kitty
05-19-2004, 10:05 PM
Shrek 2: a Tale of Ogre-rific Proportions
An unwritten (and apparently oft-ignored) rule of Hollywood is that sequels
rarely live up to their predecessors. Batman Returns, Aliens, and T2 being
some notable exceptions, most sequels are of the Phantom Menace variety --
all hype with little substance. In fact, one really has to look no further
than the entire Disney line of straight-to-video sequels, including such
notable flops as 'Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World' and 'Lady and the
Tramp II: Scamp's Big Adventure'.
Shrek 2, thankfully, seems magically immune to the sequels curse, and in fact
does a pretty good job of standing alone from the original. The story follows
immediately from Shrek, as Shrek (Mike Meyers, with a Scottish burr) and
Fiona (Cameron Diaz) return from their ogre-ish honeymoon -- chock full of
film parodies -- only to find that they have been summoned to meet the
in-laws, Fiona's parents (played to par by Julie Andrews and John Cleese),
who have no idea that Fiona has married an ogre, become one herself, and now
lives in a swamp.
Without giving too much else of the plot away, the cast includes such
returning favourites as Donkey (Eddie Murphy), Shrek's wise-cracking
sidekick, and other notables from the first Shrek, the Fairy Godmother
(voiced by Ab Fab's Jennifer Saunders) is among a list of priceless additions
to the Shrek world. Puss in Boots, voiced by Antonio Banderas, joins Shrek
and Donkey in their misadventures, and while Donkey will always be the
lovable ass of the original Shrek's humour, Puss makes a grand entrance as
the new, talking animal in Shrek's life. A caricature of Banderas' earlier
role as Zorro, Puss is part mercenary, part thief, and all cat -- hairballs
and all, and both the animation departments and Banderas excel in bringing
this delightful and scene-stealing character to life.
Jennifer Saunders is another hidden treasure of Shrek 2 as the overbearing,
manipulative Fairy Godmother (a Twilight Zone bastard child of Disney's
Cinderella fairy godmother and one of the fairy's from Disney's Sleeping
Beauty). Her magical hijinks and in-your-face sexual innuendo makes for more
than a few on-screen laughs, and though she is undoubtedly the villain of the
piece, one is almost sorry to see her get what's coming to her. Also, she has
a great singing voice, which is put to good use throughout the film.
The animation effects in Shrek 2 seem to have, as expected, improved since
the first. The texture rendering in this second film is the most notable
difference, as the rendering of different surfaces, particularly on people,
was more flat and cartoonish in the original than in this one. Shrek 2
exquisitely communicated the different feels of hair, porous skin, and even
chin stubble.
Unfortunately, if Shrek suffers anywhere, it is in the script. Perhaps under
pressure to live up to the success of the first Shrek, or perhaps simply
because screenwriters had less time to iron out the rough edges, or perhaps
even because the movie was constrained to a running time that would meet the
attention spans of the small children that parents will undoubtedly bring to
this film despite the better judgement of this particular reviewer, Shrek 2
is a little rushed and inconsistent in some places. Puss in Boots' illogical
switch from mercenary to roving adventurer is so quick that if you blink
you'll miss it, while it's never quite revealed why the Fairy Godmother is so
hellbent on having her son marry Princess Fiona. More importantly, while the
first movie's farcical reenactment of popular film scenes made a degree of
sense as far as progressing the film's plot, Shrek 2 presents some
caricatures in a rather off-the-cuff manner, such that they end up seeming
random and nonsensical.
Nonetheless, overall, Shrek 2 is a hilarious, yet strangely timely and
powerful new-age 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?', compelete with racial
overtones. Yet, despite this message, the Shrek creative team hasn't lost
their sense of comedic timing and sense of contemporary parody. It's a
side-splitting good time (the original Shrek is only marginally better), with
both a great array of adult-oriented humour and a touching storyline, and if
you're looking to relax and unwind this week, Shrek 2 will be well worth the
price of a movie ticket.
And don't forget to sit through the credits to see an additional scene that'll tie up a nagging question left over from the very beginning, and maybe even help pave the way for Shreks 3 and 4, which are indeed in the works.
