A good laugh but not exactly a classic - 75%

Rating: 7/10 (11 February 2009)

Thanks to the continuing brilliance of Pixar, the animated feature has enjoyed a huge resurgence of popularity recently, buoyed by jaw-dropping CG, decent scripts that strain to distance themselves from the overly-preachy Disney fairy tales of yore and a vocal cast to die for. But just as Disney dominated the market for decades, Pixar's dominance has been near-total. In fact, the only real pretender to the throne was Dreamworks' hugely successful "Shrek" so it was no real surprise when this sequel duly arrived and did even better, despite Eddie Murphy's shameless scene-stealing.
Picking up where the first film left off, ogres Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers) and Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) return from their honeymoon to their swamp where Donkey (Murphy) has been squatting. But just as they are about to settle down, they are invited to Far Far Away by Fiona's human parents (John Cleese and Julie Andrews) who wish to toast the happy couple. Trouble is, they have no idea what has happened to Fiona or exactly who she has married and before long, the scheming king and a troublesome Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders) are cooking up a whole load of trouble for our heroes in the shape of the not-so menacing Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderas).
Essentially "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" in green, the plot isn't anything like as strong as it was in the first film although it is still an entertaining picture. Adapting the Pixar approach of appealing to young and not-so-young viewers, the movie is so crammed with characters and references that it's impossible to take it all in at the first viewing. But the references are very knowing, almost winking at you in a "look how clever we are" fashion and to be honest, it started to grate after a while. Much like Murphy does, although his part is not as prevalent as before which is a relief. No, the true star of "Shrek 2" is undoubtedly Banderas as Puss In Boots who expertly sends up his "Zorro" persona with genuinely funny one-liners and a comic touch that the other characters seem to lack. Saunders, Cleese and Andrews are a disappointment but none more so than Rupert Everett as Prince Charming who is underused and not especially funny.
"Shrek 2" has plenty of enthusiasm and energy but sadly, not enough ideas to make it a cast-iron classic. It's still quality entertainment and still much better than recent efforts ("Igor" and "Space Chimps" spring to mind - avoid if you can) but still not enough to make Pixar worry just yet. As the franchise rumbles on to a third and eventually a fourth movie, one wonders if they've peaked too soon. The original "Shrek" was different from the others, unburdened as it was by Disney's strict supervision and daring to be a little subversive - shackles that Pixar themselves have now broken free from. If anything, "Shrek 2" is too conservative and not challenging enough. The story is pretty traditional shtick for animated features and the constant references (check out IMDb's trivia section to see what I mean) are only sporadically funny. I'd still recommend most Pixar films above this franchise - "The Incredibles" is the most fun I've ever had watching an animated movie and "Wall-E" is so good, I could wax lyrical all day long. But if Pixar's magic doesn't work on you then stick with "Shrek" or "Shrek 2". It just needs a little more fairy dust sprinkled on it...