By Tanya Batson-Savage, Staff ReporterONCE UPON a time in a land far, far away, a land made of silicone hills and celluloid dreams, a studio made a wonderfully funny movie named Shrek and people everywhere loved it. Alas, because of a terrible curse that plagued the studio directors in that land, once a successful movie was made, a sequel to it had to be made too.
Fortunately, a good fairy intervened and made Shrek 2 absolutely delightful. A witty script and wonderful performances provided a laugh a minute, and sometimes even gave two.
Shrek 2 presents what is meant by the 'until' (written in invisible ink) which follows 'and they lived happily ever after' that comes at what is traditionally accepted as the end of the fairy tale. Exactly what does 'ever after' mean for Fiona (Cameron Diaz) and Shrek (Mike Myers)? While it does not show the rest of their lives, it shows an obstacle even greater than fire-breathing dragons, thorny hedges and poison apples... the parents of the bride.
ECLECTIC
The 'meet the parents' element allows the movie to mix the fairy tale elements with spoofs from modern culture. The fairy tale elements are, however, stronger and give rise to things such as action hero gingerbread men, wolves with sexual identity crises, and everything else that comes with the package.
Shrek 2 is absolutely hilarious with all the elements which made the original a box office hit, with more to boot (literally). Shrek brought with it an irreverence and celebration of the fairy tale world that made it the perfect romance for our time. Shrek 2 takes this one step further. Though we remain in the fairy tale world, we are taken through the trap-laden maze of the modern fable, meeting the parents.
After their honeymoon (which is a wonderfully light-hearted parody of the perfect honeymoon) the ogre Shrek and princess Fiona return to their swamp to find a summons from Fiona's parents for the new bride to bring her husband home. So they, accompanied by Donkey, journey to Fiona's home which is, not surprisingly, far, far, away. And so, as the wise words of Donkey "It's Shrek and Donkey off on another whirlwind adventure!"
SAME OLD FRIENDS
The trick for a successful sequel is to keep the original characters as fresh and interesting as when we met them, and add the right new characters. So it is that, for the most part, Donkey (Eddie Murphy), Fiona, and Shrek remain true to their natures. Donkey is wonderfully annoying on his stumpy little legs and with his big stupid grin. Fiona is given less to work with this time around, but her character is still quite impressive, and Shrek remains your average neighbourhood ogre who happened to marry his princess rather than eat her.
The new characters sparkle, adding another hilarious dimension to the flick. The cadre of new characters include Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) who has a Zorro complex; Princess Fiona's parents (Julie Andrews and John Cleese); her Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders) who is an interesting mix of the fairy godmother, the wicked witch and Fosse (Saunders); and Rupert Everett (Prince Charming).
