Shrek 2 | |||||||
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Theatrical release poster | |||||||
General information
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Title |
Shrek 2 | ||||||
Length |
93 minutes | ||||||
Release Date |
May 19, 2004 (US) | ||||||
Release on DVD |
November 5, 2004 (US) | ||||||
Genre |
Fantasy | ||||||
Production information
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Directed by |
Andrew Adamson | ||||||
Produced by |
Aron Warner | ||||||
Starring |
Mike Myers | ||||||
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Shrek 2 is a 2004 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film produced and distributed by DreamWorks Animation. It is the first sequel to Shrek, and would help solidify the Shrek film franchise.
Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz reprise their roles with newcomers Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Rupert Everett and Jennifer Saunders. The film was released on May 19th, 2004.
Plot
Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) journeys to the Dragon's Keep to rescue Fiona (Cameron Diaz) from her tower in the previous film. He instead finds the Big Bad Wolf (Aron Warner) in her place, who informs him that Fiona has already been rescued and is on her honeymoon after defeating Lord Farquaad. Charming has to wonder that Fiona has a honeymoon from whom.
When Shrek (Mike Myers) and Fiona come back to the swamp from their honeymoon, they find an invitation to a royal ball with Fiona's parents to celebrate their marriage, an event Shrek is reluctant to participate in. Fiona talks him into it, and along with Donkey (Eddie Murphy), they travel to the kingdom of Far Far Away. They meet Fiona's parents, King Harold and Queen Lillian (John Cleese and Julie Andrews), who are surprised and repulsed by Fiona's choice of husband (particularly the King himself), since they had arranged for Prince Charming to rescue her from the Dragon's Keep and return her to her human form.
At dinner, Shrek and Harold get into a heated argument over how Shrek and Fiona will raise their family, and Fiona, disgusted at Shrek and her father's behavior, locks herself away in her room that evening. There she is met by her Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders), who is also surprised by Fiona's ogre form. Shrek worries that he is not the right husband for Fiona, particularly after finding her childhood diary and reading that she was once infatuated with Prince Charming.
King Harold is accosted by the Fairy Godmother and Charming, her son. They reprimand Harold for breaking an old promise that Charming would be able to marry Fiona and demand that he find a way to get rid of Shrek. Harold arranges for Shrek and Donkey to join him on a hunting trip, which really is a trap to lure the two into the hands of an cat assassin swordsman from Spain named Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas).
When Fiona realizes that Shrek has left, she asks her father where Shrek has gone to. Harold avoids the question, and tells her that he has always wanted the best for her. Puss is unable to defeat Shrek and, revealing that he was paid by Harold, asks to come along as a way to make amends. The three sneak into the Fairy Godmother's potion factory and steal a "Happily Ever After" potion that Shrek believes will restore Fiona's love for him.
Shrek and Donkey both drink the potion and fall into a deep sleep, awakening the next morning to discover its effects: Shrek is now a handsome human with a button nose, thick wavy locks and top round bottom, while Donkey has turned into a stallion. In order to make the change permanent, Shrek must kiss Fiona by midnight. He, Donkey, and Puss return to the castle to discover that the potion has also transformed Fiona back into her former, human self. However, the Fairy Godmother, having learned of the potion's theft, intercepts Shrek and sends Charming to pose as him and win her love. Shrek leaves the castle after Fairy Godmother convinces him that an ogre and a princess aren't meant to be together, and that Fiona will be happier with Prince Charming.
