After the 2001 release of the original Shrek brought in $267 million at the box office alone, it was a sure bet that a sequel would go into the works immediately. Three years later (2004) Shrek 2 came out and quickly became one of the most successful films of all time. The story picks up roughly where the first one ends, as Shrek and Fiona are returning from their Honeymoon. Discovering that they were both ogres at the end of the first film, they have been enjoying each others company after getting married. Returning home, they find a letter from Fiona's parents inviting them back home (to Far, Far Away) in order to have dinner as a family. Of course Shrek is nervous about meeting the in-laws, but is willing to do it for Fiona. So off they go with Donkey in tow on what will turn out to be a new adventure.

Unfortunately for them, there has been a deal between her father (The King) and Fairy God Mother about Fiona marrying Prince Charming (Her Son), and when she finds out that Fiona has already been married, she holds it over the King's head. With the fear of retribution in his mind, the King hires an assassin by the name of Puss-in-Boots to take out Shrek. With a sworded cat after him, the stress of meeting the in-laws, and a new batch of characters in the mix, Shrek has his work cut out for him in this sequel. Far, Far Away land is made to strongly resemble Hollywood, and it is interesting to note that on the way there they pass through the cartoon version of Beverly Hills and many other California landmarks. It brings a taste of reality along with the cartoonish overtones of the story.

All of the voices for the main characters have returned for this one including Mike Myers as Shrek, Eddie Murphy as Donkey, and Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona. Joining the group we have Julie Andrews as the Queen, John Cleese as the King, Rupert Everett as Prince Charming, and Antonio Banderas as Puss In Boots. It was important that they returned all the main players to keep as much with the story from the first film as possible, and it led to many new and interesting aspects of character development. One of the things that makes the story great is how the actors are able to work with the dialogue in their parts, and how well they work together to make this such a funny film. That is where the best aspects of the film lie, in the humor of the story, because it helps carry Shrek 2 from beginning to end.

Some of the originality of the first film has really worn off in the sequel in my opinion, mostly because they couldn't provide a stronger story than they did in the first film. Must as Meet the Fockers just continued the story of Meet the Parents, Shrek 2 just dragged out the story of the first film with a bunch of new jokes and funny circumstances. The introduction of Puss In Boots really brings an increase in the number of times people will laugh out loud to the story, and I also found myself doing that in theaters when it came to such jokes as the "catnip" moment. Outside of the subtle uses of humor that evolved from building on known fairy tales and by poking fun at many other famous films, the film didn't present a lot to the viewing audience. Yes, I found it to be extremely funny, and I really enjoyed the sense of humor within the film, but I had a hard time calling it a good movie because there was an inherent lack of substance in the end. I do recommend Shrek 2, but this isn't a film that will change the world.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD