Shrek 2: It's Shrek 1 again, but this time worse.

Rating: 6/10 (1 July 2015)

Watched this again as part of our (my sister and I) Dreamworks Movie Marathon. Whenever a sequel is created, there is a small chance that the new film will surpass the original in many ways. The Empire Strikes Back, The Godfather Part II, and Toy Story 2 are perfect examples of this uncommon occurrence.
This is not one of those cases.
Shrek 2 opens promisingly, then delves into a form of basic-ness unparalleled. It's amazing how much the conflict of this film is exactly the same as the original movie, just flipped onto another character. That being said, there are a few good laughs in this film, and the friendship between Shrek and Donkey is probably the best aspect of the film (as it was with the last one). Puss In Boots is a great character who was well introduced. Although, the sidekick-rivalry between him and Donkey got old real fast, but thankfully it didn't last too long. There wasn't much room for a friendship to grow between those two, which would have been a great character arc for Donkey. Yet, by the end of the film they are somehow friends because the script demands it.
The animation quality was stellar (unsurprising with a budget as large as this film's), but the plot got dragged through the mud of "Let's just do this again, it worked last time." Not as bad a film as I remember, but the fact that the last twenty minutes were beat- for- beat the exact same ending as in Shrek knocked it down a peg.