This weekend I had it confirmed. I’m a ruddy great big kid! Haven’t laughed and had so much fun for ages. I found myself sitting in a packed cinema full of screaming kids on booster seats laughing my head off at the on-screen action. What was I doing? Why, watching Shrek 2 of course!
For the uninitiated Shrek is an ogre, a creation of Dreamworks Studios and, unsurprisingly, Shrek 2 is the second outing of the loveable ogre. Yes, it’s a sequel, you know, those things that have so much to live up to and yet rarely deliver. Well, this one is different. It delivers and delivers and delivers, time after time, quick wit, punchy humour and oh, just a hint of a mickey take.
We’re in cartoon land here. Forget though the flat animations of Tom & Jerry and come into the world that is 3D and full of life. A land that the CGI creators should be rightfully proud of. A land that is Far Far Away….
For, in fact, that is where we are. Far Far Away. The ancestral home of one Princess Fiona who has, through her marriage to Shrek, now taken on the form of an ogre herself. They have left behind the swamp and travelled with Donkey, their trusty ass, to seek the blessing of their marriage from Princess Fiona’s parents, the King and Queen. Whilst the King and Queen were aware of the nasty affliction that their daughter carried by night (she was cursed in the first film to be beautiful by day and an ogre by night) they were not aware that this
affliction had become permanent and the townsfolk of Far Far Away had no idea at all of the curse Fiona carried so you can imagine the great surprise when, down from the Cinderella’s carriage stepped Shrek and Princess Fiona in ogre form…
How can Shrek ever win over his father-in-law? Will Fiona ever be happy? Is the fairy godmother quite as godly as she might at first appear? Watch and see.
**_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_* CHARACTERISATION
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This is one animated adventure that you could be forgiven for falling into. You almost forget that this is make-believe. The quality of the animation coupled with superb voice-overs from a host of stars goes to make a set of superb characters.Shrek voiced by Mike Myers is just so damn loveable. The soft lilting accent which he employs for the role has you melting into your seat (well, it did me!). Eddie Murphy’s fast-paced Donkey is just superb and helps the story gallop along at a pace that I thought would be unsustainable but was relieved to find that it wasn’t. Cameron Diaz again provides the voice for Fiona, feisty but definitely feminine.
The star of this particular outing though, has to be Shrek’s new-found companion, Puss-in-Boots. Antonio Banderas is perfect for the Spanish feline and the character is possibly the most clever in the whole movie. I’ll say no more for fear of spoiling.
Julie Andrews (Queen), John Cleese (King), Rupert Everret (Prince Charming) and Jennifer Saunders (Fairy Godmother) complete the main cast.
One nice touch is that, as in Toy Story, the animations held more than just a passing resemblance to the actors providing the voices. This, for me, served only to make them more real.
**_*_* HUMOUR
**_*_*
Now this might be billed as a children’s’ film but believe me when I say that the greatest laughs came from the adults. Whilst the first film contained humour on two levels with much of the crude humour going straight over the heads of the children, this film was much more overt, the humour faster paced and direct.
That’s not to say that the subtleties were lost however. We had bucket loads of parodies, jokes around advertising and more than a hint of mickey taking. Film buffs will doubtless giggle at the passing off of many films (the Mission: Impossible one being, in my mind, the best) although children too will have fun spotting their favourite fairy tale characters and stories.
It was the detail that astonished me. This was not something that was thrown together – if you could squeeze a joke in then it was there, either in the animation, the script or indeed the music.
I would imagine that the creators had great fun with this and can almost picture the cutting room scene – “no! You can’t get rid of that!”. Such is the detail of the film that I’m sure you can watch it time and time again and still not spot all of the gags or spoofs.
**_* MUSIC
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The score for this film brings together a mix of pop, old and new in a way that has been clearly thought through. The songs help the plot along rather than getting in the way and, on more than one occasion provide some of the humour. There’s not much in the way of original “take-home-and-sing” music but I certainly came out singing the finally cleverly used number!
**_*_*_*_*_* MORAL TALES
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A kids movie of this genre wouldn’t be complete with a good dose of morals and this won’t disappoint. What is interesting is that even the moral undertones operate on a number of levels. There’s the obvious in your face morals right through to the more adult and subtle digs at commercialisation. We would all do well to sit up and watch.
**_*_*_* ANALYSIS
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Where this film scores big time is that it does not simply attempt to extend or rehash the first outing of Shrek. It is fresh and different from the original – a welcome change. Many worlds collide to produce the backdrop for the film. The juxtaposition of Hollywood and fairytales with Knights and MTV reporters works wonderfully and makes you think. It keeps the reality in a fairytale land and brings the fairlytale into reality.
**_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_* WHO SHOULD SEE THIS?
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This IS a family film, the whole spectrum of ages who made up the cinema seemed to enjoy the spectacle. A word of caution should be added though. This film is more direct than the first and the humour slightly more adult. A certain amount of quick reading and film knowledge is required to get many of the jokes. There is also one scene that uses swearing which surprised me as the film is U rated (unless that is, bl**dy is no longer a swear word!). As such I would not recommend it for the under 6 audience that so enjoyed the first. The adults definitely seemed to get more out of the film.At 92 minutes run time it’s not too long either. In fact, I couldn’t believe that it had finished when it did. I felt as though I had only just got settled. That, to me, is a good sign.
You don’t need to have seen the first film to enjoy this as it stands alone after the first 5 minutes although it might help you understand some of the subtleties if you have.
As I’ve said before, this is one to watch time and time again. My comment as I left the cinema on a high, feeling every bit the 5 year old, summed it up: “Go again! Go again!”.
**_*_*_*_* BOTTOM TIP
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Just one for you this time: Don’t leave the cinema when the first credits roll – you’ll miss some excellent footage and a rather good gag!
Star rating below is given in relation to an adult audience, knock one star off for the under 8s and another off for the under 6s!
On General Release: 2 July 2004 Certificate: U Run time: 92 mins
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2002 - Family - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Marisa Tomei, Lacey Chabert, Lynn Redgrave, Flea, Tim Curry, Rupert Everett
I thought this had a lot of good points, but the story was just weak. Not as good as the first...no jokes as funny as 'Do you know the muffin man? The muffin man? THE MUFFIN MAN!' Puss in boots was great and its fun to try and spot all the little spoofs and references.
Scousechamp 29.08.2005 19:45
what a fantastic film
Deru 05.04.2005 19:31
Great review. Great film too. I liked this one more than the first.
Full of verve and witShrekis a computer-animated adaptation of William Steig's ... more
delightfully fractured fairy tale. Our title character (voiced by Mike Myers) is an agreeable enough ogre who wants to live his days in peace. When the diminutive Lord Farqu...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Full of verve and witShrekis a computer-animated adaptation of William Steig's ... more
delightfully fractured fairy tale. Our title character (voiced by Mike Myers) is an agreeable enough ogre who wants to live his days in peace. When the diminutive Lord Farqu...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow) is searching for a wife. Because of a complicated situation ... more
he needs a mate so he can qualify as king of the land. The 3-foot-tall despot has already banished all the fairy tale characters from his land resulting in a dias...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
They're back for more! Princess Fiona's parents invite their daughter and her new husband ... more
Shrek to her homeland of Far Far Away in order to celebrate their marriage. However there's more than meets the eye in this fairytale kingdom and Shrek & Fi...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: A sequel that gives more of the same with a twist more adult fun - Puss is inspired! Disadvantages: Original songs weren't used and characters revoiced for the British version
![Shrek [DVD] [2001]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78533830.jpg "Shrek [DVD] [2001]")
Jun 30th, 2004
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