It's a rare sequel that makes all your dreams come true: The jokes are funnier. The animation is better. Most important, the story develops fresh plot lines.
By STEVE PERSALL
Published May 18, 2004
[DreamWorks Pictures]
Shrek (voice of Mike Myers) is like a deer in the headlights when he sees Puss-in-Boots (voice of Antonio Banderas) lunging for him in DreamWorks Pictures computer-animated comedy Shrek 2.
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What can possibly happen after "happily ever after"? That must have worried someone at DreamWorks when plans were announced for Shrek 2 barely a week after the 2001 original's windfall debut.
As nice as it would be to see the big green galoot again - and to make more money - it seemed very possible after such a delightfully fractured fairy tale that the enchanted well had run dry.
Don't worry. There are plenty of pop culture references left to be filtered through a not-so-Grimm perspective on bedtime stories and nursery rhymes. That improbable reality plus noticeable advances in 3-D computer animation make Shrek 2 even better than the original that won the first Academy Award for best animated feature.
With only a few minor lapses, Shrek 2, opening Wednesday, is the most completely realized sequel, animated or live action, that anyone could imagine. Returning characters have something different to do, new characters are clearly, comically defined, and the story heads in directions that nobody could have guessed three years ago. It's almost as if the creators of Shrek divided one long movie into two volumes, like Kill Bill. The second film exceeds the first yet leans heavily on that surpassed material.
Lord Farquaad, of course, is out of the picture, but another rival for the affections of Princess Fiona (voice of Cameron Diaz) arises. It's Prince Charming (Rupert Everett), a punch line in the first movie and a preening mama's boy in the sequel. We learn that his mother is Fiona's fairy godmother (Jennifer Saunders), and that her plot to arrange their wedding was ruined when Fiona embraced her nightly curse of becoming an ogre and then married Shrek (Mike Myers).
The matchmaking is approved by Fiona's father, King Harold (John Cleese), but Shrek must be eliminated. That leads to the sequel's funniest creation, a dashing swords-cat named Puss-in-Boots (Antonio Banderas), hired by the king to kill his son-in-law. Magic potions and spells figure prominently in the obstacles and solutions - or, in a key twist deserving secrecy, what Shrek and his annoying sidekick, Donkey (Eddie Murphy), believe to be a solution.
The problem for reviewers is that nearly everything wonderful about Shrek 2 deserves that kind of discretion. The sight gags are so ingenious, the references to other movies so plentiful that spoiling the jokes should be a crime. Any movie capable of creating a character with a callback to the first film plus equal parts Godzilla, Marshmallow Man and Mongo from Blazing Saddles (with a dash of E.T.) should be allowed free rein and surprised minds.
Some of the best jokes are on screen for less time than it takes to read this sentence. Others escalate from obviousness to interesting stretches and then to giddiness that approaches bliss. The screenplay for Shrek was an Oscar nominee, but it seems elementary compared to the sequel's relentless yet deftly controlled lunacy. Even in its flatulent moments, Shrek 2 is smart comedy writing.
That makes it easier for the actors to cut loose with lively performances. Myers and Diaz are mostly straight-ogres for the others' jokes, and the challenge to Shrek and Fiona's marriage is an important counterbalance to the jokes. The relationship earns our investment of emotions, something that most live-action films can't do.
Banderas' accent and animators inspired by his Zorro experience combine to make Puss-in-Boots a breakout star. Cleese finally has material again to suit his exaggerated propriety in crazy situations. Murphy is funny, but Donkey can be as much of a pest to our ears as he is to Shrek. (Stay through the end credits for Donkey's best joke.) Julie Andrews adds a touch of class as Queen Lillian, while Saunders turns the Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo routine on its ear. Everett is fine, although most of Charming's humor is visual.
Much of the film's charm is the same way, with animation as impeccable as it is imaginative. Little scenes go long a way, like a tour of the Far, Far Away kingdom that looks suspiciously like Beverly Hills, and a red carpet arrival at the palace proving that someone was taking notes at the Oscars. This movie nudges that boundary at which animation can fool us into believing it's flesh, blood and film.
One technological advance bears noting. My biggest complaint about computer animation has been its inability to get a character's eyes right, which is what makes humans completely human. Body movements were fluid, complexions were accurately blemished, but the eyes from which any good performance springs seemed lifeless.
Now with the right keystrokes, Fiona is more than a slapstick Barbie doll and the king's duplicity gets a shifty boost. The shocked or angry expressions of Far, Far Away citizens mean more than mass body language. An ocular touch of realism at the right time makes the broader fantasy elements even stronger.
Even the musical choices show growth from the original. Rather than a Monkees cover or a ubiquitous pop ditty, Shrek 2 features a diverse playlist: Tom Waits (as a one-handed piano player), Eels, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and Dashboard Confessional, among others. Sure, there are Ricky Martin and Footloose covers. By that time, Shrek 2 could do anything and we'd enjoy it.
Shrek 2
Grade: A
Directors: Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, Conrad Vernon
Cast: Voices of Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Jennifer Saunders, Rupert Everett
Screenplay: J. David Stem, Joe Stillman, David N. Weiss, based on characters created in the novel Shrek by William Steig
