The original Shrek was pursued by such a bandwagon full of adoring – and uncritical – fans that I found it difficult to enjoy, even though it was a quality animated comedy. What bothered me the most was how people lapped up the “I’m so hip” indulgent comedy, and the excessive bathroom humour. None of this ruined the movie, but for me at least, it did tarnish the lustre somewhat.
It’s as if the Shrek team was listening to me. Remarkably, Shrek 2 retains the best of the original – funny characters, smart dialogue, sharp wit and a sweet moral – while cutting back on the obnoxious aspects, and adding an hilarious new character, voiced by Antonio Banderas. The result is a sequel that’s better than the original, and a movie that’s likely to be remembered as an animated classic. What a wonderful surprise!
Like the original, this is a movie that holds the interest of children, yet is filled with humour that will only be fully grasped by adult viewers. It’s remarkable to sit among an audience of parents and their kids, and watch as a scene elicits delighted laughs from both – even though the kids are reacting to one aspect of what they’re seeing, while the adults are laughing at more sophisticated humour. You’ve got to hand it to returning screenwriter Joe Stillman and new additions David Stem and David Weiss; they’ve struck a super balance between appealing to kids and tweaking the funny bone of grown-ups. While there’s still more bodily function humour than we really need (don’t they realize that there’s enough charm and wit here to succeed without all the burps and farts?), this is a kinder, gentler, but just as funny Shrek as the original. And with Puss in Boots (Banderas) added to the mix as a competitor to Donkey (voiced by Eddie Murphy) for Shrek’s attention, this is an even more enjoyable blend of pop culture references and fractured fairy tale fun.
The storyline isn’t really the most important aspect of things here, as the characters and the dialogue are what Shrek 2 is all about. Picking up where the first movie left off, we see Shrek the ogre (voiced by Mike Myers) and his beloved Fiona (Cameron Diaz) having the early days of their marriage interrupted by an invitation to visit Fiona’s family – the King and Queen of Far, Far, Away (which is a medieval version of modern-day Los Angeles, complete with squeegee kids wiping down horses at intersections and star tours of fairytale celebrity’s homes). Things get messy when Shrek has a spat with Fiona’s dad (John Cleese), and then finds himself entangled with a fairy godmother who has a hidden agenda. It’s really all just an excuse for another road trip for Shrek, Donkey, and now the scheming Puss in Boots, and it’s all just a whole lot of fun.
The pop culture references are numerous, although they seem a bit less contrived than in the first movie. Particularly funny is the Mission Impossible-inspired rescue of Shrek and company by Pinocchio, the three blind mice, and assorted other fairy tale regulars. I watched Shrek 2 with my five-year-old daughter, and while she misunderstood more than a few of the jokes, that didn’t reduce her fun one bit. She actually refused to leave the theatre for a much-needed bathroom break, for fear of missing anything. Thankfully, at a fast-paced 90-minutes, the movie didn’t keep her waiting long enough to lead to disaster.
If you liked Shrek, then you’re going to love Shrek 2 – a textbook example of how to do a sequel right.
Retains the best of the original – funny characters, smart dialogue, sharp wit and a sweet moral – with less of the obnoxious aspects, and an hilarious new character.- Brian Webster
