I hold the original Shrek with more nostalgia than I do think of it as an actually excellent comedy. Sure it offers a couple of really funny moments, but I think I laugh more for the nostalgia than I do for it actually being funny nowadays. Plus, you have to know that in 2004, it was almost impossible to make a sequel to a comedy film any good. There were almost no good comedy sequels made in almost all of the years of Hollywood. And then Shrek 2 came along. I can honestly say I don't think have never enjoyed a comedy as much as I enjoy this one. This film is one of the singular funniest movies I have ever seen and without a doubt the funniest animated movie I have ever seen. Every joke hits a bullseye and every reference works to sheer perfection even eleven years after the film first premiered in theaters. This is the perfect example of a good comedy. And it signaled that DreamWorks could not only contend with Pixar for the long haul, but also could make films that could stand alongside them and have no shame in it.
Plot: Newlywed Shrek and Fiona return from their honeymoon, only to find Donkey had been living there ever since. Before they can send him away for good, the couple finds that they have been summoned to the Kingdom of Far, Far Away, where Fiona's parents hope to meet their son in-law and bless their marriage. Shrek reluctantly agrees to travel to a new country, where he finds the exact reaction he expected, derision. The King (John Cleese) especially dislikes that Shrek had married Fiona and kept her in her ogre form. His and Shrek's feud brings about the arrival of Fiona's Fairy Godmother, who is also surprised by this turn of events. Shrek and Fiona feud, until Fiona storms off.
As it turns out, the Fairy Godmother was in league with the King in order to have her son, Prince Charming, marry Fiona and become king in the future. But when she had married Shrek, the Fairy Godmother wants the King to kill Shrek and fix this mistake from happening again. This makes the King send an assassin by the name of Puss and Boots (Antonio Banderas) to kill him, but Shrek and Puss befriend each other instead, as Puss and Boots takes Shrek to the Fairy Godmother's "magic factory" to see if there was a way to make Fiona happy. This brings them to find the "Happily Ever After" potion, which would make one take the perfect form of their true love.
The potion turns Shrek and Fiona into humans and Donkey into a horse, but this makes the Fairy Godmother trick Shrek into thinking the potion brought Fiona back to be with Prince Charming, causing a dejected Shrek to leave the kingdom. But the King gets cold feet and tries to break off the plan, especially when she wants him to make Fiona fall in love with Charming by drinking a love potion. Overhearing this, Shrek leaves with his friends to wage a great battle for Fiona's love.
What's Bad: The only flaw I can find with this movie is that this film is not one of those films that can be watched multiple times in a week span or so. This is because you eventually run out of laughs and joy and it will become stale after a while. Watch this comedic masterpiece in moderation, my friends.
What's Good?: I think this is one of the first cases since Toy Story 2 where the second film is leaps and bounds better than the original. It's funnier, more heartfelt, more action packed, and far less cheesy with it's romance. The Fairy Godmother is an especially cruel villain in this movie, knowing how to manipulate and control people without using much of her power. She reminds me of the perfect crossbreed between Ursula and Lady Tremaine.
The pop cultural references still resonate with a contemporary audience even to this day, with some good natured jabs at Entertainment Tonight, Starbucks, and a narcisstic look into celebrity marriages which I think still holds great appeal even today. It shows how far our society HASN'T gone...
Fiona's parents are also pretty damn brilliant. Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins) is the Queen and she is probably the perfect mother in law a guy could ask for, as she seems to approve of Shrek despite his "ogreness". This is in stark contrast to the King, who despises Shrek for his own reasons (reasons I won't spoil because it is a good plot twist later in the movie). But both definitely seem to want what is best for Fiona, even though their interpretation and her interpretation are vastly different.
Overall: Shrek 2 is a comedic gem in all of it's wonders and really set the bar ridiculously high for all future DreamWorks movies, a bar in which it would take a decent amount of time for them to reach again. Nevertheless, this is still a good movie and one that should be watched for generations to come.
Final Grade: 96 or A
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