Shrek 2

For the videogame, See Shrek 2 The Videogame
Shrek 2 is a 2004 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film produced by Dreamworks Animation and directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon. It is the third Dreamworks film and the first Sequel to the 2001 movie Shrek. Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz reprise their roles from the original Shrek. The movie also features new characters voiced by Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Rupert Everett and Jennifer Saunders. Like its predecessor, Shrek 2 received positive reviews. Shrek 2 scored the second-largest three day opening weekend in US history at the time of release, as well as the largest opening for an animated film until May 18th 2007, when it was eclipsed by Shrek The Third. As of 2011, it is the inflation-adjusted 31st highest-grossing film of all time in the US. It went on to be the highest-grossing film of 2004. The associated soundtrack reached the top ten of the Billboard 200. It is also the seventh highest ticket selling animated film of all time. It is DreamWorks's most successful film to date and was also the highest-grossing fully animated film of all time worldwide for six years until Toy Story 3 surpassed it in 2010. This is the only film in the Shrek series in which Lord Farquaad didn't appear in.
Directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon
Produced by  Aron Warner,  John H. Williams and  David Lipman
Screenplay by  Andrew Adamson, Joe Stillman, J. David Stem and  David N. Weiss
Story by Andrew Adamson and  William Steig
Based on Characters created by William Steig
Narrated by Rupert Everett
Starring
*Mike Myers
*Eddie Murphy
*Cameron Diaz
*Antonio Banderas
*Julie Andrews
*John Cleese
*Rupert Everett
*Jennifer Saunders
Music by Harry Gregson-Williams
Editing by Michael Andrews and  Sim Evan-Jones
Studio: Dreamworks Animation
Theatrcial Release dates
*May 15th 2004 (Cannes)
*May 19th 2004 (United States)
Running time: 93 minutes (One Minute longer than The Original)
Country: United States
Language: English
Budget: $150 million
Box office: $919,838,758
Previous Film: Shrek
Next Film: Shrek The Third
Contents
*1 Plot
*2 Cultural references
*3 Cast
*4 Production
*5 Soundtrack
*6 Release
*7 Home media: Far Far Away Idol
*8 Reaction
*9 Other media
*10 Sequels
==Story==
Shrek, Fiona and Donkey travel to Fiona's home town, Far Fary Away, to visit Fiona's Parents. However Fiona's Father is surpised by his new son-in-law. Apparently Prince Charming was supposed to find Fiona, altohugh Shrek and Donkey got there first. Charming wants Fiona to be his. When the Assistance of Donkey and a spanish Cat named Puss In Boots, Shrek must race to save his wife.
==Plot==
Following the events of The First Film, Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers) and Fiona (voiced by Cameron Diaz) come back from their honeymoon and find an invitation to a royal ball with Fiona's parents to celebrate their marriage, an event Shrek is reluctant to participate in. Fiona, Shrek and Donkey (voiced by Eddie Murphy) travel to the kingdom of Far Far Away and meet Fiona's parents, King Harold and Queen Lillian (voiced by John Cleese and Julie Andrews), who are surprised by Fiona's choice of husband and her new appearance. Harold becomes repulsed and at a shared meal, as he and Shrek get into a heated argument over how Shrek and Fiona will raise their family. Fiona, disgusted at Shrek's and her father's behavior, locks herself in her room that evening, where she meets her Fairy Godmother (voiced by Jennifer Saunders), who is also surprised at Fiona's new looks. Shrek worries that he has lost his true love, particularly after finding the diary from her teenhood and reading that she was once infatuated with Prince Charming (voiced by Rupert Everett). King Harold is accosted by the Fairy Godmother and Charming, her son. He had arranged with the Fairy Godmother that her son would overcome many obstacles in order to rescue Fiona and break the spell, finding instead the Big Bad Wolf using the tallest tower as a hangout. They reprimand Harold for breaking an old promise that Charming would be able to marry Fiona and demand that he find a way to get rid of Shrek. After Shrek reads Fiona's diary and pages containing the single phrase "Mrs. Fiona Charming", Harold arranges for Shrek and Donkey to join him on a fictitious hunting trip, which really is a trap to lure the two into the hands of an assassin, Puss in Boots (voiced by Antonio Banderas). When Fiona realizes that Shrek left, she asks her father for help, but he replies that he always wanted the best for her and that she should think about what is the best for