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Shrek 2 is the 2004 sequel to the computer-animated 2001 DreamWorks Pictures movie Shrek that was released in the United States on May 19, 2004. In April 2004 the film was selected for competition at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. There are more Shrek movies to follow, as according to Jeffrey Katzenberg, "We didn't have the guts to tell anybody when we started out, we have two more chapters to tell. Not unlike Peter Jackson did with The Lord of the Rings. The difference is they did have the guts to make all three of them 'back-to-back-to-back.'" Shrek 3 is scheduled for release in 2006.

Shrek 2 scored the second-largest three-day opening in history, as well as the largest opening for an animated movie ever, and as of 2004, is the 3rd highest box office grossing film of all time. It went on to be one of the most successful films in 2004. The associated soundtrack reached the top 10 of the Billboard 200.

Plot

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After Shrek and Princess Fiona return from their honeymoon, they receive an invitation from her parents to visit them. Princess Fiona has not told her parents, King Harold and Queen Lilian, that she has married an ogre and has become one herself. So bring their Donkey friend along, the couple go to the kingdom of Far Far Away to meet the king and queen.

When the Fairy Godmother discovers that Fiona is married to Shrek, she reminds King Harold of a deal they had made for Princess Fiona to marry her son Prince Charming. Prompted by her urgings, and his discomfort at having an ogre as a son-in-law, he hires Puss in Boots to kill Shrek.

As a special ending, Donkey's dragon girlfriend returns with a surprise for her lover: baby donkey-dragon mutants.

Cast

The cast and other significant credits for the project include:

• Shrek - Mike Myers
• Donkey - Eddie Murphy
• Princess Fiona - Cameron Diaz
• King Harold - John Cleese
• Queen Lilian - Julie Andrews
• Puss in Boots - Antonio Banderas
• Prince Charming - Rupert Everett
• Fairy Godmother - Jennifer Saunders

Fairy tale and Nursery Rhyme Support

• Pinocchio
• Three Blind Mice
• Gingerbread Man
• Three Little Pigs
• Big Bad Wolf
• Jack and Jill

Box Office and Critical Response

As of June 27, 2004, Shrek 2 had achieved $390 million at the US box office and $383 million at the world box office. The film has earned millions more in merchandising. As the budget for the film was $70 million in production costs and $50 million in publicity and advertising, the film has already proved to be highly profitable for Dreamworks.

Metacritic has developed an average rating of 73 out of 100 based on 39 professional reviews published in newspapers, magazines and in highly regarded Internet sites . Users of the Internet Movie Database gave an rating of 7.7 out of 10 to the movie.

