Computer Generated Hilarity!!

Rating: 9/10 (29 July 2004)

Each year it seems we now expect our big animated extravaganza. Usually one a year but 2004 sees Shrek 2 and Shark Tale vying with the Incredibles from the master animation team Pixar. Outside of Pixar, DreamWorks is a company with a good track record. It certainly seems that many of these companies are accelerating beyond the old masters Disney, who up until recently had a piece of the Pixar pie without much creative credit or merit for hits like Toy Story and Finding Nemo. The Shreks are the best 3d animations outside of the Toy Story series and Finding Nemo, they are funny and decidedly more biting to pop culture with a lot of hysterical referential jokes.
Shrek 2 is one of the best films this year. It lives up to the first film, and exceeds it in terms of animation, cameos, and jokes. Once again the three leads, Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz are excellent in their roles, with Murphy once again stealing the show and making us wonder why he can't be funny in his live action roles anymore. The list of supporting parts is huge. There is everyone's favourite hilltop singing, umbrella wielding Dame, Julie Andrews, who plays the Queen of Far Far Away, and what a Queen she'd make in real life. Then you have John Cleese as her husband the King who to my delight and many others has a few Basil Fawlty-esque moments. Also starring is Rupert Everett as Prince Charming and the always brilliant Jennifer Saunders, and what a shame her comedy partner Dawn French wasn't given a role, although she appeared to fun effect in Harry Potter 3 and will subsequently appear in The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe so we've had are Hollywood Dawn fix. The star of this piece though is Antonio Banderas who has garnered rave reviews for his portrayal of the ingenious creation, Puss in boots, a send up of Zorro. Banderas hisses, purrs and coughs up fur-balls to the delight of the audience. There are plenty of other small cameos including British presenter, Jonathan Ross as an ugly sister his voice specially put in for the British version. Basically the film is pure hilarity and charm start to finish.
Shrek 2 is a film that would be extremely hard not to love. The few critics who felt negatively towards this must truly be miserable because it's pure, simple and charming entertainment which is arguably better than the first, perhaps not in terms of thrills but in terms of broader comedy and of course improved animation. I can't see how anyone could not have plenty of laughs out of this and kids especially will love it. For me there was barely a loose cog in a highly efficient, well oiled machine of a movie, it's a film that the cinema is made for. For me this is an animated movie that will be difficult to beat this year, Shark Tale and The Incredibles look great, can they beat this? Who knows? I would say though that I still prefer Finding Nemo to this. However Shrek 2, while not as superb as the alpha list from Pixar of Nemo and Toy Story 1 and 2, it beats their weaker (although still excellent) efforts Monsters Inc and Bugs Life. Fantastic family stuff. ****1/2