her, too. Puss is unable to defeat Shrek and, revealing that he was paid by Harold, asks to come along as a way to make amends. Shrek decides to go to the Fairy Godmother for help. However, the Fairy Godmother states that ogres do not live "happily ever after" and refuses to assist. Nonetheless, the three sneak into the Fairy Godmother's potion factory and steal a "Happily Ever After" potion that Shrek believes will restore Fiona's love for him. Shrek and Donkey both drink the potion, which doesn't appear to work, but when it starts to rain, they leave, and in doing so they fail to notice that a mushroom that Shrek previously sneezed potion on changes into a beautiful rose. They wait out the storm in a barn and, while there, Shrek and Donkey become dizzy and fall over and into a deep sleep. When they awake, they discover the potion has taken effect: Shrek is now a handsome human, while Donkey has turned into a stallion. In order to make the change permanent, Shrek must kiss Fiona by midnight. He, Donkey, and Puss return to the castle to discover that the potion has also transformed Fiona back into her former, human self from the first movie. However, the Fairy Godmother, having learned of the potion's theft, sends Charming to the castle, where he poses as Shrek to win Fiona's love. Although Harold recognizes Charming for who he really is, he doesn't speak up. Shrek heartbroken lets Fiona go, believing she will be happier with Charming. A few hours later, Shrek hears that Fiona hasn't fallen for Charming, and that Harold has been given a love potion to put in Fiona's tea, which will cause her to fall in love with the first person she kisses. Harold, knowing that it is madness refuses, but the Fairy Godmother threatens to take away his 'Happily Ever After', if he does not fulfill her wish. The trio overhear the exchange, and are noticed by the Fairy Godmother, who has them arrested by the royal guards and thrown into a dungeon. When the royal ball begins, several of Shrek's friends band together to free the trio (having seen their arrest via the Magic Mirror (Chirs Miller) and create a gigantic gingerbread man (whose name is Mongo), which breaks through the castle's defences so Shrek can stop the kiss, Mongo falls into the moat, losing his arms as a result. When Shrek arrives, Charming forcibly kisses Fiona, believing the potion has taken effect, Fiona knocks him out temporarily with a headbutt. When the Fairy Godmother confronts Harold, he reveals that he gave her the wrong tea, having realized her love for Shrek. The Fairy Godmother tries to kill Shrek, Harold commits self-sacrifice to save Shrek, his armour reflects and disintegrates the Fairy Godmother into a cloud of bubbles; it also returns Harold to his true form, that of the Frog Prince. Harold apologizes to Shrek and Fiona for everything he has done, and now realizes what is best for Fiona, giving his blessing. Shrek forgives him, and Lillian tells Harold that she still loves him no matter what. When it is midnight, Shrek tells Fiona that if they kiss now, then their change will be permanent. But Fiona says that she wants more than any other princess wants to live happily ever after with the ogre she married. The clock chimes as the potion's effects wear off, with Donkey changing back as well, much to his chagrin, he cheers up as Shrek reassures him he still is a noble steed to him, Puss and Donkey sing as the royal ball resumes celebrating the true loved newlyweds. After the credits roll Donkey is seen complaining about missing his dragon mate, suddenly she appears with six babies they call "Dronkeys".
==Cultural references==
Like its predecessor, Shrek 2 also acts as somewhat of a parody film, targeting adapted children's fantasies (mainly those adapted by Disney); and like other DreamWorks animated films, also features references to American popular culture: ·    
*The character design of the mermaid that washes up on Shrek in the beginning of the movie bears heavy reference to Ariel from Disney's The Little Mermaid.
*Elements and landmarks that make up the Kingdom of Far Far Away bear reference to respective elements and landmarks of Southern California, particularly those those of the Los Angeles area. For example, the kingdom features a "Far Far Away" sign obviously modeled after the famous Hollywood Sign; and the restaurant King Harold, Fairy Godmother and Charming "drive thru" is a reference to the Southern California restaurant chain, Bob's Big Boy.
*The character Puss In Boots is based on Zorro. His behavior references Zorro as he appeared in the 1998 film, The Mask of Zorro. Also in the late 1950s, Zorro was adapted by Disney into a television series of the same name.
