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The second in the hugely popular antisocial green ogre franchise sees the newlywed couple of Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers) and Princess Fiona (voiced by Cameron Diaz) visit her parents in the Far Far Away Kingdom. The adored CGI animated Shrek (2001) treated us to the well-executed visual mission of seeing our hero and his sidekick Donkey (voiced by Eddie Murphy) rescue a damsel from a dangerous dragon - that was the premise anyway. However, for this sequel, seeing our protagonist venture off to meet his royal in-laws is not exactly the most attractive of prospects. What DreamWorks do though is add so many triumphant comedy moments and pop culture references that you forget the flimsy plot foundation and just constantly laugh as the narrative starts to grow healthily around your hysterical behaviour.
Jennifer Saunders' Fairy Godmother and Rupert Everett's Prince Charming act as the opposition to Shrek, who needs to satisfy impossible upper-class requirements in order to impress his stunned in-laws, King Harold (John Cleese) and Queen Lillian (Julie Andrews). Circumstances are certainly not helped with first impressions (doves flying into walls and family meals are not flourishing) and we soon come to realise that Fairy Godmother has a deal with Harold which involves who Fiona will wed. Shrek feels dejected because he grasps the fact that an ogre can never marry royalty, but the viewer recognises a Hollywood set-up arc and events unfold accordingly. All the new players do fantastic vocal jobs, only eclipsed by another series debutant, Antonio Banderas' Puss in Boots. Like Donkey, Puss has the superlative comedic dialogue and almost steals the whole film with his opportunistic ways, newborn-like eyes, and uproarious accent. It therefore comes as no surprise that due to the character's popularity, DreamWorks has commissioned a spin-off about the Zorroesque character.
Other notable voices are Jonathan Ross (instead of Larry King for the Yanks) playing a rather interesting transsexual stepsister and Kate Thornton randomly popping up on the red carpet and talking in Joan Rivers' body. The comedy also shines through with the film, fashion and fast-food references - Jurassic Park (1993), Spider-Man (2002), Mission: Impossible (1996), Versace, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Burger King all play factors in the farce. The Gingerbread Man is still the highlight of the fantasy characters however and when he and Shrek visit the Muffin Man all hell breaks loose with their creation, Mongo - the film highlight.
Even if, overall, their films (apart from the Shrek series) fail to match Pixar's consistent quality, DreamWorks always make a decent stab at the animation side of things and Shrek 2 is no exception. The slapstick elements all work well and the characters look visually immense which results in an extremely pleasing hour and a half.
The extras
For a 'Standard Edition' the selection is good but seemingly less volume than what DreamWorks advertise. "The Tech of Shrek 2" is a six minute look at the animation process, "Meet the Cast" is a ten minute featurette meeting, well, the cast and "Meet Puss in Boots" is four minutes exploring Antonio Banderas' character. "Technical Goofs" and "The Music of Shrek 2" (Jennifer Saunders' voice is actually quite good) are interesting, and like the other featurettes, play well in a concise manner. The host of kids games are boring though and the sneak peek section of other films is a waste of disc space. The commentary by the filmmakers nonetheless is excellent and makes you aware of intricate details the casual viewer would easily miss. In fact, this and "Far Far Away Idol" featuring a spoof Simon Cowell and a Pop Idol singing contest between the characters are the best bits of the whole package.
The summary
Incessant humour makes for a bona fide sequel to its beloved predecessor.
