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 Once
upon a time, there was a computer-animated film about a big, green
ogre who charmed moviegoers to the tune of $470 million worldwide,
won the first ever Oscar for Best Animated Feature and lived happily
ever after on cable and DVD.
That film,
of course, was Shrek,
but the real irony here is that after more than 8 decades of groundbreaking
feature animation, the aforementioned Oscar did not go to a Disney
animated movie. That honor instead went to DreamWorks, co-headed
by Jeffrey Katzenberg, who, just as ironically, reinvigorated
Disney’s ‘toon division back in the late 80’s and early 90’s with
classics like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast
and The Lion King.
At this stage
of the game, Katzenberg’s studio has a good chance of heading
back to the podium for a double play. That’s because Shrek
2 is as good as the first film in just about every way – it’s
filled with razor sharp humor for the adults, it’s fast-paced
enough for the kids and there’s so much going on for both that
repeated viewings are almost mandatory.
When lovebirds Shrek
(Mike Myers) and Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) return from their
honeymoon, they find an invitation to visit Fiona’s thrilled parents,
the King (John Cleese) and Queen (Julie Andrews) of Far, Far Away.
There’s just one problem – they have no idea that their newfound
son-in-law is an Ogre. The King is furious about their marriage,
so he enlists the help of the powerful Fairy Godmother (Jennifer
Saunders) to set things right. Shrek soon learns that the honeymoon
is definitely over, and he will have to do whatever it takes to
hold on to his love for Fiona.
Since the
sequel picks up almost exactly where the first film left off,
you could put both Shrek films together for a remarkably
tight 3-hour movie. That’s a good thing, since the pace is brisk,
the mood is the same and the events seamlessly flow into one another.
Both films also cover the same ground – that of looking past a
person’s physical appearance to appreciate their inner beauty
– and Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz and Eddie Murphy seem to be having
a blast reprising their voiceover roles from the first film.
Perhaps the
only bad thing that can be said about Shrek 2 is that it
really is more of the same. Sure, the film takes a clever Meet
the Parents-style approach, and there are numerous in-jokes
to other films (like Spider-Man,
Alien, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Mission: Impossible,
just to name a few), but the refreshing element of surprise is
simply not there. Then again, that’s not necessarily a bad thing,
since the film works so well on its own merits.
Strange as
it may seem, Shrek 2 belongs not to the jolly green giant
voiced by Mike Myers or even the fun-loving Donkey voiced by Eddie
Murphy, but to a frisky, sword-wielding feline voiced by Antonio
Banderas. Taking an obvious cue from his lead role in 1998’s The
Mask of Zorro, Banderas is quite simply the cat’s meow as
the scene-stealing Puss in Boots. Also new to the film are John
Cleese, who gives just the right amount of acerbic wit to Fiona’s
disapproving father, and Rupert Everett, who is equally effective
as the arrogant, smug Prince Charming. Finally, Julie Andrews
takes a few shots at her long history with Disney as the Queen,
and Jennifer Saunders chews on her dialogue as the commandeering
Fairy Godmother.
Coming almost
three years to the day after the first film came out, Shrek
2 has everything going for it to end up as one of the summer’s
best movies. Though two more computer-animated ‘toons – Disney/Pixars’s
The Incredibles and DreamWorks’ own A Shark’s Tale
– are waiting in the wings to give Shrek 2 some stiff competition
at next year’s Oscars, I have a feeling that the big, green Ogre
will reign supreme and live happily ever after…again.
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