Shrek 2

Theatrical release poster

***Shrek 2*** is a 2004 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film loosely based on the 1990 children's picture book *Shrek!* by William Steig, produced by DreamWorks Animation and PDI/DreamWorks and distributed by DreamWorks Pictures. Directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, and Conrad Vernon (in Vernon's feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Adamson, Joe Stillman, J. David Stem, and David N. Weiss, it is the sequel to *Shrek* (2001) and the second installment in the *Shrek* film series. The film stars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz, who reprise their respective voice roles of Shrek, Donkey, and Fiona. They are joined by new characters voiced by Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Rupert Everett, and Jennifer Saunders. *Shrek 2* takes place following the events of the first film, with Shrek and Donkey meeting Fiona's parents as her zealous Fairy Godmother, who wants Fiona to marry her son Prince Charming, plots to destroy Shrek and Fiona's marriage. Shrek and Donkey team up with a swashbuckling cat named Puss in Boots to foil her plans.

Development began in 2001, and following disagreements with producers, the first film's screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio were replaced with Adamson. The story was inspired by *Guess Who's Coming to Dinner* (1967), and new animation tools were utilized to improve the visual appearance of each character, particularly Puss in Boots. The lead actors also received a significant bump in salary to $10 million, which at the time was among the highest contracts in their respective careers. Like its predecessor, *Shrek 2* also parodies other films based on fairy tales and features references to American popular culture. The film is dedicated to the memory of Shrek creator William Steig, who died in October 2003, 8 months before the film was released.

*Shrek 2* premiered at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival on May 15, 2004, where it competed for the Palme d'Or, and it was released in theaters on May 19, by DreamWorks Pictures. Met with highly favorable reviews like its predecessor, the film grossed $935.3 million worldwide. It scored the second-largest three-day opening weekend in United States history and the largest opening for an animated film at the time of its release. It went on to become the highest-grossing film of 2004. *Shrek 2* is also DreamWorks Animation's highest-grossing film to date and the highest-grossing film released by DreamWorks Pictures, and it held the title of being the highest-grossing animated film of all time worldwide until Pixar Animation Studios' *Toy Story 3* surpassed it in 2010. The film received two Academy Award nominations for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song, and its associated soundtrack charted in the Top 10 on the US *Billboard* 200. A sequel, *Shrek the Third*, was released in May 2007. The film's character Puss in Boots has also received his own series of spin-off media—*Puss in Boots* (2011), *The Adventures of Puss in Boots* (2015–2018) and *Puss in Boots: The Last Wish* (2022)—following his debut.

## Plot

Newlyweds Shrek and Princess Fiona return from their honeymoon to find they have been invited by Fiona's parents to a royal ball to celebrate their marriage. Shrek initially refuses to attend, but Fiona convinces him, and along with Donkey, they travel to the kingdom of Far Far Away. They meet Fiona's parents, King Harold and Queen Lillian, who are shocked to see the ogres, with Harold particularly repulsed. At dinner, Shrek and Harold get into a heated argument, and Fiona, disgusted at their behavior, locks herself away in her room. Shrek worries that he is losing Fiona, particularly after finding her childhood diary and reading that she was once infatuated with Prince Charming.

Harold is secretly reprimanded by the Fairy Godmother, as her son, Prince Charming, was to marry Fiona in exchange for Harold's own happy ending. She orders him to get rid of Shrek, so Harold arranges for Puss in Boots to assassinate him under the guise of a hunting trip. Unable to defeat Shrek, Puss reveals that he was paid by Harold and offers to be an ally. Shrek, Donkey, and Puss sneak into the Fairy Godmother's factory and steal a "Happily Ever After" potion that Shrek thinks will make him good enough for Fiona. Shrek and Donkey both drink the potion but nothing happens. Shrek laments before he and Donkey both suddenly fall asleep. Meanwhile, in Far Far Away, Fiona prepares to find Shrek so they can return home, but she too falls asleep.

The following morning, the potion transforms Shrek and Fiona into humans, and Donkey into a white stallion. In order to make the change permanent, Shrek must kiss Fiona by midnight. Shrek, Donkey, and Puss return to the castle. However, the Fairy Godmother, having discovered the theft, has sent Charming to pose as Shrek and win Fiona's love. At the Fairy Godmother's urging, Shrek leaves the castle, believing that the best way to make Fiona happy is to let her go.

Fiona does not reciprocate Charming's advances, so to ensure she falls in love with Charming, the Fairy Godmother gives Harold a love potion to put into Fiona's tea. This exchange is overheard by Shrek, Donkey, and Puss, who are arrested by the royal knights after Donkey inadvertently exposes them. While the royal ball begins, the fairy tale creatures whom Shrek and Donkey had met during their previous adventure arrive at the dungeon to rescue the three of them, and they all storm the castle with the help of a monstrous living gingerbread man created by the Muffin Man.

Charming kisses Fiona, but instead of falling in love, she knocks him out; Harold reveals that he swapped Fiona's tea that has the love potion with another tea. The now-enraged Fairy Godmother tries to kill Shrek with her magic wand, but Harold jumps in front of it, reverting into the Frog Prince; the spell ricochets off his armor and evaporates her into bubbles. With the Fairy Godmother gone, Harold apologizes, admitting to using the "Happily Ever After" potion years earlier to gain Lillian's love, and approves Shrek and Fiona's marriage, while Lillian assures Harold that she still loves him. As the clock strikes midnight, Fiona rejects Shrek's offer to remain human, and they revert into ogres, while Donkey also returns to normal. In the mid-credits scene, Dragon, who had previously married Donkey, reveals that they now have several dragon-donkey hybrid babies.

## Voice cast

*Main article: List of Shrek (franchise) characters*

* Mike Myers as Shrek
* Eddie Murphy as Donkey
* Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona
* Julie Andrews as Queen Lillian
* Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots
* John Cleese as King Harold
* Rupert Everett as Prince Charming
* Jennifer Saunders as Fairy Godmother
* Joan Rivers as Red Carpet Announcer
	+ Kate Thornton provides the voice for the UK version
* Larry King as Doris the Ugly Stepsister
	+ Jonathan Ross provides the voice for the UK version
* Aron Warner as Big Bad Wolf
* Cody Cameron as:
	+ Pinocchio
	+ The Three Little Pigs
* Christopher Knights and Simon J. Smith as Three Blind Mice
* Conrad Vernon as:
	+ Gingy
	+ Muffin Man
	+ Mongo
	+ Cedric
	+ Announcer
* Chris Miller as Magic Mirror
* Mark Moseley as Dresser
* Kelly Cooney as Fast Food Clerk
* Kelly Asbury as:
	+ Page
	+ Elf
	+ Nobleman
	+ Nobleman's son
* Andrew Adamson as Captain of the Guard

**Cameos**

* Joan Rivers' cameo as herself 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.
* Simon Cowell appears as himself on *Far Far Away Idol*, a parody of *American Idol*, on the DVD special features and just before the credits on the U.S. VHS edition (see Home Media).