==Cast==
*Returning Cast
#Mike Myers as Shrek
#Eddie Murphy as Donkey
#Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona
#Aron Warner as Big Bad Wolf
#Cody Cameron as Pinocchio and The Three Little Pigs
#Christopher Knights and Simon J Smith as Three Blind Mice
#Director Conrad Vernon as Gingy the Gingerbread Man; Muffin Man; Mongo; Cedric and Announcer
#Chris Miller as Magic Mirror
*New Cast
#Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots
#John Cleese as King Harold
#Julie Andrews as Queen Lillian
#Jennifer Saunders as Fairy Godmother
#Rupert Everett as Prince Charming
#Joan Rivers (US)/Kate Thornton (UK) as Red Carpet Announcer
#Larry King (US)/Jonathan Ross (UK) as Doris the Ugly Stepsister
#Tom Waits as Captain Hook
#Mark Moseley as Dresser
#Kelly Cooney as Fast Food Clerk
#Kelly Asbury as Page; Elf; Nobleman and Nobleman's son Director
#Andrew Adamson as Captain of the Guard
===Special guest stars===
*Richard Fairbrass as himself (in the extended DVD version only)
*Joan Rivers' cameo marked the first time that a real person had been represented on screen by the Shrek animation team. Her part (though retaining her visual representation) was redubbed by presenter Kate Thornton for the United Kingdom release.
*On the DVD Special Features, Simon Cowell appears as himself on Far Far Away Idol, a parody of American Idol. (see Home Media)
==References to Shrek 1==
Shrek 2 has some references to The First Film. Watch both 1 and 2 and see if you can spot them all.
==Production==
In July 2001, it was reported that the main cast of the original Shrek were set for huge paychecks for voicing a sequel to the movie. Following a successful collaboration with the original film, Eddie Murphy had signed a two-year, first-look production deal with DreamWorks, where he also signed writer-director Todd Field to a two-year deal. The film was produced with a US$70 million budget. The screenwriters for the first film, Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, insisted the movie to be a traditional fairytale, but after disagreements with the producers, they left the project and was taken over by director Andrew Adamson. His writing of the film was inspired from Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, with the help of the co-directors for the film, who had spent most of the film's production in Northern California while Adamson spent most of the time with the voice actors in Glendale, California. DreamWorks began production of the film in 2001, which was actually before the first film was even completed.DreamWorks made sure there was something new to see in Shrek 2 by putting more human characters in the film than there were in its predecessor and improving their appearance, with the use of a few systems that dealt with hair and fur to improve its appearance and movement.[15] The set up for all the characters was done in the first 3 years of production. Puss in Boots required a whole new set of tools in the film to handle his fur, belt and feather plume in his hat. The character also required an upgrade in the fur shader for his introduction in the film. According to production designer Guillaume Aretos, Shrek 2 appeared to be a lot darker than the original film; "There are a lot of medieval paintings and illustrations that we used quite a bit also. Other than that there are my own influences, which are classical paintings from the 15th and 16th centuries, but those are not as direct. In fact, nothing was absolutely direct. The design of Shrek is always a twist on reality anyway, so we tried to [pack] as much detail and interest as we could in the imagery.”
==Music, Soundtrack==
Singer and songwriter Adam Duritz from Counting Crows said that his band's song, "Accidentally in Love", "fits into the movie because it's the story of people who fall in love who weren't supposed to fall in love." Composer Harry Gregson Williams operated the sound of the score on different levels which Harry said as "Fun". His score came out as an Eels song into a very romantic scene with Shrek and Fiona, or a funny scene with donkey. John Powell had been left out to compose the score for the film with Williams due to a conflict. Powell would instead score the sequels for the 2002 film Ice Age .
==Release==
In April 2004, the film was selected for competition at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. Shrek 2 was originally going to release in June 2004. The film then planned to release on May 21st 2004. Though, Shrek 2 released on May 19th 2004 (two days before). A day before the film went to theaters, the first five minutes were shown on Nickelodeon's U-Pick Live. It was the first film with over 4,000 theaters in overall count; over 3,700 theaters was its count for an opening day. Spider-Man 2 was the first film with over 4,000 theaters for an opening day and second for overall counts. When the film was released on DVD on November 5th 2004, it was the second Shrek film to be presented in its original ratio of 1.85:1 on the Region 1 anamorphic widescreen DVD.
==Posters==
==Home media==
Shrek 2 was released on VHS and DVD on November 5th 2004 and on Game Boy Advance Video on November 17th 2005.
===Far Far Away Idol===
Far Far Away Idol is an extra on the DVD and VHS release based on American Idol and guest starring Simon Cowell. Taking place right after Shrek 2 ends, the characters from Shrek compete in singing popular songs while being judged by Shrek, Fiona and Cowell. After the performances, on the DVD release, the viewer gets to pick the winner. However, if any character outside of Shrek (along with Princess Fiona), Donkey, or Puss were selected, Cowell would refuse to accept the winner and proclaim himself the victor, leaping onto a table and performing his "own" rendition of "My Way". At the end, the DVD and VHS release give a link to a website where the viewer can vote for his favourite to determine the ultimate winner. DreamWorks Animation announced on November 8th 2004, three days after the DVD and VHS release, that after over 750 thousand votes cast, the winner of the competition was Doris.
