Compared to the original Shrek, this is more than a disappointment

Rating: 5/10 (2 June 2004)

From the beginning I knew it was going to be difficult to beat the original; which is one of the best animated movies I have ever seen. Just before Shrek 2 came out I was watching Shrek on NBC. I was watching when the Gingerbread Man was being tortured, when Robin Hood and his merry men were getting their butts beaten by Princes Fiona [In Matrix-style fashion], and also the classic ending, in which all the fairy tale creatures were dancing and jamming to 'I'm a Believer.' It was going to be tough to beat this one. It is pretty much like Shark Tales trying to come close to Finding Nemo's success [Which is pretty much an impossible task, especially after I saw the trailer for it].
I see the critic's reviews of the movie, which were pretty much mixed. I saw the movie trailers, no help whatsoever. I checked the box-office numbers, and it obviously showed that Shrek 2 was anticipated by a lot of people; but then again, sometimes a lot of money does not mean a spectacular movie [Matrix Reloaded, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle]. In the end, I went to see it with my mom and my two brothers. The end result was not good. I laughed more watching one episode of 'MarriedÂ…with Children.' Heck, I probably laughed even more listening to D12's 'My Band,' another one of Eminem's hip-hop satires. Shrek 2 made me laugh, do not get me wrong [hardly ever though], but it was nothing compared to the original Shrek.
The plot is that Shrek and Fiona were invited to see Fiona's parents in Far Far Away, which have no idea who she married. Throughout the movie, you see that there was a plan for Fiona to actually marry Prince Charming, not Shrek. During the movie, the main conflict involves Shrek, Donkey, Fiona, The Fairy Godmother [Shocking], The King and Queen of Far Far Away, and also Puss In Boots, which is most likely the best character in the movie [I will explain later]. The plot has its twists and turns, which is why I will not explain the plot into more detail.
Shrek 2 has only 2 funny characters, and one of them was funnier in the first one. Donkey, voiced by Eddie Murphy, was just annoying through the entire film, containing only a few smart lines and a few funny moments as a Stallion. Puss In Boots, voiced by Antonio Banderas, is the character that saved the movie. Fiona was not funny anymore, neither was Shrek, the Gingerbread Man, Pinocchio, and not even the Three Pigs were funny. As for Puss In Boots, he came up with a lot of smart lines, and funny moments that involves his animal instincts. Puss In Boots moans and complains in Spanish, fights with dignity, and also is cute when he wants to be. Puss In Boots also was caught on a fairy tale version of 'Cops', usually was seen competing with Donkey for becoming Shrek' best friend, and was even flirting around with women [Fiona was one of them]. The three blind mice had a lot more screen time the 2nd time around, and that did help a little bit.
Shrek 2 had more music than the first one, but it was a lot worse. Shrek 2's songs includes the always-fun 'Funkytown', this one horrible song by Counting Crows, a few songs by the Fairy Grandmother [disgusting], and a very mediocre version of 'Livin' La Vida Loca'. The beginning of Shrek 2 was weaker, the ending was much weaker, the jokes were not as funny, it was not as emotionally moving, and had a lot less standout funny scenes than the original. Wait, as a matter of fact, there were NO standout funny scenes in Shrek 2.
Shrek 2 also had a lot more cheap shots at Disney, since Shrek happens to be the 'anti-Disney.' Some of the jokes against Disney were okay, but others were just plain dreadful. This Disney-Dreamworks competition has got to stop, it is crazy, and the sad part is, Disney always wins. It happened with the Antz-Bug's Life contest [No contest, A Bug's Life creamed Antz], happened with the Shrek-Monster's Inc. competition, which resulted in Monsters, Inc. winning more money even though it lost the Oscar, and now we have the Finding Nemo-wannabe Shark Tales coming out this fall, which is totally going to flop [No pun intended].
Back to this movie. Shrek 2 had a lot more pop culture jokes, but some of them came off as stupid, while others did prevail [Example: Puss In Boots, being a orange cat, saying 'I hate Mondays.' Unless you have not heard of Garfield the Cat, you know what the joke is]. Just like the Matrix and Legally Blonde, they should have left Shrek without a sequel.
In the end, it was a weak movie, especially compared to the original Academy-Award winning Shrek. It will be hard to win an Oscar the 2nd time around, especially with the upcoming animated movies 'The Incredibles' [Since when has Pixar failed us???] and also the underestimated 'Spongebob Squarepants: The Movie' [Well, this cartoon has won an Emmy before, so an Oscar does not look too bad]. Shrek 3 [Which is coming out eventually] better have smarter writing, less cheap jokes, and must try to bring the humor back to the main characters, otherwise, this franchise will lose a lot of fans. Will I see this again? No. Will I see Shrek 3? Maybe, as long as Puss In Boots comes back.
Final Score: 4/10 [Originally, I gave it a 3 but I will give it a 4 for Antonio Bandera's standout performance.]