There is no talk of parfaits in SHREK 2. You might recall from the original, an instant animated classic, that this was Donkeys favorite dessert, not to mention panacea, that nothing was so bad that a nice parfait couldnt make it better. Parfaits are in order for viewing this sequel that stumbles badly before hitting its stride halfway through its running time. The first SHREK took conventional fairy tales, and the purveyors of them (read Disney), and throttled their clichés right out of them. It was a deliciously smart and wicked re-imaging that still remained true to the purpose of fairy tales, namely a moral that goes down easy with its viewing audience.
The sequel begins with that same spirit. It opens with a handsome, but boring, Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) enduring blizzards, deserts and such as he mightily quests onward to save an enchanted princess only to discover upon arrival that shes already on her honeymoon with an orgre. That would be right where the original left off, with loveable lug Shrek (Mike Meyers) and his now fully-ogred chublove Fiona (Cameron Diaz) on their honeymoon, settling into their happily-ever-after with a disappointingly conventional montage of G-rated honeymoon hi-jinks and the first of what will become way too many music videos. Of course, peril looms on the horizon, beginning with their return to Shreks swamp where Donkey (Eddie Murphy) has taken up residence after a falling out with his lady dragon. Seems shes become moody. Further preventing the happily-every-aftering is the invitation from Fionas royal parents of the kingdom of Far Far Away. to return for a wedding ball and to give the folks a chance to meet their new son-in-law. They dont know hes an ogre, they dont know that Fionas become one now full-time. And here we have another comedy thud with Shrek categorically refusing to go, and the next scene is them setting forth, Donkey in tow, to meet the parents. The first SHREK would have shredded that sort of thing. It’s obvious that writers of that film took a pass on being part of the sequel.
The rest of the story is Shrek and Fiona, who are perfectly happy with who they are, dealing with the people of Far Far Away, a place that bears more than a passing resemblance to Beverly Hills, in style and in attitude to judge by the stunned silence that greets these less than beautiful creatures when they arrive for the royal welcome. Sure, Queen Lillian (Julie Andrews) is willing to accept the pair, but King Harold (John Cleese), has issues. Throw in a professional Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders) with a frothy hair-do and an ulterior motive, Shreks suitably ogre-sized bout of insecurity, that Prince Charming from the beginning, and misunderstandings of the most hackneyed variety are bound to ensue. If it werent for the dashing paid assassin Puss-in-Boots (Antonio Banderas), who has a devastating secret weapon, and only one weakness, hairballs, all hope would be lost.
As for the animation, the next generation of CGI is evident. When that Prince Charming whips off his helmet and shakes his impressive mane of hair, the effect is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Really. So is the wave that washes over Shrek and Fiona in their FROM HERE TO ETERNITY honeymoon moment.
Murphy manages to make the wisecracking, emotionally fragile Donkey funny even when the writing doesnt. Andrews and Cleese, though blessed with rich and resonant voices, have little to work with as vanilla characters. Saunders, however, digs into her much more vivid role of vacuous evil with the same relish and abandon that she gave Absolutely Fabulous. She curves her voice around a joke with the same smoothness as she does a threat. Even ordering a cup of coffee has an ominous wackiness to it. Banderas, for his part, appropriately makes his voice purr as he does an arch parody of every swashbuckler ever filmed
If you can make it through the set-up, there is a pay off. That would be when Shrek, Donkey, and Puss set off on an adventure to find out who put Puss up to his attempt on Shreks life, and end up on the wrong end, or is the right end, of a magic spell. The writers have obviously warmed up to the proceedings. Suddenly, the swipes at popular culture hit their marks, the humor gets snarky, the plot gets its second wind, and even though you can pretty much tell how its all going to end, its doesnt matter. Baked goods become weapons of mass destruction and lattes are used for purposes that nature never intended.
A final note, stay through the first bout of credits. You wont want to miss the monumentally improbable but oddly heartwarming happily-ever-after it delivers. Lets hope its the sort of thing that SHREK 3, and you know therell be one, picks up and runs with.
Your Thoughts?