===Box Sets===
*Shrek: The Story So Far
*The Shrek Trilogy
*Shrek: The Whole Story
==Reaction==
===Box office===
The film opened at #1 with a Friday-to-Sunday total of $108,037,878, and a total of $128,983,060 since its Wednesday launch, from a then-record 4,163 theaters, for an average of $25,952 per theater over the weekend. At the time Shrek 2's Friday-to-Sunday total was the second-highest opening weekend trailing only Spider-Man's $114,844,116. In addition, Saturday alone managed to obtain $44,797,042, making it the highest single day gross at the time, beating Spider-Man's first Saturday gross of $43,622,264.[2] It also ranked #1 in its second weekend, grossing $95,578,365 over the 4-day Memorial Day weekend, narrowly beating out the $85,807,341 4-day tally of new opener The Day After Tomorrow. The film spent a total of 10 weeks in the weekly top 10, and stayed in theaters for 149 days (roughly 21 weeks), closing on November 25th 2004. The film grossed $441,226,247[27] domestically (US and Canada), and $478,612,511 in foreign markets, making a total of $919,838,758 worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of both 2004 and in its franchise. This also puts the film at 8th on the all-time domestic box office list and 23rd on the worldwide box office list. The movie also took away the highest worldwide gross made by an animated feature which before held by Finding Nemo, although the latter still had a higher overseas-only gross. With DVD sales and Shrek 2 merchandise are estimated to total almost $800 million, the film (which was produced with a budget of $150 million[27]) is DreamWorks' most profitable film to date. In August 2010, Disney and Pixar's Toy Story 3 surpassed Shrek 2 to become the highest-grossing animated film worldwide ($1.063 billion), but Shrek 2 still holds the record for the highest-grossing animated film at the American and Canadian box office as well as the highest-grossing animated PG-rated film at this box office. Disney's 3D re-releases of The Lion King (in 2011) and Finding Nemo (in 2012), respectively, surpassed Shrek 2 and relegated it as the 4th highest-grossing animated film of all time.
===Critical response===
The film was well received by a number of critics, many rating it as good as its predecessor,[29][30] and some rated it even better.[31] Based on reviews collected from 209 critics by the film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 89% gave Shrek 2 a positive review.[32] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average rating of 75 out of 100 based on 40 professional reviews published in newspapers, magazines and in highly regarded Internet sites, which indicates "generally favorable reviews." Roger Ebert gave it three out of four stars saying it's "bright, lively, and entertaining,"[34] while Robert Denerstein of Denver Rocky Mountain News called it "Sharply funny."[35] James Kendrick praised the plot, who called it "familiar, but funny." In contrast to the praise it received, even in some positive reviews, some critics said that the film wasn't as good as the original film.[37] Peter Rainer of New York Magazine stated the film "manages to undo much of what made its predecessor such a computer-generated joy ride." Awards and nominations Shrek 2 won five People's Choice Awards: Favorite Animated Movie, Favorite Animated Movie Star for "Donkey" (Eddie Murphy), Favorite Movie Comedy, and Favorite Movie Villain for "Fairy Godmother" (Jennifer Saunders), and Favorite Sequel. It also won two Teen Choice Awards: Choice Movie: Animated/Computer Generated and Choice Award Choice Movie - Comedy. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, like the first film, but lost to The Incredibles. One of the film's songs, "Accidentally in Love" received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, and the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. The American Film Institute nominated Shrek 2 for its Top 10 Animated Films list.
==Other media==
===Video games         ===
*Shrek 2 (Shrek 2: Team Action) (2004)
*Shrek 2 Activity Center: Twisted Fairy Tale Fun (2004)
*Shrek 2: Beg for Mercy (2004)
*Shrek Super Slam (2005)
*Shrek Smash n' Crash Racing (2006)
==Sequels==
The succes of Shrek 2 led to two more Shrek films: Shrek The Third and Shrek Forever After. Mike Myers, Camerion Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Conard Vernon, Cody Cameron, Christopher Knights and Aron Warmer agian reprise their roles along with Antionio Banderas, John Clesse and Julie Andrews. A spin-off film Puss in Boots was released on October 28th 2011, and focuses on the character of Puss in Boots, who was introduced in this film.
Category:Dreamworks Movies
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Category:Sequels
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Category:Shrek Movies
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