I figuratively had to drag my best friend to see Shrek 2 but I felt a certain kinship with the family behind us in the ticket line. Mom, Dad, a four year old, an eight year old, and their teenage son were arguing about the movie. The teenager didn't want to see it either. They were dragging him literally.
With my friend, image wasn't the problem. She doesn't like animated tales as a rule. It was her turn to pick the movie (we take turns unless one of us has a strong feeling for a movie... like I did Shrek 2) and she is a therapist for children and sitting in a "kid movie" is among her visions of Hell. However, I, like the parents behind us, won the battle.
Shrek was a hugely popular Dreamworks offering that spoofed fairy tales in general and Walt Disney in particular. My cousin insisted I see this movie on DVD when it came out and for once, a relative of mine recommended a good movie. It offered an animated tale that had enough references to adult humor to pacify most members of the family. Shrek 2 takes all that one step further.
Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) begins the tale. He is the charmingly handsome prince (who knows it, too) who was supposed to rescue Fiona (Cameron Diaz) from her tower and, with love's first kiss, keep her in human form forever. There's a rude awakening in store for Charming when he finds out Fiona's on her honeymoon.
Shrek (Mike Myers) and Fiona, two ogres in love, are romping through the fields, enjoying the mud baths, having romantic picnics, and making out off screen quite a bit. But being Dreamworks there is enough mature humor to keep even the adults happy--even with the obligatory fart jokes. For example, two ogres in love, kissing on the beach as the tide rolls in is great spoof of "From Here to Eternity", yet when the tide rolls out, Shrek is kissing a beautiful, red-headed mermaid. Fiona marches up and drags The Little Mermaid away, tossing her in the sea, much to the delight of immediately cavorting sharks. Definitely a treat for the grown-ups in the audience... not to mention, quite a few of the kids.
Upon returning home to the swamp, Fiona and Shrek find Donkey (Eddie Murphy) who has left Dragon and wants to live with them. Donkey, you may remember, has a hard time knowing when he's not wanted. They also receive an invitation from Fiona's parents, the King (John Cleese) and Queen (the incomparable Julie Andrews)of the kingdom of Far Far Away.
Now, Shrek puts his ogre foot down. They aren't going, he declares as many a newly married man might say. Of course, the coach is packed practically before he finishes speaking and they and donkey head off to adventure in the land of Far Far Away. Never underestimate the power of a new wife.
The King, not being happy that his beautiful daughter is now a happy married ogress who has a man, er, ogre who loves her, wants her married to Prince Charming--like she was supposed to be! It seems the King has made a deal with Charming's mother, the Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders) to insure such an arrangement only Charming was late and Shrek was not.
The Fairy Godmother, a wonderful twist to the usual fairy godmother fare, is the villain who is determined to get Shrek out of the way and get her son married off to Fiona.
Hiring an assassin, Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) to get rid of Shrek is a stroke of genius and his part carries the film beautifully.
Now all Shrek has to do is foil the assassin, convince his in-laws that he is the right man, er, ogre for their daughter, and win out over the Fairy Godmother... in less than 90 minutes.
What's Good
Multi-layered humor. There's enough to appeal to all ages and only a few "crude" jokes. Most of the brilliance is in the parodies of movies, lifestyles, pop culture, Disney and Hollywood. Far too many to count. I can hardly wait to go again and this time not let the story distract me from the farces that play.
The Computer Generated Images (CGI). At times, the Fairy Godmother is so expressive, I found myself thinking the actress was terrific! Well, Saunders was terrific, but she was only the voice of the Fairy Godmother. The men and women at Dreamworks are geniuses and Disney should be losing some sleep. While Disney's relied on their reputation and formula presentations to get them by, Dreamworks has been breaking rules and molds.
The overall theme. Too often the theme of loving someone only when they are beautiful instead of loving someone for who they are inside is given in pictures. Even Cinderella feeds into this. Did the Prince love her when she was in ashes? No, he loved her when she was dressed to the teeth. Shrek and Fiona love each other no matter what they look like--a great moral to give our impressionable young.
The Soundtrack. From "Changes" to Saunder's rendition of "Holding out for a Hero" to "Funkytown" to some of the new songs, it's all foot-tapping, head-bobbing fun.
What's Bad
Well, there were quite a few young children blabbering around, but they did settle down. The woman behind me actually took a call on her cell phone. Oh, you mean about the movie? Nothing that I could tell. It was all hilarious!
Lisa's Final Thoughts
When the ending credits began rolling, my friend thanked me for bringing her. We sat, as is our habit (let's not make the woman with the cane move out in the crowd), and began dissecting the movie. The family I mentioned before were on their way out when a special bonus of another scene came on. It was their teenage son who stopped them, saying: "hey wait! I want to see this!". So the moral of the story is even your cynical teen who wants to moon over Mary Kate and Ashley will enjoy this... oh, and wait for the credits to finish before you leave!
Recommended:
Yes
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