To ensure that Fiona falls in love with Charming, the Fairy Godmother gives Harold a love potion to put into Fiona's tea. When Harold refuses to do so, she threatens him by telling him that she can undo his "happily ever after" if he doesn't obey. This exchange is overheard by Shrek, Donkey, and Puss, who are soon arrested by the royal guards and thrown into a dungeon of a show called K.N.I.G.H.T.S, the parody of COPS. While the royal ball begins, several of Shrek's friends band together to free the trio and create a gigantic gingerbread man (Mongo), which breaks through the castle's defenses so Shrek can stop Charming from kissing Fiona. He is too late to stop them, but instead of falling in love with Charming Fiona knocks him out with a headbutt. Harold reveals that he never gave Fiona the love potion, whereupon the Fairy Godmother attacks Shrek. In the ensuing fight, a spell from her wand, presumably to kill Shrek, rebounds off Harold's armor for deflection, when he commits self-sacrifice to save Shrek. The magic disintegrates her into bubbles and also returns Harold to his true form, that of the Frog Prince. Harold apologies to Shrek and Fiona for his behavior and gives their marriage his blessing.
As the clock strikes midnight, Shrek and Fiona let the potion's effects wear off and they revert to their ogre selves, while Donkey reluctantly changes back as well. The party resumes as the credits begin. After the party, the Dragon, who had romanced Donkey in the first film, arrives and reveals that they now have several dragon-donkey hybrid, or "Dronkey" babies and Donkey knows that he's got to get a job.
Cast
- Mike Myers as Shrek
- Eddie Murphy as Donkey
- Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona
- Julie Andrews as Queen
- Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots
- John Cleese as King
- Rupert Everett as Prince Charming
- Jennifer Saunders as Fairy Godmother
Additional Voices
- Aron Warner as Wolf
- Kelly Asbury as Page/Elf/Nobleman/Nobleman's Son
- Cody Cameron as Pinocchio/Three Pigs
- Conrad Vernon as Gingerbread Man/Cedric/Announcer/Muffin Man/Mongo
- Christopher Knights as Blind Mouse
- David P. Smith as Herald/Man with Box
- Mark Moseley as Mirror/Dresser
- Kelly Cooney as Fast Food Clerk
- Wendy Bilanski as Bar Frog
- Larry King as Ugly Stepsister
- Guillaume Aretos as Receptionist
- Chris Miller as Humphries/Magic Mirror
- Latifa Ouaoa as Doll/Jill
- Alina Phelan as Maiden #1/Generic Female #2
- Erika Thomas as Maiden #2
- Joan Rivers as Joan Rivers
- Andrew Adamson as Captain of the Guards
Songs
- Accidentally in Love performed by the Counting Crows – 3:08
- Holding Out for a Hero performed by Frou Frou – 3:22
- Changes performed by Butterfly Boucher & David Bowie – 3:22
- As Lovers Go performed by Dashboard Confessional – 3:29
- Funkytown performed by Lipps Inc. – 3:59
- I'm on My Way performed by Rich Price – 3:21
- I Need Some Sleep performed by Eels – 2:28
- Ever Fallen in Love performed by Pete Yorn – 2:32
- Little Drop of Poison performed by Tom Waits – 3:11
- You're So True performed by Joseph Arthur – 3:55
- People Ain't No Good performed by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – 5:39
- Fairy Godmother Song performed by Jennifer Saunders – 1:52
- So Crazy Falling in Love with You performed by Isabella Richards – 3:24
- Livin' la Vida Loca performed by Eddie Murphy and Antonio Banderas - 3:24
- Holding Out for a Hero performed by Jennifer Saunders – 4:01
This soundtrack reached the top ten of the Billboard 200.
Production
While Shrek was entering post-production, filmmakers allegedly outlined four sequels to follow. Only a second installment was seriously considered at the time. Regardless, a Shrek sequel was going to happen, as it had already been greenlit. However, there were some conditions that would determine the release. If Shrek was profitable, the follow-up would receive a theatrical release, but if it bombed, it would be released straight-to-video. With the film being a blockbuster hit, the sequel was approved for a theatrical release. Because of the massive success, actors Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz were given a substantial pay raise to return for Shrek 2. Each were paid up to $10 million for 15-18 hours of total work.
Director Andrew Adamson would return with producers Aron Warner and John H. Williams, with Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio initially signing on to write the new screenplay. With the new sequel, Elliot and Rossio wanted to create a more traditional fairy tale, and were toying with the idea of bringing Lord Farquaad back as a ghost. Due to creative differences over the direction of the story, Elliot and Rossio would eventually leave the project. The concept of Farquaad's ghost would be reserved for the theme park film, Shrek 3D and promotional comics from Dark Hose. Adamson would then take it upon himself to write a story draft.
