Shrek 2 (2004)

 

Seeing as the first one was such a smash hit, it stood to reason that Dreamworks would quickly follow up with a sequel. And actually, the sequel is also pretty bloody good. But you can tell some things were changing and maybe not all for the best in the long run... 

Shrek and Fiona are now happily married and on honeymoon, but then they get an invitation from her parents from the land of Far, Far Away. Of course, it stands to reason they want to see who their daughter married to. Suffice to say the king and queen aren't truly chuffed to discover that their daughter not only looks like an ogre but is in fact married to one, especially as it transpires that a plot was set in motion long ago by the Fairy Godmother to marry off her son, Prince Charming, to Fiona. 

So the king hires a hitman to take care of Shrek: the infamous Puss in Boots. But due to some shenanigans, Puss joins Shrek and Donkey, but Shrek doubts himself yet again and doesn't know how to make Fiona happy. To that end, he steals a potion that turns him into a hot human, but will appearances truly make all the difference? 

So yes, storywise, it's a bit weird to be leaning as heavily into this 'being content with what you are'-angle, especially since the first one made it abundantly clear that appearances can be rather deceiving. They try and explain it because of the posh surroundings in Far, Far Away, but it doesn't feel right all the time. 

What 'Shrek 2' does get right in spades, is jokes. There are so many, even more than the first one and nearly all of them land. Yes, there is some clever parodying of classic fairytale tropes (and Disney, never forget that), but the gags are mostly funny. I do say 'mostly', as this is also a film where they lean heavily into references and it's doubtful whether or not most of them will still be relevant in about ten to twenty years. It is a nice touch that Far, Far Away is modeled after Hollywood and all its focus on sheen and pomp and circumstance and almost none on substance, but maybe it's a little too on the nose? 

They did hit the mark with Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots, though. He is absolutely funny and a show stealer and it's no wonder he got his own series and most of the marketing and merchandise was centred around him. It just clicks. 

'Shrek 2' is less of a satire and more of a flat-out comedy and it is very good, but you can feel some cracks are starting to appear and that in future, ideas would become stale. And how right this feeling turned out to be...