Dir.
Andrew Adamson, Conrad Vernon , Kelly Asbury, 2004, USA, 93 mins
Voices:
Antonio Banderas, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Saunders, John Cleese, Julie Andrews, Mike Myers, Rupert Everett
Once upon a time, there lived an ugly ogre, called Shrek (Mike Myers), who met his one true love, Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), and they lived happily ever after. Well, for a while at least. For this is a very modern fairytale, and before long, our lovely newly-weds are summoned from their home in the swamp to visit Fiona's parents. Only problem is, they think she still looks like Cameron Diaz when in fact she's a delicate shade of green, and that her betrothed is a handsome prince. However, off they set, with the unshakeable donkey (Eddie Murphy) in tow, to the land of 'Far Far Away', a Hollywood-esque tinsel town with stretch fairytale coaches, and stores such as Versarchery, Burger Prince, and Tower of London Records.
Shrek's reservations about meeting his new in-laws prove right and before long, we discover that Fiona's father, King Harold (John Cleese), had a deal with the Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders) to make sure Fiona married her son, the vain Prince Charming (Rupert Everett). What's more, she has no intention of cancelling the deal.
With a nod to the Snow White story, Shrek is tricked into wandering into the dark forest, only to be met by Puss-in-Boots (Antonio Banderas, joyfully overplaying his Zorro persona), a skilled swordsman who has been paid to do away with the ogre. However, things don't go according to plan and Puss pledges his loyalty to Shrek.
It's now back down to the scheming Fairy Godmother to take matters into her own hands. With form changing magic potions and mistaken identities, Fiona has to kiss her true love by midnight - but will she get the right one?
With Julie Andrews lending her voice talents to the character of Queen Lillian, Fiona's mother, Shrek 2 is a delight for both young and old. It succeeds in lampooning not only traditional fairy tales (all the fairytale royals, such as Cinderella and Snow White, have their fairytale condo's in the land of Far, Far Away), but the modern-day ones - the movies - too. In the opening sequence alone, in the days following Shrek and Fiona's wedding, we are treated to re-enactments of scenes from Spiderman, From Here to Eternity, and Lord of the Rings. Later on, the Gingerbread man not only pays homage to E.T., but to the Ghostbuster's marshmallow man too. And in a wonderful twist on life imitating art, look out for 'Sir Justin' Timberlake adorning Fiona's childhood bedroom wall, an idea that originated long before Miss Diaz fell for Britney's ex.
But the treats don't stop there. Besides the wonderful storyline and non-stop humour, the animation is such that there are times you wonder if this is really an animated character or the real thing. Shrek alone has 218 facial muscles, and the bouncing of light gives a translucency to the skin tones. The technical advances have also paved the way for greater crowd scenes, particularly when Shrek and Fiona first arrive at the in-laws palace, and at the ball.
Finally, there's the soundtrack. From Jennifer Saunders belting out 'Holding out for a Hero', to the Counting Crows serenading Shrek and Fiona's montage of opening scenes with 'Accidentally in Love', to the trumpeters who greet their arrival suddenly breaking into the 'Hawaii Five-O' theme, the music is a diverse and astute accompaniment to the action
'Post-modern' is a phrase used too freely these days, but it is the perfect description for Shrek 2. The seamless marriage of the stories of childhood with the fairytale razzmatazz of Beverly Hills and Hollywood brings old values of love, honour, courage and loyalty to a contemporary setting, underlining their importance to youngsters in a way that they can better relate to. It also makes you feel that even in this superficial, commercialised world fairy tales can still come true, making this the ultimate feelgood movie.
Jean Lynch
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