In the initial draft, Shrek abdicated the throne and called for a fairy-tale election. Two of the fairy tale creatures, Pinocchio and Gingy, would run to rule over this new democracy- with Pinocchio's campaign being "honesty," while Gingy's was a "smear" campaign. Andrew Adamson loved the draft, stating it was overtly satiric and political, with many funny ideas- although he would soon reject the idea claiming "it was more intellectual than emotional. Reuniting with writer Joe Stillman (the only returning writer from the first film), Adamson took inspiration from the comedy film, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner for the new storyline. Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius writers J. David Stem and David N. Weiss later joined for further refinement.
Once the script was complete, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon would be hired as co-directors. Asbury had originally contributed as director of the first film, but left a year into production to work on Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. Much like the first film, the directors worked in halves, with Asbury and Vernon spending most of their time overseeing the main production at PDI. Adamson would spend most of the production communicating with the film's voice actors at DreamWorks' Glendale campus. During the production, many new animation and rendering systems were developed to accommodate the plethora of new human characters- along with many new development tools for the character of Puss in Boots. It took a total of three years to complete the setup for both the new and pre-established characters.
Reception
The film received highly positive reviews from critics and audiences, with many calling it one of the best-animated sequels of all-time. Praise was directed towards the high-paced humor, being called "sharp" and "inventive," and the attention to expanding the world building and themes established in the first installment. However, aside from a review by The Washington Post, many considered it inferior to the first film despite the praise- citing that it undid much of the original's identity and splendor. Fans would later claim Shrek 2 as the best installment and one of the rare "improved sequel films" throughout the 2010's and beyond.
Along with the high praise upon release, Shrek 2 scored the second-largest three-day opening weekend in US history at the time of its release, as well as the largest opening for an animated film- until May 18, 2007, when it was eclipsed by its sequel Shrek the Third. It went on to be the highest-grossing film of 2004. It is DreamWorks' most successful film to date and was also the highest-grossing animated film of all time worldwide until Toy Story 3 surpassed it in 2010. As of 2023, it is now the sixteenth highest-grossing animated film of all time.
Pop Culture References
More than its predecessor and successors, Shrek 2 features many pop culture references and allusions. While widely praised in this film, it would arguably leave a negative impact on future animated releases from DreamWorks- with Shark Tale being the most notorious example.
- In the beginning when Shrek accidentally kissed a red-haired mermaid (resembling Ariel from the Disney 1989 animated feature The Little Mermaid), Fiona drags Ariel and throws her back in the ocean, then two sharks instantly go to eat her (it's not shown if she survived), keeping in with the franchise's anti-Disney humor.
- It is also debatably a Jaws reference with the devouring of someone in the ocean by a shark (which vaguely resembles "Bruce").
- After Fiona fights the ambushing villagers while Shrek is hanging upside down with mud on his face, Fiona wipes away the mud around his mouth and they share a kiss. This scene is a reference to the famous scene in Spider-Man (2002) where Mary Jane kisses Spider-Man as he hangs upside down.
- When Shrek tries to get the ring this was a reference to the Lord of the Rings saga. The first live-action film of which, The Fellowship Of The Ring, was released in the same year as the first Shrek movie.
- Shrek says "Well then how do you explain Sgt. Pompous and the fancy pants club band?" this is a reference to the famous Beatles album/song Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
- Puss In Boots mimics the gagging sound Snots the dog makes in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
- When Puss drank his milk at the poison apple he said "I hate Mondays," which is a known catchphrase from Garfield.
- When people run out of Farbucks (a parody of Starbucks), they run across the street to another Farbucks. This lampoons the large amount of locations that Starbucks has, as well as poking fun at Starbucks' policy of putting numerous locations within walking distance of each other in the downtown areas of large cities.