Movie trivia

TV/movie references

• The plot has some similarities to "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner."
• In the book recap of Princess Fiona's life when the film begins, when she is shown to the people of Far Far Away, her parents hold her over the edge of the tower of the castle with the sun shining down on the Princess; a reference to the start of The Lion King where the newborn Simba is being shown to the rest of the animals of the plain.
• The scene with Shrek and Fiona kissing on the beach is a spoof of the beach scene with Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in From Here to Eternity. When the wave washes over them Fiona's place is momentarily taken by a mermaid who looks suspiciously like Ariel from Disney's The Little Mermaid. Then Fiona throws her to the sharks, one of which looks suspiciously like the great white used in the poster art and logo of Jaws.
• Early in the film, a golden ring is forged for Fiona, which is tossed in the air and lands on her finger in a spoof of a similar scene in The Lord of the Rings. However, instead of being inscribed with the Ring-inscription (One ring to rule them all...), it simply reads "I love you".
• At the start of the movie, when Shrek is caught in a trap and hanging upside down, he lands in some mud that covers his face. Fiona wipes off the mud to reveal his mouth and kisses him. This is a spoof of the Spider-Man movie, where Spider-Man is hanging upside down and Mary Jane Watson half-takes off his mask and kisses him in the rain.
• When Fiona beats up several people at the very beginning of the film, the moves she does are carbon copies of Chun-Li's Spinning Bird Kick and Ryu and Ken's Dragon Punch (Shoryuken) from the fighting game Street Fighter II.
• When Shrek and Fiona are invited to Far, Far Away, the trumpeter who peels off from the ranks to play a solo (and is subsequently hit over the head) is playing the theme song to Hawaii Five-O.
• Shrek refers to the trumpeters as "Sgt. Pompous and the Fancy-Pants Club Band," a play on the Beatles' legendary "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
• Far Far Away was modelled after Beverly Hills.
• Shrek, Donkey, and Fiona pass a billboard of the Fairy Godmother that is similar to the Angelyne advertisements.
• Upon first seeing the kingdom of Far, Far Away, Donkey says "Champagne wishes and caviar dreams from now on": a reference to Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.
• There are a few references to The Wizard of Oz:
  • Upon first seeing the kingdom of Far, Far Away, Shrek says "We are definitely not in the swamp anymore."
  • The Fairy Godmother arrives at Fiona's balcony encased in a bubble à la Glinda the Good Witch.
  • When Donkey's caught in the rain, he says "I'm melting! I'm melting!"; the same line that the Wicked Witch said when she met her demise.
• Also when they enter Far Far Away, Donkey's head with the palm tree background is a reference to Eddie Murphy's own Beverly Hills Cop.
• The waiter's "Bon Appétit" and bow spoof John Cleese's waiter character in Monty Python's "Mr. Creosote" sketch from The Meaning of Life. Cleese provides the voice of Fiona's father in this film.
• The scene during the dinner with Fiona's parents where the camera cuts to different characters and they say each other's names is a reference to a similar scene in Rocky Horror Picture Show.
• The Fairy Godmother's first song is reminiscent of "A Spoonful of Sugar", one of the songs from the music Mary Poppins, which starred Julie Andrews, who provides the voice of Fiona's mother in this film.
• During the first Fairy Godmother scene there is a reference to Marilyn Monroe's dress scene in The Seven Year Itch.
• Dancing furniture looks remarkably similar to those in Disney's Beauty and the Beast.
• While in bed, Fiona's mother reads a copy of "Kings Are from Mars, Queens Are from Venus," a play on Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus.
• The first visit to the Poison Apple by the king shows several characters:
  • Captain Hook from Peter Pan
  • Dwarves fighting from Sleeping Beauty
  • Pirates
  • Haunted trees
  • The Headless Horseman from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
  • An ugly stepsister from Cinderella
• The visit to the Poison Apple is like the scene in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, where Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin come to the Prancing Pony.
• During the scene where Puss in Boots first encounters Shrek, he rips out of Shrek's shirt, in the same manner as aliens "hatch" out of human bodies in the Alien movie franchise. This leads to a continuity error: in subsequent shots Shrek's shirt is unripped.
• In the same scene, Puss in Boots inscribes the letter "P" into a tree using three strokes of his sword, parodying the character of Zorro where the callsign of the hero Zorro is slashing the letter "Z" using three sword strokes. Incidentally, Antonio Banderas, the actor voicing Puss in Boots, played Zorro in the 1998 film The Mask of Zorro.
• After Puss in Boots attacks Shrek, Donkey suggests that Shrek give him the "Bob Barker treatment." Bob Barker, the long-time host of CBS' The Price is Right, always ends his program by urging TV viewers to spay or neuter their pets.
• In the scene where Shrek, Donkey and Puss in Boots arrive at the Fairy Godmother's office, she says "What in Grimm's name..."; a reference to the Brothers Grimm, who published collections of many fairy tales such as the ones used in this movie.
• When Shrek, Donkey and Puss in Boots escape from the potion storeroom in the Fairy Godmother's factory, Puss quickly reaches under the door to rescue his hat, as Indiana Jones does in The Temple of Doom.
• One of the Fairy Godmother's books is titled Pretty Woman, possibly after the Julia Roberts film of the same name.
• Two assistants turn into a clock and a candle (like those in Beauty and the Beast) after Shrek dumps a vat of potion on them.
• After drinking the potion, Shrek and Donkey both faint. Donkey utters the words "I'm comin', Elizabeth!", a reference to a line frequently spoken on Sanford and Son, when the main character was trying to imply that he was close to dying.
• To get Shrek to cheer up, Donkey sings a few bars from the song "Tomorrow": a reference to the musical Annie.
• In the scene where Shrek, Donkey, and Puss in Boots are drinking in the tavern, Puss in Boots says "I hate Mondays," a line often used by Garfield the cat in Jim Davis's Garfield comic strip.
• The love potion that the Fairy Godmother gives King Harold to give to Fiona is labeled "IX," a reference to the 1959 pop hit "Love Potion #9," by The Clovers.
• The arrival of guests on the red carpet at the royal ball show is being broadcast by "Medieval Entertainment" and is hosted by Joan Rivers, a reference to the E! Entertainment Channel, and to Joan herself, who usually interviews people arriving at the Oscars.
• At Shrek's house in the swamp, the Gingerbread Man—bored with watching the royal ball show—tells his fairy tale friends to flip over to "Wheel of Torture," which is a parody of Wheel of Fortune.
• "Knights" spoof of Cops; reference to O.J. Simpson and his fleeing from the police with "We've got a white bronco heading east into the forest, requesting backup."
• Spoof of Mission: Impossible when Pinocchio is lowered into the well.
• When the giant gingerbread man, Mongo, is "born," the little Gingerbread Man says "It's alive!": a reference to Frankenstein.
• Mongo is a spoof of the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters. He gets his name from Alex Karras's dim-witted strongman in Blazing Saddles. Also, the scene in which he first appears knocking down palm trees is similar to the T-Rex-invading-city scene in The Lost World: Jurassic Park. He also lets out a Godzilla roar when his gumdrop button is shot off, and tells the little Gingerbread Man to "Be good" in imitation of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
• Before singing "Holding Out for a Hero" at the ball, the Fairy Godmother changes her outfit to that of Jessica Rabbit from Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
• Spoof of The Fabulous Baker Boys, starring Michelle Pfeiffer, when the Fairy Godmother rolls around on the grand piano.
• Puss in Boots sits in a chair and douses himself with water, just like Jennifer Beals did in Flashdance.
• Pinocchio imitates Michael Jackson's famous "Billie Jean" dance routine on the dance floor during the ball scene.
• At the end of the movie, Puss in Boots says he is going to the Kit-Kat Club: a reference to the club from Cabaret.
• When the King is talking to the Fairy Godmother, he uses 'bit of trouble with the old leg' as an excuse. This is a reference to John Cleese's Basil Fawlty character, who employed similar tactics when trying to distract hotel guests.

