a sequel that measures up to and, depending on one's point of view, is better than the original

Rating: 10/10 (21 July 2007)

If you were to meet me on the street and ask me which film I liked better: "Shrek" or "Shrek 2", I might pause for a moment and think it over and then answer that the latter of the two choices was my personal favorite. It is very rare for a sequel to beat the original, and to most people, "Shrek 2" does NOT beat the original, but is an acceptable film to stand second-in-line in the franchise. Maybe it is not as original as the first Shrek, but I personally prefer the more realistic humor and more fitting styles seen in "Shrek 2". Don't get me wrong, the first "Shrek" was an amazing film and one of my favorite animated films and there was absolutely nothing unfitting about it.
"Shrek 2" brings back our favorite cast of computer-animated characters with the voices of popular comedians such as Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy. Shrek the big green ogre, Donkey the donkey, Fiona the princess-turned-ogre, and of course the cast of fairy tale classic favorites like Pinocchio, the Three Pigs, the Gingerbread Man, etc. Like the first film, the animation in the film is so flawless and the voice acting has no faults in it to allow us to be absorbed by the combination of performances and talents and accept the characters as characters, but imaginary things with somebody's words syncing alongside.
The screenplay and storyline for "Shrek 2" does the first "Shrek" justice, as it furtherly opens up and expands this imaginary, fairy tale world. The characters, whom we already know and understand very well, are given fantastic traits of development and the humor which comes from their actions and thoughts are in a way, entirely realistic. Not by the perfection of the animation or the voice acting, but just by the way its written. And characters here also are stretching out with emotions that in the first film, were not exploited for the plot constraints of that film. This is what I like to see in sequels: characters who return and are expanded. Not just standing in the background. If "Shrek 2" had been made with live-action actors and shot on a set, it would also have worked out fine. Even if the ogres were not ogres, the donkeys weren't donkeys, the cats weren't cats, and the fairy tale creatures weren't fairy tale creatures.
Yes, I might stand in a smaller crowd when I say that "Shrek 2" is better than the first "Shrek". But I want to remind readers that I think it beats the original only by a sliver. The first "Shrek" was wonderful and the second is only a tad bit better. It just opens up and expands wonderfully and is of no disappointment to me.