Review of Shrek 2 (2004) by Luke V — 26 Feb 2015

With the first Shrek being such a revolutionary animated film, Shrek 2 sounded like a gleefully fun sequel.

The premise expands upon the fairytale universe started by the first film, moving to a location called Far Far Away where viewers find Prince Charming, the Fairy Godmother and Princess Fiona's parents among other creatures such as a giant Gingerbread man and the iconic Puss in Boots. The universe really pushes to get more creative by this point, and it puts an entirely new setting into the tale by ramping the scale up. The narrative itself is very creative, but it doesn't reach the level of expertise achieved by the original Shrek. This is predominantly because although there were some touching themes in the original Shrek, they played second fiddle to the sense of humour in the tale. In Shrek 2, the style of humour is slightly more predictable because it plays off the same style as the first film without transcending it. In actual fact, the use of adult-oriented innuendo seems to be a lot less present in Shrek 2 in favour of the more traditional kind of child oriented comedy. This isn't too much of a problem, but it means that it doesn't capture the style of comedy in Shrek which gave it superior re-watch value and ensured that it would stay fresh as the viewer grew up. Admittedly, I've seen Shrek 2 many times since its first viewing and some of the jokes do seem funnier as I've gotten older and my sense of humour has developed, but there just didn't seem to be many surprises this time around. The childish humour in Shrek 2 is funny, but the subtle adult content is practically absent this time around which means that it fails to maintain some of the best things that made the first film so popular amongst adult audiences. Children should have no trouble being entertained, but older viewers will find the humour a little more stale this time.

There is no denying that Shrek 2 is a funny film, but the other issue is the fact that its plot takes itself very seriously. While Shrek was mainly about the humour, Shrek 2 attempts to balance humour and sentimentality which can be annoying at times. The sentimentality comes in the form of a love story which pushes the narrative back to conventional fairytale tropes, and while fans of fairytales are likely to find Shrek 2 to be a touching sentiment, I got irritated by it at times. As a child I found that love stories in my films were never appealing to me, and still to this day I find myself less than favourable of romantic stories. So when Shrek 2 attempts to balance romance and humour in a somewhat equal manner it can end up frustrating to viewers who were hoping to laugh instead of be jerked around by tedious sentimentality. The premise in Shrek 2 is hardly as touching as it wants to be because it feels too conventional and is overused. All in all, Shrek 2 has a lot to live up to with its predecessor and while the story is a lot larger in scale, its humour is less fresh and the plot dynamics are overly sentimental.

Still, Shrek 2 succeeds in delivering the humour predominantly on the basis of its characters. With the hilarious Shrek and Donkey returning from the first film and featuring returning efforts from Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy respectively, the characters are consistently funny. They work through all the situations in the film very nicely, and Mike Myers in particular is impressive because of just how much emotional investment he puts into the role to convey the passion that Shrek has for Fiona. Though I didn't love the romantic themes, I found that the investment of Mike Myers in the role and the detailed work of his articulation didn't make it feel too forced and that he put a stronger level of depth into the character. But as well as that, Shrek 2 features the presence of some strong newcomers.

The standout newcomers of the voice cast are Antonio Banderas and John Cleese. In a clear send up to his role as Zorro, Antonio Banderas takes on the role of Puss in Boots with a strong sense of wit. Using the natural charm in his voice, Antonio Banderas manages to play it for an effective source of comic relief which makes him a very genial presence in the film as he adds to the humour well.

And John Cleese is perfect. As one of the funniest English comedians of all time, he is welcome in any animated film. For Shrek 2, he manages to step up to the role of King Harold perfectly. The highlight of his performance comes from the banter shared between him and Mike Myers during the earlier scenes of the film as the two just play off of each other to keep the laughs flowing. John Cleese is great to have on board.

Jennifer Saunders also has an effective sense of over the top energy, and Larry King is oddly funny in his small part.

And the soundtrack of Shrek 2 is good as well, though it lacks the same charm that its predecessor had. But most importantly, Shrek 2 succeeds on the basis of its animation quality. Maintaining the same detailed character designs, colourful sense of magic and organic movements that made the first Shrek such a treat, Shrek 2 follows up on that with equal detail and introduces the animation to many new situations which prove entertaining. The designs of the newcomer characters are also great, in particular Puss in Boots who becomes the source of much visual humour. Shrek 2 is a treat on the eyes all over again.

So though Shrek 2 is hampered by an abundance of sentimentality and humour which is not as refreshing the second time around, it still remains a thoroughly funny film with a creative premise and stellar animation.