An unwritten (and apparently oft-ignored) rule of Hollywood is that sequels
rarely live up to their predecessors. Batman Returns, Aliens, and T2 being
some notable exceptions, most sequels are of the Phantom Menace variety --
all hype with little substance. In fact, one really has to look no further
than the entire Disney line of straight-to-video sequels, including such
notable flops as 'Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World' and 'Lady and the
Tramp II: Scamp's Big Adventure'.
Shrek 2, thankfully, seems magically immune to the sequels curse, and in fact
does a pretty good job of standing alone from the original. The story follows
immediately from Shrek, as Shrek (Mike Meyers, with a Scottish burr) and
Fiona (Cameron Diaz) return from their ogre-ish honeymoon -- chock full of
film parodies -- only to find that they have been summoned to meet the
in-laws, Fiona's parents (played to par by Julie Andrews and John Cleese),
who have no idea that Fiona has married an ogre, become one herself, and now
lives in a swamp.
Without giving too much else of the plot away, the cast includes such
returning favourites as Donkey (Eddie Murphy), Shrek's wise-cracking
sidekick, and other notables from the first Shrek, the Fairy Godmother
(voiced by Ab Fab's Jennifer Saunders) is among a list of priceless additions
to the Shrek world. Puss in Boots, voiced by Antonio Banderas, joins Shrek
and Donkey in their misadventures, and while Donkey will always be the
lovable ass of the original Shrek's humour, Puss makes a grand entrance as
the new, talking animal in Shrek's life. A caricature of Banderas' earlier
role as Zorro, Puss is part mercenary, part thief, and all cat -- hairballs
and all, and both the animation departments and Banderas excel in bringing
this delightful and scene-stealing character to life.
Jennifer Saunders is another hidden treasure of Shrek 2 as the overbearing,
manipulative Fairy Godmother (a Twilight Zone bastard child of Disney's
Cinderella fairy godmother and one of the fairy's from Disney's Sleeping
Beauty). Her magical hijinks and in-your-face sexual innuendo makes for more
than a few on-screen laughs, and though she is undoubtedly the villain of the
piece, one is almost sorry to see her get what's coming to her. Also, she has
a great singing voice, which is put to good use throughout the film.
The animation effects in Shrek 2 seem to have, as expected, improved since
the first. The texture rendering in this second film is the most notable
difference, as the rendering of different surfaces, particularly on people,
was more flat and cartoonish in the original than in this one. Shrek 2
exquisitely communicated the different feels of hair, porous skin, and even
chin stubble.
Unfortunately, if Shrek suffers anywhere, it is in the script. Perhaps under
pressure to live up to the success of the first Shrek, or perhaps simply
because screenwriters had less time to iron out the rough edges, or perhaps
even because the movie was constrained to a running time that would meet the
attention spans of the small children that parents will undoubtedly bring to
this film despite the better judgement of this particular reviewer, Shrek 2
is a little rushed and inconsistent in some places. Puss in Boots' illogical
switch from mercenary to roving adventurer is so quick that if you blink
you'll miss it, while it's never quite revealed why the Fairy Godmother is so
hellbent on having her son marry Princess Fiona. More importantly, while the
first movie's farcical reenactment of popular film scenes made a degree of
sense as far as progressing the film's plot, Shrek 2 presents some
caricatures in a rather off-the-cuff manner, such that they end up seeming
random and nonsensical.
Nonetheless, overall, Shrek 2 is a hilarious, yet strangely timely and
powerful new-age 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?', compelete with racial
overtones. Yet, despite this message, the Shrek creative team hasn't lost
their sense of comedic timing and sense of contemporary parody. It's a
side-splitting good time (the original Shrek is only marginally better), with
both a great array of adult-oriented humour and a touching storyline, and if
you're looking to relax and unwind this week, Shrek 2 will be well worth the
price of a movie ticket.
And don't forget to sit through the credits to see an additional scene that'll tie up a nagging question left over from the very beginning, and maybe even help pave the way for Shreks 3 and 4, which are indeed in the works.