Shrek 2 (2004) (Movie Review)

    While the original 2001 animated picture “Shrek” is deservedly a classic … I personally find it’s 2004 sequel superior in almost every way. Seriously, in my view, “Shrek 2” is one of those perfect sequels, as it takes all the winning ingredients of the first, builds on top of it, and cranks-up the quality to eleven. By extent, I also think back on “Shrek 2” as one of my favorite comedies, as phew other animated movies have gotten me to laugh as frequently, or as consistently as this film. In fact, I think it’s worthy of being called a comedy classic in its own right. Nearly twenty-years old, let’s look back and see just how well “Shrek 2” has held-up as a staple in DreamWorks animation.

    We pick-up with Shrek and Fionna, who are happily living together, and Fionna perfectly content in her new Ogre form. However, her human parents summon the new couple to their kingdom of “Far Far Away” … and are rather put-off buy their daughter’s new appearance, as well as her new Ogre husband. With things getting heated, Shrek and Fionna’s relationship goes through a loop, and Shrek himself ponders if he needs to make new, permanent changes of his own in order to make both Fionna, and her parents happy. Thus, Shrek, Donkey and a newly reformed hit-man called Puss in Boots set-off on a journey to find their own “Happily Ever After”. Unfortunately, lurking in the shadows is a crooked Fairy Godmother, who harbors a prejudice against Ogres, viewing them as monsters that don’t deserve a “Happily Ever After”. Thus, she hatches a scheme, using her son Prince Charming to win over Princess Fionna, and banish Shrek from the royal family for good.

    In general, I find this story a perfect continuation of the first, and even steps-up the theme from before. Where the original was about our perception of beauty, this film is all about accepting changes, and coping with them for the people we love. We previously saw Fionna’s willingness to permanently change into an Ogre, and now we see the reverse, with Shrek willing to change into a human for her. We actually spend a lot of time with Shrek outside of his iconic Ogre design, which was risky, but it really paid-off. Beyond anything, this film highlights what a wonderful Odd-Couple Shrek and Fiona are. 

I thought they made for a decent enough pair in the first movie, but this film really got me to care for them, to the point where they might just be one of my favorite animated couples. That, and I feel Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz had gotten the most comfortable in their respected roles of Shrek and Princess Fiona, as they really brought the characters to life in this film. I also love the King and Queen in this film, and how their story compliments our two leads. Julie Andrews was certainly a welcome surprise in the role of Queen Lillian. John Cleese likewise is always a delight, and on top of his vocal talents, I think that his character, King Harold, has one of the best arcs in the film. Jumping to the end for a moment, the King reveals he was once “the frog prince”, and reverts back to his real form, but this time is content, and finally willing to embrace changes of his own … as well as love for his new son-in-law. As a side note, the Kings initial presumed death before his transformation leads to my favorite line in the whole movie … “He corked!”.   

    Eddie Murphy is back as Donkey, channeling the same energy as before, but this time bringing all the funny remarks and quips that have cemented his status as one of the great animated side-characters. 

It’s hard to explain why, but I find myself enjoying Donkey the most when he’s in his white horse form. Something about his reactions and remarks always have me grinning from ear to ear. I’ll admit, I missed the presence of the female Dragon, but at least she got a funny mid-credit scene, along with her and Donkeys “Mutant Babies”. Of course, the big breakout character is Puss in Boots, played by the always awesome Antonio Banderas. Prior to this movie, I already liked the classic Puss in Boots fairytale, and for years wanted him to get his chance to shine on the silver screen. While a little different from his source material, I think it’s safe to say that this version of Puss in Boots has become his iconic film representation. Giving him a Zorro type persona was an inspired idea, and all the more fitting with Antonio Banderas in the role, as he already shined as Zorro in the 1998 picture “The Mask of Zorro”.

