Shrek 2 (2004) voices Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Julie Andrews, Antonio Banderas, John Cleese, Rupert Everett, Jennifer Saunders directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, Conrad Vernon Movie Review

Shrek 2 (2004)   4/54/54/54/54/5


Shrek 2 (2004) voices Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Julie Andrews

Shrek Meets the Parents

Having married Princess Fiona, Shrek is looking forward to them returning home to his swamp even if donkey has decided to move in while they are on honeymoon. But their joy of being home is short lived when they receive an invite from Fiona's parents the King and Queen to pay them a visit, some thing which Shrek is not keen to do. And his fears are right as he doesn't see eye to eye with his father-in-law causing Fiona to be upset. Meanwhile Prince Charming having discovered that Fiona has been rescued by some one else sets about trying to take her away from Shrek with a little help from the Fairy Godmother.

Most sequels especially to animated movies tend to suck as the studios see an opportunity to make a profit from the popularity of a movie in the children's market. But occasionally they get it right and in the case of "Shrek 2" they got it right. The energy, humour, characters, creativity all return as well as the same actors who voiced the characters which is a huge plus point.

Shrek 2 (2004) voices Antonio Banderas, John Cleese, Rupert Everett, Jennifer Saunders

Now as with the first movie "Shrek 2" brings entertainment for young and old alike with scene after animated scene of creativity. For children there is the simple fun of Donkey with his loud mouth or the appearance of a Cyclops door man at the inn where the King heads. But for adults there are wonderful takes on real life and movies such as when Shrek and the King disagree when they sit down for a meal. The thing is that none of the jokes feel like left-overs from the first movie or that the producers repeated too many from the first movie, they get the blend just right so the tone is familiar but the fun is fresh.

There is also the wonderfully amusing detail and to be honest in the 10 years since "Shrek 2" was made animation has moved on and certain things such as the way Shrek walks doesn't quite work as well as it could. Yet when they enter the kingdom of Far Far Away and we see the homes of Rapunzel with her hair everywhere and then Cinderella which is a shoe sign over the entrance it makes us smile. The thing is that the entire movie is like this and it is the creativity which makes "Shrek 2" stand out.

There is of course a little matter of the actors who lend their voices to the characters and thankfully the main actors. Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz, returned as there is nothing worse than hearing someone else's voice behind a familiar character. But we also have new characters with Antonio Banderas, John Cleese and Julia Andrews bringing so much humour to their parts.

What this all boils down to is that "Shrek 2" is one of those rare animated sequels which is almost as good as the first movie and is not just a sequel made to make a quick profit.


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