Wonderfully funny and fun

Rating: 7/10 (14 May 2016)

Wonderfully funny and fun.
Picking up where the first Shrek movie left off, Shrek and Fiona are now happily married and living in Shrek's house in the swamp. Donkey reappears, much to Shrek and Fiona's annoyance. The King and Queen of Far Far Away hear of their daughter's (Fiona) marriage and invite Shrek and Fiona to the palace to celebrate. When the King discover's that Shrek is an ogre he is immediately opposed to the marriage. Prince Charming, who is determined to marry Fiona, appears and he and the King band together to separate Shrek and Fiona and get Fiona to marry Prince Charming. The Fairy Godmother also appears, and she is not as benevolent as you think.
Good fun, with some great jokes. Mixes medieval settings with modern in-jokes and parodies. Quite clever, some of the jokes - definitely not just a movie for kids.
Rollicks along at a good pace. There are some silly sub-plots but these don't consume too much of the time and are glossed over through the frenetic pace.
Great use of well-known characters from children's fables, eg Puss in Boots, Pinocchio, The Three Little Pigs.
Superb animation, as you would expect from DreamWorks.
Spot-on voice casting too. Pick of the bunch, for me, is Jennifer Saunders as the Fairy Godmother. She gets some of the best lines and her deliver is brilliant.
There is a large amount of music in the movie, not to the extent that it is a musical (thankfully), but enough to make it more than just background. The songs are a bit hit-and-miss. Some (eg Eels' "I need some sleep") fit in well with the movie and help the tone, while others just feel like populist fluff. On the whole, the choice of music hinders more than helps the movie.
Overall, an entertaining way to spend 1 1/2 hours or so.