   Rupert Everett voices the slimy Prince Charming, and while he’s not quiet on par with the previous nasty Prince, he’s still a decent secondary villain. The wicked Fairy Godmother is yet another excellent character, easily my favorite of all the “Shrek” villains, and I’d even place her among my favorite animated female villains. Jennifer Saunders has a perfect voice for the role, fitting the gentle nature of the traditional character, but with that proper touch of menace added in. In general, one of the many appealing qualities of the “Shrek” franchise is how it takes these well-known fairytale archetypes, makes them funny, and basically re-invents them in very creative ways. Case in point, Fairy Godmothers are typically portrayed as the loving, nurturing moral support for the hero, but in “Shrek 2” we get a very original twist on the formula. This Fairy Godmother is a crooked business tycoon, acts more like a celebrity, and as established, follows a strict status quo in which only the good-looking Prince and Princess can have a happily ever after, while Ogre’s should be left in the swamp. It’s a great concept for a satirical fairytale of this sort, and she makes for a menacing, yet enjoyably hammy villain all at once.      

   It goes without saying that “Shrek 2” has my favorite ensemble of characters, but even beyond the main cast, I love all the little side-characters featured in this film. The Ginger Bread Man is given a bigger supporting role this time, which is great, as he made for a funny cameo in the original. The Fairy Godmother also has these disgruntled Work-Elves in her service, who provide some laughs. 

I even like that Fionna gets her own pet dog in this film. Joan Rivers makes a funny cameo as herself acting as a Red-Carpet Announcer. Simon Cowell also makes a guest appearance in the DVD short-film titled “Far, Far Away Idol”, which is a now dated, yet still amusing parody of “American Idol”. The setting of “Far, Far Away” is amusingly modeled after Beverly Hills, and becomes a character in of itself. As a result, the world of the Shrek universe always felt larger, and more expansive in this film. There’s a seedy pub where all the classic fairytale villains gather called “The Poison Apple” … which is about as perfect a name as you can get. The animation has also stepped-up from before, with brighter colors, more appealing imagery, and details that I feel pop on the screen. 

    I also think the soundtrack has aged quiet well, as I still enjoy listening to the majority of the songs, and they fit the film great. Rich Price’s “I’m on my Way” is decent, and I still hear Lipps, Inc’s cover of “Funkytown” at parties. I also feel there’s more musical highlights spread throughout this film as opposed to the first. The Fairy Godmother gets a colorful song number, and there’s a very fun sequence with our hero’s escaping her factor, all set to Pete Yorn’s “Ever Fallen in Love”. 

Of course, one of the big songs to highlight is “Accidentally in Love”, performed by Counting Crows. This song was nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Original Song, but lost to "Al Otro Lado Del Río" from “The Motorcycle Diaries”. Speaking personally, “Accidentally in Love” is generally one of my favorite romantic-themed song-numbers from an animated picture. It’s the perfect odd love-song for a perfect odd couple. The title sums their relation up beautifully, as they did accidentally fall in love, and they couldn't be happier about it. It's also a really upbeat song, with a nice beat, and the scene in the beginning of the movie offers more than enough visual gags, and amusing movie references. Their wedding rings are a lampoon of “The Lord of the Rings”, they also share an upside-down kiss like in "Spider-Man", and there’s a loving nod to the famous beach scene from the 1953 War classic “From Here to Eternity”. This scene already had a good parody in the 1980 comedy “Airplane!”, but “Shrek 2” takes it to the next level, with a well-placed cameo from “The Little Mermaid”.

   While on the subject, the Comedy in this film is top-tier, laugh out loud quality. I wasn’t kidding when I said that “Shrek 2” is one of my favorite comedies, as it’s one of those films I can watch a dozen times, still discover something new to laugh at, and all while still getting a big chuckle out of the films many hilarious highlights. 

One of the films biggest appeals are its numerous details on display, which also applies to the comedy. There are jokes hiding in the background, four-ground, subtle jokes, obvious jokes, and it’s just non-stop all the way through. The energy never lets-up either, as from frame one, this film throws everything it can at you. Just the little things like this one trumpet player wanting a solo amidst his band get me chuckling. 