- The television show K.N.I.G.H.T.S is a parody of Spike's tv show, COPS. The knights who arrested Shrek, Donkey, and Puss were similar to what police in COPS do in the line of duty. Instead of using modern weapons, the knights used a pepper shaker for a pepper spray and crossbows for guns.
- The Far Far Away Police Department, (FFAPD) depicted in KNIGHTS is a parody of the Los Angeles Police Department, otherwise known as the LAPD.
- The scene on KNIGHTS where one of the knights pursuing Shrek, Donkey, and Puss, had referred Donkey as "A white bronco", is a reference to the double murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman where the suspect, Nicole Brown's ex-husband OJ Simpson attempted to flee from the Los Angeles Police Department in his friend, Al Cowlings' white 1993 Ford Bronco driven by Cowlings, resulting in the famous "Bronco chase".
- The show Gingy mentions Wheel of Torture is likely a parody of the Sony game show Wheel of Fortune.
- The DVD menu is a reference to the opening of The Brady Bunch. Everyone in the menu gets annoyed by Donkey.
- As Shrek and his friends break into the castle, Gingerbread Man watches Mongo sink into the moat. Mongo tells him, "Be good". This dialogue is a reference to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
Donkey also makes fun of various film titles in the Shrek 2 DVD menu, pitching alternative sequel titles. These were simply glorified puns bearing his likeness.
- Shrek 2: Day of the Donkey (Day of the Dead)
- Shrek 2: Donkey's Revenge (Halloweentown 2: Kalabur's Revenge)
- Shrek 2: 2 Fast 2 Donkey (2 Fast 2 Furious)
- Shrek 2: A Donkey Will Rise Of (a failed attempt to use "Rise Of" in the title)
- Shrek 2: The Fellowship of the Donkey (The Fellowship of The Ring)
- Shrek 2: The Donkey King (The Lion King)
- Shrek 2: Dead Donkey‘s Society (Dead Poet’s Society)
- Shrek 2: The Real Jackass Movie (Jackass the Movie)
- Shrek 2: Donkey Reloaded (The Matrix Reloaded)
- Shrek's title is, Shrek 2: Dude? Where's My Donkey? (Dude? Where’s my Car?)
Trivia
- This was the official debut of Puss in Boots in the franchise.
- However, chronologically, his first appearance is in the film, Puss in Boots- which was set before the events of the first Shrek film.
- This is the only Shrek film where Lord Farquaad is not seen nor mentioned.
- Duloc was on a world map that had been drawn for the film, but went unused.
- Antonio Banderas (Puss in Boots) and Rupert Everett (Prince Charming) were both in this film. They would later appear together in Shrek the Third, Justin and the Knights of Valour, and Altamira.
- When Shrek and Fiona were at the beach they had the pattern on their bathing suits with blue and white flowers.
- The film grossed $928 million worldwide, which made it at the time of its release the fifth highest-grossing film of all time (behind Titanic, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers) and the highest-grossing animated film of all time (surpassing Finding Nemo) until it was surpassed by Toy Story 3 in 2010. It is currently the sixteenth highest-grossing animated film of all time.
- The Donkey's stallion form resembles Shadowfax from The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers and The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King.
- This would be the last Shrek film to be solely distributed by DreamWorks, as Paramount Pictures would handle distribution for the remaining two sequels.
- Due to the abundance of pop culture influences, filmmakers behind Puss in Boots: The Last Wish chose to avoid the approach in an attempt to not date the film.
Goofs
- When Harold and Lillian are walking you could see that a man is climbing a ladder up in a tree which at the end he falls off.
- You could look up more secrets on the YouTube video Shrek 2 (2004) secrets.
- When Shrek and Fiona change back into ogres, they had their normal clothes. Before they wore different clothes.
- How was the royal messenger and his band able to find where Fiona and Shrek lived at the start?
- When Puss in Boots attacks Shrek he rips a hole in the middle of Shrek's shirt. Because later the hole is gone.