Unbelievably, Shrek 2 is a hilarious movie that beats the first one.

Rating: Null/10 (31 May 2004)

Shrek was the first computerized movie that I really loved, being better than Toy Story or Bug's Life. Shrek 2 is back with the same ingredients and some new ones, which make it even better than the prequel. However, I wouldn't like to see Shrek 3, and I hope I never have to.
Newly-weds Shrek and Fiona (Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz), now both ogres, visit the kingdom of Far, Far Away with their footpad Donkey (Eddie Murphy) to attend a royal ball at Fiona's parents' palace. But the king (John Cleese) doesn't think much of Fiona's choice, and is blackmailed by the Fairy Godmother, who wants her son to be Fiona's husband. So the king hires Puss-in-Boots (Antonio Banderas) to get rid of the green beast.
Shrek 2 is just as funny as the first movie, and also includes more adult humor. I don't mind that at all as it is funnier than the usual. But the funniest and cutest character is Puss, who is the REAL star of Shrek 2. Donkey has reason to be insecure, because the new talking animal is hilarious and adorable at the same time.
The plot seems a quite traditional one, right out of the Disney archives. The theme is simple: "Why can't we just be ourselves?" But the difference is how the DreamWorks team will visualize it and handle that theme, because their style is a far cry from Disney. The difference is what makes Shrek 2 refreshing and funny, because it's almost all the collective spoofing of hundreds of fairy tales. But despite that, you get the same theme in the end.
The animation is incredible. I still don't think it can match Finding Nemo, but it is first-class. The fur, the weight, the skin, it's all real. But at the same time it's stylized. The realism is different; it makes stylized elements look real, rather than looking like a solid recreation of something in our world.
Shrek 2 has finally broken the Sequel Barrier; how many animated films have been made whose sequel is better than the first? The only possible contender would be Toy Story 2. Shrek 2 is a "whirlwind adventure" as Donkey calls it. --- 9/10