Another little detail I love is when Shrek is reading Fionna's diary ... "Sleeping Beauty is having a slumber party" ... and afterword's refers to it as "a scary book".  One of my favorite gags is an editing joke involving Shrek and Fionna as they approach the King and Queen, and as we cut back-and-forth between the two pairs, they overlap each-others sentences. 

The awkward family dinner scene is a classic example of thins escalating out of control, as an already uncomfortable moment can just spiral out of control. One small warning for new-comers is a scene involving a posse of Knights apprehending our hero’s, and it’s depicted like a cop-busting TV show … which I admittedly laughed at, but now days, I can see this scene alarming some viewers. Another funny highlight involves the Gingerbread Man and Pinocchio rescuing our heroes from prison … which forces Pinocchio to reveal a little secret about his choice of clothing. 

    We then segue into one of my all-time favorite climaxes of any animated picture I’ve ever seen … and it still thrills me all these years later. Shrek and friends create a giant Gingerbread Man to lead the assault on the castle, in their effort to rescue the princess from our nasty pair of villains. 

Not only is this set-piece imaginative … not only is it a funny wink at “Ghostbusters” … not only is it boasted by a rousing musical number … but I’m completely invested in the characters, and their goals. As such, this is one of those special finales that has me emotionally engaged, laughing-out-loud at the hummer, and exhilarated by the action all at once. 

As a side note, I already loved the song of choice … and yet, I don’t think I’ve ever heard a cover of “Holding out for a Hero” that can match Jennifer Saunders version in this film. Everything wraps-up perfectly, as Fionna and Shrek find peace in their proper Ogre forms. Just like before, “Shrek 2” closes out on a big musical number, and I once again feel it hits the first film out of the water with an extremely up-beat closing song. Again, “Livin’ La Vida Loca” was already a song I was familiar with, but I still have yet to hear a version that’s brought me more joy than this version performed by “Eddie Murphy & Antonio Banderas”. It’s colorful, it's up-beat, it fills me with cheer, and it’s one of my favorite closing song-numbers of any animated picture I’ve seen.

   Truthfully, this is one of those movies that’s only gotten better over the years, and still has a secure spot as one of my all-time favorite animated movies. Naturally, “Shrek 2” was nominated at the Oscars for Best Animated Picture, but it lost that year to Pixar’s “The Incredibles” … which I suppose is fair, as that’s a good movie too … but speaking personally, I’d never put “The Incredibles” above my feelings for “Shrek 2”. 

It’s hands-down my favorite in the goofy “Shrek” series, as the casting is perfect, the jokes are hilarious, and it’s the one film in which the characters just feel the strongest, and most appealing to me. It also has my favorite ensemble of outstanding new supporting characters to join in the fun, with Puss in Boots mainly stealing the show. The animation is great, the story is sweet, romantic, and best of all … this really is one of the funniest animated family films under the sun. “Shrek 2” is simply one of my favorite sequels to an animated picture, as it not only compliments the first, but can stand apart on its own, and debatably is superior … it certainly is in my view!

Thanks for reading my review of the 2004 animated picture “Shrek 2” … and continue to enjoy the movies you love!

Shrek (2001) (Movie Review)

   It’s not every day that a non-Disney animated movie can take-over our world of entertainment, and leave a lasting impact on our pop-culture. Well, over twenty years ago, back in 2001, a little movie called “Shrek” did just that, and has sense endured as an animated family classic. To say it was the talk of the town back in the day would be an understatement, as I remember being a young third-grader back when this film premiered … and not only was it everywhere I looked, but the praise for the film was almost universal. 

