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32 of 34 found the following review helpful:
 The Smartest Family Satire Ever MadeMay 22, 2004
By Kaya R. Savas
STORY: This fairy tale satire continues right from the first movie as Shrek and Fiona are on their honeymoon. Prince Charming finally reaches the castle only to find the "gender confused" big bad wolf reading Pork Illustrated. The movie is basically focusing on the self awareness of who Shrek and Fiona really are. The fairy godmother of Fiona and the mother of Charming is out to make sure that Fiona falls in love with Charming and not Shrek. As Shrek is lost in the woods he stumbles upon the masterfully crafted character that is Puss In Boots. Puss is probably one of the greatest fictional characters of all time, he is played to perfection by Antonio Banderas. The first Shrek was a slight satire on the fairy tale genre. Shrek 2 is an unbelievable high on satirical parody (if that makes sense). The pop culture references come flying in one after the other. I really feel that any body under 12 will not get most of the jokes made in this movie. For the kids we have the farting and the burping and for the more learned individual we have references to gender confused wolves, cats on catnip, meeting the in-laws, crazy wooden boys with strange fetishes, the ass, and tons more. There is no way that anybody cannot watch this movie and not laugh. If you need to compare Shrek 2 to something look at it as a lighter version of a Family Guy, Airplane, or Hot Shots type of thing. While the references are not as exaggerated as they are in parodies such as Hot Shots, they are very well placed and well executed. While many people feel that the story and the "heart" that the first movie had was lost within the many gags there is still that "heart" that the characters possess. Yes, the ending is your typical fairy tale ending that has a valuable moral, but then again this is a fairy tale. This movie is smart, funny, and overall a well-crafted piece of work.
ACTING: All the former cast members return as well as the noticeable additions of John Cleese, Julie Andrews, and Antonio Banderas. I can't express just how funny Puss In Boots is. Without Puss the movie would without a doubt have been really boring and "kiddyish" if you will. The most humorous jokes are deployed in the film's ending which is a hysterical romp. John Cleese plays the enraged father and Julie Andrews as the accepting mother. Prince Charming is played by Rupert Everett, and really his only funny scene was when they stopped by drive thru and he got a kiddie meal and was wearing one of those paper crowns as found in burger king. The cast makes the film, Puss makes the film.
BOTTOM LINE: The kids will not find this one funny except for the small amount of fart gags. The people who will find this the most amusing will be in the range of 15 to about 50. Anything above 50 might find any kind of animation too childish and will probably stay away from this one unless they have young kids. The animation by Dreamworks is fantastic as well, make note of the scene in the rain and just how realistic the natural surroundings look. Shrek 2 is faster and funnier than the original and should become a classic just because of how smart the movie is.
24 of 25 found the following review helpful:
super-clever, family-safe, instant classicJun 07, 2004
By Shelley Gammon
"Geek"
I first saw this with some friends, then took my parents to see it the next day. I was amazed at how many little nuances I missed the first time around. This film is jam-packed with hidden tongue-in-cheek jokes and visual humor - there is so much detail. This film is a delight for young children to the senior set and everyone inbetween.Eddie Murphy is back as the lovable Donkey - his is perfect in this role and personally, I think he (Donkey) should have his own spin-off movie. This one character is a movie unto himself. Joining the crew from the original Shrek installment are Julie Andrews (Fiona's mother), John Cleese (her father), Antonio Banderas (Puss-n-Boots) and Jennifer Saunders (the naughty Fairy Godmother). The clever ways in which the screenwriters twisted the fairytale characters while still giving them reverence and respect is enough to make you cry from laughing so hard. There are inferences to movies such as "Flashdance" and "Mission Impossible" and many others. Pinnocchio is no doubt a wooden embodiment of Michael Jackson (high-pitched voice, good dancer, longs to be a little boy, etc.) and there are many inferences to famous people... there is even a helicopter view of police chasing a white bronco! There were very few moments in this film in which I was not laughing outloud or doubled-over - and in those few instances, it was to catch my breath. This film is an instant classic that is safe to show to your kids and grandkids from now until generations to come. On top of the fantastic animation and lovable characters, the underlying story is an awesome theme to teach to children: it's not how you look or how other people treat you that matters - it's the content of your character and how much you love others. I cannot recommend this film enough - it is one of the best of the year.
