After the mammoth success of the first Shrek movie, which accomplished the rare feat of appealing to all ages, there was no doubt that Dreamworks would come out with a sequel. While Shrek (Mike Myers) and Donkey (Eddie Murphy) are in top comic form, the plot of Shrek 2 is a bit weak, and the film drags in the middle. The joyous opening sequence and fantastic ending are animated masterpieces, but Shrek 2 loses its way for a while in between.
Fortunately, the dazzling colors, references to pop culture, and endearing characters distract the viewer enough from the lackluster plot to make watching Shrek 2 a very enjoyable experience.
At the end of the first Shrek movie, (link) Shrek and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) are on their honeymoon. Princess Fiona had been banished to a tower as she had been cursed to turn into an ogre every night. The man who could rescue her from the tower would win her hand in marriage and turn her back into a beautiful princess. The uber-vain Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) sets off on the grueling quest to reach the tower, endorsed by the king and queen, but fellow ogre Shrek gets there first, and Shrek and Fiona find blissful, ogre love.
After their honeymoon, Shrek and Fiona return to their swamp home to find that Donkey has not been a responsible housesitter and that he expects to stay with the ogre couple how that his relationship with the dragon has soured. To make matters worse, Mr. and Mrs. Shrek receive an invitation to their wedding ball in Far Far Away. The King and Queen don’t know that Fiona has married Shrek and is permanently an ogre, but the loyal daughter insists on embarking on the 700 mile journey anyway.
Animated films can get away with more cheesiness and clichés than live action movies can, so I didn’t mind too much that Shrek 2’s plot is a hardly more than a mishmash of every other fairy tell ever made. The Fairy Godmother (see?) even makes reference to Pretty Woman at one point. Trivia buffs will have a field day with all the intertextuality. However, I felt that screenwriter J. David Stem could have made Fiona’s parents a bit spunkier. There’s nothing unique about the king (John Cleese) and queen (Julie Andrews) of Far Far Away. The king is mortified by his daughter’s ogreness and wants her to marry Prince Charming and break the curse, while the queen just wants her daughter to be happy. The initial meeting of the ogre couple and the king and queen at the dinner table is incredibly animated with a breathtaking overhead shot and amazing textures on the food, including escargot.
Unfortunately, the rest of the film is a bit anticlimactic and predictable, but the animation and jokes keep it going. The computer graphics in Shrek 2 are even more impressive than the first film. Shrek has chest hair, and the new character Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) looks just like a real cat as it scurries around, and his sword fighting and other anthropomorphizing is just as impressive. I’d heard rave reviews of the new character, but I didn’t think he was all that hilarious. The cat’s charming eyes are a nice touch, but Donkey is a far superior sidekick. Donkey manages to aggravate Shrek without annoying the audience, which is quite an accomplishment. True to its anti-Disney reputation, this Dreamworks film has more well-rounded characters than Disney movies do. Even the villains have some redeeming characteristics, and “bad guys” are quick to make transformations.
The brilliance of Shrek is in the details such as Shrek’s tartan trousers and the ubiquitous “Farbucks” coffee chain in Far Far Away, a city that mocks Hollywood. Each frame of Shrek 2 is very busy, which makes up for the bland storyline.
While I was somewhat disappointed in Shrek 2 overall, the main thing that irked me was the horrendous soundtrack. Music is crucial to a movie like this, which supports itself on pop cultural awareness. Donkey made me laugh many a time by breaking into song, and Fairy Godmother’s crooning near the end of the film is one of the highlights of the movie, but the soundtrack itself was terrible. I know that buying the rights to David Bowie’s “Changes” would have been expensive, but you’d think that Shrek 2 would gross enough money to use the real deal instead of a horrendous cover. Pete Yorn, the Counting Crows, Eels, Tom Waits, and Nick Cave are all fine artists, but their low energy, navel gazing songs have no place in this comedy. There is even a song by Dashboard Confessional! Huh? Angst has no place in a Shrek movie! Thankfully, “Funky Town” and “Holding Out For a Hero”* are included, so the music isn’t entirely gloomy.
Shrek 2 has its funny moments, and the animation is exceptional, but, despite the hype, I don’t think it’s quite as good as the first one.
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* Fantasia’s rendition of this song on American Idol was a lot better, though.
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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