It was the first movie ever to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Picture, beating out Pixar’s “Monster Inc.” in the process, and it was also the first animated picture to be nominated at the Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay. Oddly enough for me, “Shrek” is a film that I’ve only come around to appreciating as an adult, because I remember back when I was a kid, I was actually one of the phew who was a little underwhelmed by the film. I mean, I liked it okay, I watched it a couple times, but I just didn’t quiet feel it earned the gargantuan praise it got. Also, I was still riding the high of both “Toy Story 2” and “The Emperor’s New Groove”, which at the time were my two favorite animated movies, and I so badly wanted “Shrek” to find a place among my favorites, but it just never did. The sequel, “Shrek 2” absolutely found a secure placement with all my favorite animated pictures … which is a review for another day … but it also made me all the more dismissive of the original. So, after all these years, how have my feelings on the film changed, and has it really heled-up as a quality animated picture?  

    Based on William Steig’s book of the same name, Shrek is an ogre who spends his days scaring off villagers for his own amusement, and basically just enjoys spending his days alone as a nasty creature. Things change when a number of fairy-tale characters are dumped in his swamp by an evil ruler named Lord Farquaad, who aims to remove all fantastical creatures from his kingdom, as well as marry a beautiful Princess, so that he can properly assume the title of King. 

With Shrek eager to get his swamp back to normal, a deal is made that he’ll set-off on a quest to find such a princess, in exchange for the immediate removal of all the fairy tale creatures from his land. Along the way, he makes friends with a talking donkey, battles a dragon, and rescues one Princess Fiona, who seems to fit the bill … but maybe is keeping secrets from her two rescuers. As the journey goes on, an unusual romance blossoms between Shrek and the princess, secret twists are revealed, and many goofy antics ensue along the way. So, what were my initial reservations with this film when I first saw it as a kid? For one, while the animation was good for the time … and still looks good now … it wasn’t always that pretty to look at. I felt most of the colors were kind of brown-tinted, and I never felt like anything really popped before my eyes the same way other animated films at the time did.

    It was also a very dialog heavy film, with the characters mostly walking and talking, back and forth. That’s not to say I was board, as both Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy are consistently delightful to listen too in their respected lead roles of Shrek and Donkey … but for the first half of the film, I was never feeling hooked, or like it was a fast-moving experience with big laughs throughout. There were some decent chuckles, like Farquaad’s kingdom being a knock-off Disney-Land, and I’ve always loved that one giant-head Farquaad mascot. 

However, the big turning point was the battle with the dragon, and rescuing Princess Fiona. Once these three characters are together, the film instantly picks-up, and gets good ... as well as really funny. I feel all the biggest laughs come from how these three distinct characters interact with each-other, and how they react to all the oddities they come across. I know I busted a gut when the Princess exploded a bird, all due to her high-pitched singing … and don’t ask where she got the eggs she served for breakfast. There’s also a funny encounter with Robin Hood, resulting in an amusing fight that parodies “The Matrix” … before it became a tired cliché to spoof that film. Even the conversations were more charming around this middle act, as I like Shrek and Donkey just sitting out under the stars, and conversing like friends now.   

   Also, at the time I was watching a number of comedies staring Cameron Diaz, including “The Mask” and “There’s Something about Mary”, so having her voice Princess Fiona, who was both pretty and quirky, was right on the money for me. Likewise, I think Fiona is one of the best off-brand Princess characters I’ve ever seen. Usually when a character is at odds with their common perception, they’re typically depicted as cynical, and actively dogging their established conventions. Fiona by contrast is very open, and wanting to embrace all the typical animated Princess tropes … it’s just that who she really is has a way of naturally slipping out of the stereotype, and that makes for a great character. I like that she’ll throw-down a number of goons during a fight, but she wont boast about it either. She’ll belch and eat crispy rats on a stick, but then try to segue back into the conventions of spinning in her dress while singing in the woods. It’s great, as it gives us the best of both dynamics.

