The Moose Hole - Review of Shrek 2

Rating: 9/10 (22 May 2004)

Over in France, the controversial, and increasingly robust, Michael Moore is premiering his latest crap-trap, Fahrenheit 9/11, and judging by the mainly mixed reviews the documentary has received it seems President George W. Bush won't lost much sleep once this film premieres in the United States. But there is another film that is causing quite a few headaches for another high profile individual, namely Michael Eisner. That film is the highly anticipated, and rigorously promoted, sequel to Academy Award winning animated flick, Shrek. When the original fairy tale parody launched into theaters in 2001, numerous long-standing and highly devoted Disney followers rejected the film outright for its bashing of the company's fairy-tale feature film characters as well as its theme parks and company's CEO/Chairman but times have changed, so has the status of the company itself. Now Disney followers are lining up and penning out for the Dreamworks' animated feature to catch the latest inside Disney jabs. Why? How about you ask the 43% of Disney company stockholders who withheld their vote for Michael Eisner. Should Shrek 2 be proven a box office bonanza like the last one, or more so this time, then it would only add more fuel to the fire that Eisner is standing under now.
The story picks up where the last film left off with the hideous ogre discovering the goodness within himself and finding true love at last. You would think they would happily ever after with that whole ordeal of the fire breathing dragon and pompous prince behind them, right? Not so fast! Shrek and Fiona barely cross the threshold when a messenger arrives to announce that the happy couple has been invited to the kingdom of Far, Far Away to attend a celebration hosted by Fiona's parents, the king and queen. Shrek is reluctant to go believing that once her parents see both of them in their less then flattering forms, they will refuse to give them their blessing but Fiona forces him to go and when they arrive  What do you know?! Shrek was right! In fact, the king is so upset that he hires a sleazy hit-man, Puss In Boots, to eliminate the caring ogre. And he isn't the only one after Shrek  so is the Fairy Godmother who's son was suppose to marry Fiona before the green one himself got there first. Now Shrek is willing to do anything, even if it means no longer being his old grungy, rude ogre self again, in order to make Fiona happy and live happily ever after. The story for Shrek 2 may seem a tad on the predictable side but the filmmakers throw in the right amount of catchy song-and-dance numbers and fairy-tale wisecracks to more then make up for the innovative story line. It runs at just the right pace and never tends to lag more then a few moments that you'll want more of the film once it ends.
With the three main voice stars from the original film receiving $10 million paychecks to reprise their roles in the sequel, the film has obviously proven to have a star-studded group of voice-actors but with brand new ones joining in, can the sequel still maintain the edge that it did in the original? One major complaint from the first film was aimed at Mike Myers, who voiced the lovable green ogre, Shrek. It wasn't Myers' fault exactly or the character, it was just that the work that Myers did in the film wasn't all that funny compared to either Eddie Murphy or other parts of the film. No one need fear of a repeat in this film as Myers is given a vastly expanded script role in this go-around and delivers numerous comical moments in the film. But the biggest laughs once again come from Eddie Murphy as the likable, if not often annoying, Donkey. Murphy's voice-over performance is one of the bigger highlights of the film and he is able to improve on the character slightly to make him funnier then he was in the original film, which hard for any voice-over performer to do. Vast praise is to be given to the other big highlight of the film, Antonio Banderas, who voices Puss In Boots. What could have been a one trick pony, Banderas' voice-over, as well as the humorous situations the character is placed in ('We found catnip'  'That's not mine!'), turn Puss In Boots into another delightful and memorable animated character with quick-witted personality that every child in the audience will enjoy seeing on screen. And Jennifer Saunders is fiendishly villainous as the Fairy Godmother, one you would think would be on the side of justice and right  But then again, this is Shrek's world were talking about here! The best sequence comes near the end of the film with her singing 'Holding Out for a Hero' and the comical events that unfold thereafter with all of it timed perfectly.
Overall, Shrek 2 is quite possibly one of the biggest surprises of the summer, if not the year, and is a sight for sore eyes for those vastly disappointed by both Van Helsing and Troy at this point of the summer season. The plot of the film is the most notable problem as it tended to be quite predictable especially as the film went on but, as it was previously stated, the filmmakers present the whole story in such a wonderful and humorous way that it doesn't seem to matter all that much by the end. Another small problem is the beginning of the film which starts off kind of slow and isn't as funny as the rest of the film but once things get going (around the scene where Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey travel to Far, Far Away) the feature begins to pick up pretty quickly there after. Though this isn't a huge recommendation for the film, as one can just as easily go to the music store and listen to it at home, the soundtrack which features several catchy songs, some of which are new versions of old favorites, is a big plus as much as the original film's was. Shrek 2 is one of the rare gems of the movie world  a highly touted sequel that actually lives up to the hype that it receives and surpasses even the enormously high expectations set by the original. Another rare feat this film achieves is being enjoyable family feature appropriate for the whole family, an accomplishment that is so rarely achieved outside of the realm of Disney/Pixar fare. There are some suggestive jokes within the film but most will probably fly right over the heads of young children, so it isn't anything to worry about on the part of the parents. Though it isn't perfect, Shrek 2 is sure to remain one of the most pleasant family films of the year and for that reason alone it should be one of the must-see films of the season.
My Rating: **** ½ out of 5 (Grade: A-)