Ogres Ever After

Rating: 10/10 (13 June 2004)

"Shrek 2" directed by Andrew Adamson (who also did Shrek), Kelly Asbury, and Conrad Vernon (the Gingerbread Man) continues the Ogre fairy tale after happily ever after as the couple, Shrek (Mike Meyers) and Fiona (Cameron Diaz), visit the in-laws in Far Away Kingdom, the King (John Cleese) and Queen (Julie Andrews). Shrek 2 is a great movie, almost as good as Shrek, and definitely funnier. Shrek caught one by surprise the first time around, in that it was a satire of fairy tales, but underlying it was a very touching story about valuing people... and Ogres for their heart and character, in spite of appearance. That unexpected quality can not be recreated; however, Shrek 2 has a touching quality, and the surprise quality of the first movie is replaced by hilarious pop culture digs, and the introduction of new characters, Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderas) and Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders). Shrek was based on a book by William Steig, who co-wrote the screenplay for "Shrek". Here in "Shrek 2", J. David Stein, Joe Stillman, and David N. Weiss wrote the story for the Big Green Guy. So this kind of explains the difference in tone, though the quality remains excellent.
Shrek and Fiona along with Donkey (the hilarious Eddie Murphy) travel to visit Fiona's parents in Far Away which looks amazing like Beverly Hills-- a great joke. The King and Queen meet their new Ogre-In-Law, Shrek, and much to their dismay their daughter too is now an ogre. They both had such high aspirations for Fiona to marry Prince Charming (the wonderfully prissy Rupert Everett). Apparently, Shrek beat out Charming in Shrek 1, by rescuing Fiona from the Dragon's castle first. Charming's mother also happens to be the Fairy Godmother. That is the "evil" Fairy Godmother, who schemes to have her son marry Fiona. The King is particularly displeased with Shrek, and enlists the aid of Puss-In-Boots (Banderas), the Zorro-like kitty.
Shrek 2 moves a little slowly initially in the set up. Once Puss In Boots joins Shrek and Donkey, and threatening Donkey's sidekick status the movie becomes a laugh riot. The one constant amidst the gags and jokes is that Shrek loves Fiona and only wishes to make her happy. This gives the movie it's heart. The gags are laugh until you die funny. This includes a satire of "Cops" called "Knights", a spoof of the Stay Puff Marshmellow Man from "Ghost Busters", and the numerous pokes at Disney. In one scene Fairy Godmother tells our hero, Shrek, "Snow White-- No ogres. Cindrella-- No ogres... Pretty Woman-- No ogres!" Antonio Banderas as Puss practically steals the movie, especially with his effective "fighting technique". Jennifer Saunders as Fairy Godmother is awesome as the evil and scheming fairy.
The returning Mike Meyers, Cameron Diaz, and Eddie Murphy reprising their voices to characters we know and love, are fabulous. Diaz carries off the "straight man" Princess amazingly. She definitely has a challenging role, given the comic genius of both Meyers and Murphy. To his credit Meyers textures the gruff Shrek, with a surprising charm and sweetness. Murphy as Donkey is always on the verge of being completely annoying and outrageous, but never crosses that threshold and remains always lovable. The three actors are very comfortable voicing characters we have become very fond of. We look forward to seeing where their lives pick up in "Shrek 3". Shrek 2 is a lot of fun, and the Ogres live happily ever after... at least for now.