     Of course, I also need to mention the villain Lord Farquaad, who’s voiced by the always great John Lithcow. While I’ve seen the actor shine in a variety of roles, I always think back on him best for playing villains, especially in movies like “Cliffhanger”, and even “Santa Clause: The Movie”. He has such a distinct voice that I don’t know how to describe, but it’s always recognizable, and the perfect choice for voicing an animated villain. The character of Lord Farquaad also has one of my favorite villain introductions, as it’s this built-up march down a hall-way, set to this gothic organ music, and even after the amusing reveal of his height, he still has an imposing presence. Again, there’s just something about John Lithcow’s voice that’s a perfect mix of being both menacing and goofy, which really makes the character come to life.   

   Eventually, it’s revealed that there’s a curse on the Princess, which turns her into an ogre every night, and it’s a great reveal … but it does lead into one of my biggest qualms with this movie. After the reveal, we get a third-act break-up, with characters going their separate ways … and all because of a big misunderstanding, as one person only heard a fraction of a conversation, didn’t stay to listen to the rest, and didn’t even try talking about it afterword’s. I hate this cliché so much … I hate it to my core. It’s such a cheap and even lazy way to bring out character drama, and it always kills the moment for me. It’s a shame because the following sad montage is actually shot, and edited very well, with some beautiful transitions, and I even like Rufus Wainwright’s cover of “Hallelujah” … I just wish this came about due to something stronger than an irritating misunderstanding trope.     

    Now, for all my issues with the cliched third act break-up, the movie completely redeems itself with its closing moral, which is executed perfectly. After the climax, in which Shrek and Donkey crash a wedding, and thwart the villain, Princess Fiona finally finds her true love in Shrek, and instead of lifting her curse, she instead becomes an ogre permanently. 

In other words, it’s not the apparent beauty that changes, it’s the perception of it. It’s a great lesion, and one that’s just as relevant today. Even when I was somewhat underwhelmed by this film as a kid, the ending really did stick with me as something special. Of course, this movie also started the trend of animated pictures closing-out on a big, up-beat musical number. As a side note, back when I had this movie on VHS, there was an extended epilogue edited in, with the characters continuing their dance party in the swamp. However, its sense been removed from the DVD cut of the film, as well as other sources, and is now only featured as a short film. While not really a problem, it does still mess with my childhood memories whenever I re-watch the film.   

   It’s also kind of funny how the song “I’m a Believer” has become synonymous with “Shrek”, even though it already had a history, and was even featured three years earlier in another Mike Myers comedy called “Austin Powers: The Spy who Shagged Me”. Smash Mouth’s cover of “All Star” was likewise introduced two years earlier in the 1999 comic-book movie “Mystery Men”, but really took off after being used in this film. This was also back when the Baha Men had a hit song tied to almost every family picture released in the early 2000’s, so their song “Best Years of our Lives” really stands out. The soundtrack in general is definitely an amusing product of it’s time, and is kind of cringe today, but I also have nostalgic fondness for it all these years later. What has remained consistently great is the musical score composed by Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell. I listened to this instrumental track all the time as a kid, and both tracks for the “Escape from the Dragon” and “Ridding the Dragon” always got me exhilarated. The opening “Fairytale” track is so iconic that it’s become the official anthem for DreamWorks animation.    

   Lastly, it should be noted that this film was helmed by two first-time directors … Andrew Adamson, who’d go on to direct “Shrek 2”, as well as the first two live-action “Narnia” movies, and Vicky Jenson, who’d go on to direct “Shark Tale”. In the end, I might not have been in love with “Shrek” back when I was a kid, but I remember quietly thinking to myself that I’ll grow to like it over time. Well, I’d say time has been good to this film, as I certainly enjoy, and even admire it more after all these decades. I still wouldn’t put it among my absolute favorite animated pictures, but there is a reason it’s been preserved as a classic. The characters are still very likable, the jokes mostly work, the music is pleasing, and beyond anything else, it’s the message that keeps it above the quality of most animated pictures to come out in recent years. If it’s been a while sense you’ve seen “Shrek”, I’d say give it another watch, and see if it either holds up, or is even better then you remember.   

Thanks for reading my review of the 2001 animated picture “Shrek” … and continue to enjoy the movies you Love!