Places and names in Far Far Away

In order of appearance:

Far Far Away Idol Songs

At the end of the Shrek 2 DVD, Shrek, Fiona, and American Idol's Simon Cowell judge a Pop Idol-like contest called Far Far Away Idol. Here were the numbers:

• Donkey sings The Trammps' "Disco Inferno," with his girlfriend blowing fire
• Pinocchio sings Styx's "Mr. Roboto"
• Doris, the Ugly Stepsister (voiced by Larry King) sings Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"
• The Big Bad Wolf and the Three Little Pigs sing Duran Duran's "Hungry Like The Wolf"
• Prince Charming sings Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy"
• The Three Blind Mice sing Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now"
• Gingerbread Man (also known as Gingy) sings The Archies' "Sugar Sugar"
• Captain Hook sings Blue Swede's "Hooked on a Feeling"
• Puss in Boots sings Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walking"
• Shrek and Fiona sing The Romantics' "What I Like About You"

If someone other than Shrek and Fiona, Donkey, or Puss in Boots wins, Simon Cowell sings Frank Sinatra's "My Way."

Other trivia

• In the UK, the parts of the Ugly Stepsister and the entertainment correspondent (originally voiced by Larry King and Joan Rivers, respectively) were re-dubbed by Jonathan Ross (among other things, the presenter of the BBC's Film show) and Kate Thornton. They are credited at the very end of the original credits.
• John Cleese and Julie Andrews recorded most of their dialogue in the same studio, at the same time, which is considered unusual for a production like this which usually records its voice actors separately.
• Joan Rivers' cameo marks the first time that a real person had been represented on screen by the Shrek animation team. The DVD version of the film includes a second real-life cameo with an appearance by Simon Cowell in the "Far Far Away Idol" bonus feature.
• When Shrek attempts to crowdsurf but lands on the dog, the dog wets itself just before being squashed by Shrek

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for Shrek 2 was released in May 2004 in the US, to accompany the film. It reached the top 10 of the Billboard 200 and #1 on the soundtrack albums as well as reaching the top 40 of the Australian album charts. The lead single "Accidentally in Love" by the Counting Crows has reached the top 10 of the Billboard Adult Top 40 and the top 20 of the world soundtrack singles charts as of June 27, 2004. The soundtrack also features two versions of the 1980s hit by Bonnie Tyler "Holding out for a Hero".

Track Listing

1. "Accidentally in Love" by Counting Crows
2. "Holding out for a Hero" by Frou Frou
3. "Changes" by Butterfly Boucher & David Bowie
4. "As Lovers Go" by Dashboard Confessional
5. "Funkytown" by Lipps Inc
6. "I'm on my Way" by Rich Price
7. "I Need Some Sleep" by Eels
8. "Ever Fallen in Love" by Pete Yorn
9. "Little Drop of Poison" by Tom Waits
10. "You're So True" by Joseph Arthur
11. "People Ain't No Good" by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
12. "Fairy Godmother Song" by Jennifer Saunders
13. "Livin' la Vida Loca" by Antonio Banderas and Eddie Murphy
14. "Holding out for a Hero" by Jennifer Saunders

External links

• Official website
• Shrek 2 at IMDb
• Shrek 2 Posters and news
• Shrek 2 All Movie Guide entry
• 2 Soundtrack entry on All Music guide

• Animated films
• Computer-animated films
• 2004 films
• Fantasy films
• Best Song Oscar Nominee
• Andrew Adamson films