SHREK 2 (2004)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
Viewed on June 9th, 2004
RATING: Two stars and a half
Can it be true? Has Pixar and Dreamworks made a sequel to "Shrek" and
released
it in theatres? Well, considering it has been three years since the
original,
we know the computer animators have been working overtime to create
something
special the second time around, and they have succeeded. "Shrek 2" is
probably
better than what we can expect, and possibly superior to any
direct-to-video
Disney sequels, but it also should've been better than we'd expect.
"Shrek 2" brings back the ogre couple from the original, Shrek (voiced by
Mike
Myers) and Fiona (voiced by Cameron Diaz), now living happily in the
swamps.
They take mud baths, make love by the beach in "From Here to Eternity"
style
(how often has that scene been parodied?), and fart with the greatest of
ease.
All is well until the generally loquacious Donkey (voiced by Eddie Murphy)
returns with a message for Fiona and her groom to travel to Far, Far Away
Land
to meet her parents, the King (voiced by John Cleese) and Queen (voiced by
Julie Andrews). Of course, the assumption is that Fiona was rescued by
Prince
Charming from the slaying dragon - the last person anybody expects to
enter
this land is not one but two ogres. The King and Queen, and most of the
kingdom's population is shocked, especially a bird who flies into a wall
and
dies. A nice touch of humor is when the ogres first arrive at the palace,
and
everyone is quiet except for a crying baby. Naturally, the King and the
jolly
green Shrek do not get along, throwing food at each other and trading
insults.
So what seems like an animated "Meet the Parents" soon enough turns into
the
semi-ingenious sequel we were hoping for.
The King fools Shrek into meeting him in the forest, thanks to a wicked
plan by
the Fairy Godmother (voiced by Jennifer Saunders) who is quite upset her
son,
Prince Charming (voiced by Rupert Everett), did not marry Fiona. Shrek and
Donkey are moseying along when Puss-in-Boots (voiced by Antonio Banderas)
challenges Shrek to a duel, though it mostly involves a catfight with
Puss's
sharp claws used as weapons. Eventually, the threesome decide to steal a
potion
from Fairy Godmother's castle, something called "Happily Ever After"
(otherwise
known as Love Potion No.9). Shrek hopes that the potion will make his
Fiona
look at him and fall in love. Unfortunately, cherry-lipped Prince Charming
and
the Fairy Godmother have different plans.
In terms of animation, "Shrek 2" is astounding to look at once again. Not
a
moment is wasted anywhere for maximum visual impact, whether it is seeing
the
Fairy Godmother's two show-stopping musical numbers or her carriage being
whisked away into the night. As expected, Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey look as
real
and three-dimensional as the human characters (the latter still a major
flaw
design in the CGI era).
But we movie critics can get nitpicky, and I am afforded the pleasure of
being
as picky as I can get. "Shrek 2" has moments of inspired lunacy and
several
blink-and-you'll-miss jokes in the background and the foreground (stabs
are
made at Starbucks, Fat Boy, Tower Records, Hollywood and, of course,
Disney).
There are also a plethora of film parodies with the likes of "Spider-Man,"
"The
Lord of the Rings," and the original "Shrek." The movie piles on so many
clever
in-jokes and references that you're likely to miss most of them - they
spring
out of the screen at such an alarming rate that it is like a cartoonish
nightmare version of Robert Altman's "The Player."
What "Shrek 2" lacks is a real reason for its existence. The story is
basically
a recap of the original's themes and subtexts, namely be yourself and get
rid
of your inner rage. Aw, shucks, not another simplistic moral lesson. If
Pixar
is going to separate themselves from Disney, they need to face certain
realities and avoid the moral cliches of the past sixy years - the
animation is
more lifelike than Disney but the story can't bear such close scrutiny.
I wanted to like "Shrek 2" so much more than I had. I liked it enough to
give
it a passable recommendation, but I think kids and adults alike will find
the
original, a parody of fairy-tales, far more enjoyable. Still, seeing Red
Riding
Hood running in fear of Shrek makes me smile. And Shrek himself is still a
jolly green giant with flashes of anger. That's just the way I like him.
For more reviews, check out JERRY AT THE MOVIES at
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X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 1287833
X-RT-TitleID: 1132597
X-RT-SourceID: 875
X-RT-AuthorID: 1314
X-RT-RatingText: 2.5/4
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