14 of 14 found the following review helpful:
Love the one you're with...May 28, 2004
By FrKurt Messick
"FrKurt Messick"
The story begins somewhat where the last Shrek film left off, with a twist. Get used to there being a twist... The story begins with the recitation of another standard fairy tale opening, that one might think as an ending, where Prince Charming (charmingly voiced by Rupert Everett) dashes through incredible perils to reach the unfortunate-cursed princess, Fiona, as his kiss is the only thing that will break the curse. The only problem here: when he arrives to kiss the fair princess, he is greeted by another story-book character who informs him she is on her honeymoon. Honeymoon? The stage is set for a frolic of fairy-tale proportions. The main characters are back - Shrek (Mike Myers) in his typical ogre self (who knew ogres spoke with muddled Celtic accents?); Fiona, every inch the ogre herself night and day (reprised by Cameron Diaz - remember the tale from the first film where she was beautiful by day and hideous by night), is blissful on her honeymoon with Shrek. They return home to be greeted by Donkey (once again the humourous Eddie Murphy), to almost immediately be summoned to Fiona's home by her parents, the king and queen, so that they may meet the husband (not quite the prince they were expecting) and be welcomed into the kingdom of Far, Far Away, which is, true to its word, far, far away (are we there yet? is the constant refrain during the journey). It is quite delightful to imagine John Cleese and Julie Andrews as the king and queen; their characters do not imitate their features physically, but their standard screen personae come through their voices and characterisations. Rupert Everett as Prince Charming, the scheming social climber, is very well done, with typical British fop panache. However, there is no mistaking Jennifer Saunders (Absolutely Fabulous) as the Fairy Godmother (who, it turns out, is Prince Charming's mother, and given that it is Rupert Everett, well, enough said...) - the animation captures the twinkle in her eye and the sardonic smile as she holds the king to ransom for the secret that he hides (she once granted a wish to him, which is hinted at early on in the film - see if you can predict what it is!). The king and queen are not surprisingly shocked to discover the ogre-ific state of their only daughter, not to mention the son-in-law; the king decides to do away with Shrek, hiring a hit man (in this instance, a hit cat), Puss-in-boots, voiced by an over-the-top Antonio Banderas. Attacking with the grace of a cat, he is nonetheless thwarted in his charge by a nasty hairball, and joins with the quest to find Happily Ever After-effects with Shrek and Donkey. There are some good songs here, remakes of popular songs sung with style that befits a fairy-tale, medieval recreation of Hollywood/Hollyweird. Just as Fiona had her surprise chance to be an ogre in the first film, Shrek gets his chance to be drop-dead gorgeous in this film, by stealing the Fairy Godmother's potion for Happily Ever Afters. Donkey shares in this potion and becomes a dashing stallion. So, everyone will live happily ever after, right? Right, but again, there's a twist (and I'm not going to tell you what it is). There are lots of cameos - Larry King voices the ugly sister, and Joan Rivers voices her own characters as the red-carpet announcer at the royal banquet akin to the Oscar ceremonies. There are one-liners galore, so many it is hard to recall them all - take a notebook with you to the cinema! One of the trademarks of Shrek is its homage to various other films - try to make all the connections - Flashdance, Lord of the Rings, Ghostbusters, you name it, it is satirised. The same holds true for various fairy tales - the three blind mice, little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, even Pretty Woman! The animation quality is superb, and shows just how astonishingly lifelike modern computer-generated graphics have become. An interesting effect, rather like a cross between clay-mation types of physical movements and hand-drawn facial expressions, the type of animation here is approaching lifelike and realistic, again with the twist of being almost puppet-like, to fit the fairy-tale aspect of the film. Stay through the credits! Why people get up and leave the cinema as soon as the names start I shall never understand, but they missed out the bonus scene at the end, that is well worth the wait (Banderas, as Puss-in-boots, heading off for the Kit-Kat Club, begins the scene, and it just goes on from there). This is a film for children of all ages, with enough humour for adults to keep them interested, and a classic tale, with modern twists, to delight all audiences.
11 of 12 found the following review helpful:
Amazing filmOct 29, 2004
By Marcus
I have never seen an animated movie of this quality. Finding Nemo was impressive visually, but the story, character expression and humour is geared more to children.
IMO Shrek 2 edges it in visuals and production value, and trounces it in terms of soundtrack, story, characters, humour and dialogue. The wit is on an adult level while keeping a childish verve and innocence. I have never come across this before in animated feature films.
Myers, Murphy and Saunders are brilliant. The visuals are wonderful. Bravo Dreamworks!
13 of 15 found the following review helpful:
 Angry about Mandatory AdsDec 27, 2004
By D. Salerni
The movie is fantastic -- funny -- just as good as the original! But try to find a DVD version that allows you access to the menu so that you can start the movie right away. When you purchase a DVD, you shouldn't be forced to watch the previews over and over. This DVD will not permit you to skip them. What's the point of buying a DVD,then? I know this isn't a review of the actual movie, but this really made me angry. It's a dirty trick by the manufacturer.
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