, when you think back to certain scenes such as the ride in the Fairy Grandmother's Chariot.
There's no doubt that the quality of the animation has improved since the emergence of the first Shrek. The most obvious evidence comes in the form of a new character, Puss-N-Boots, whose character (voiced superbly by Antonio Banderas) leaps from a clawing warrior to a seductively cute kitty with big eyes in seconds. Many shots (one in particular, of a tree, sticks out in my mind) look more real than we'd ever have dreamed possible ten years ago. The rainstorm is spectacular. There is also a lot more very realistic activity in the background, so much that going back to watch Attack of the Clones would be like watching a grocery store at three in the morning.
References to other movies (Banderas gets to emulate a few of his own) and to pop culture in particular come so fast, even your mind must scramble to "write them down" fast enough. As I have noticed, some went right past me such as the Justin Timberlake poster! But seeing Hollywood more or less "make fun of itself" is always ... interesting.
Story is pretty basic. We just saw Shrek and his sweet little wife Fiona fall in love. Now, we discover that the real Prince Charming who was supposed to break Fiona's curse, well he's pretty ticked off, and he's conspiring with the Fairy Godmother (and her masochistic cronies) to eliminate Shrek from the equation. Making things even more complicated, Fiona's parents are not very open to the idea of her being an Ogre, let alone marrying one.
Mike Myers returns to do the voice of Shrek, and he seems very down-to-Earth this time around. In fact, of all the characters, Shrek is probably the least funny, which made him easy to relate to. He also goes topless for many scenes in the first half, for whatever that's worth! Pretty much ditto that ('cept the topless part) for Cameron Diaz as his wife Fiona, although she does have a nice rack for a cartoon character, and she unleashes an impressive burp.
One thing that bothered me about the first Shrek was that Eddie Murphy as the Donkey reminded me too much of Buddy Love from the Nutty Professor movies; again, could've been my imagination. But this time around, Donkey kicked some major ass (no pun intended). He's less of a nuisance and more of a sidekick, now that he and Shrek know each other and all. His rivalry with Puss-N-Boots is also cute.
John Cleese and Julie Andrews do the voices of the King and Queen, who are around a lot during the beginning when the script is still sputtering a bit. That hits its stride right about the same time as the movie itself (about 20-30 minutes in), when we begin to discover what's really going on behind the curtain. Just after the halfway mark, something happens that you will not believe. If you don't see Shrek 2 in the next week, it'll be a miracle if you avoid having it spoiled for you.
Even many of the smaller characters like Pinocchio and the Three Blind Mice get enough screen time that you actually get to know them a bit. Pinocchio's "big moment" is probably the funniest bit in the entire movie. You'll know it when you see it.
So here we go again, you know. I realize my title didn't really indicate where I was going with this review, truth is I was just stealing the title before any negative reviewers can get to it :)
So go, have fun, brace yourselves for a few poots, belches and a Ricky Martin song, have some M&M's and relax.
Oh yeah and STAY past the first minute or so of credits (no matter how tepid the cover of Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out For A Hero" is), you've got to see the little epilogue scene!
In this meet-the-parents sequel to the romantic fairy tale in which two ogres fall in love SHREK 2 brings the loveable green menace voiced by Mike Mey...More at Family Video
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