For those who grew up within the late ’90s and early 2000s, odds are that Shrek was an enormous a part of your childhood. DreamWorks’ breakout hit took the world by storm in 2001, providing a contemporary and edgier various to these bored by Disney’s then-familiar fairy story construction and supplying a whole technology with immediately iconic moments which have been memed to dying ever since. It was the primary movie to ever win the Oscar for Greatest Animated Characteristic (the award did not exist earlier than then) and even acquired an Tailored Screenplay nomination.

Its speedy sequel, Shrek 2, is celebrating its twentieth anniversary with a quick theatrical re-release. As unlikely because it appears at this time, it obtained extra polarizing opinions than the unique on the time. But time has proved to be on its aspect, and twenty years later, it’s clear that not solely is Shrek 2 each an ideal animated sequel and an ideal comedy sequel, however it’s really aged higher than its predecessor.

Shrek 2 Is Sharper and Extra Constant

Shrek 2

Launch Date

Could 19, 2004

Runtime

93

It could actually’t be overstated how contemporary Shrek felt in 2001. Whereas prior animated movies had dabbled in utilizing movie star voice actors and popular culture references of their humor, Shrek was stuffed with it. The movie additionally proved a refreshing departure from the acquainted fairy story construction. The hero was the ugly ogre who’d often be painted because the villain, the good-looking prince was the villain, and the lethal fire-breathing dragon was a feminine. It’s no accident that nearly each animated movie for years adopted the offbeat template Shrek set. On high of that, it boasts a comedic tour-de-force voiceover efficiency from Eddie Murphy as Donkey, which arguably deserved an Oscar nomination.

And but, as a lot as most of it holds up, Shrek admittedly feels a bit old school twenty years later. A lot of the humor feels admittedly fueled by bitterness in direction of Disney (DreamWorks Animation head Jeffrey Katzenberg famously left the corporate on unhealthy phrases), and it’s straightforward to think about some viewers turned off by the movie’s gleeful profaneness. Moreover, the style deconstruction it prided itself on feels protected; whereas the primary half of the film is good in its subversion of fairy story tropes, as soon as Princess Fiona is revealed to be an ogre, the story falls into the types of clichés and predictable plot beats it beforehand made enjoyable of.

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Fortunately, this isn’t the case with Shrek 2, the place the style satire cuts deeper. The Fairy Godmother is the movie’s villain, making an attempt to control Princess Fiona into leaving Shrek and marrying Prince Charming (her son, a lovably pathetic mama’s boy), and her function within the story offers a pointy rebuke to the thought of what’s seen as conventionally lovely. The movie takes its “ogre is the hero” setup to a hilarious endpoint, because the story entails Shrek lastly assembly Fiona’s mother and father, lower than enthused about the truth that he’s an ogre. It turns into a hilarious riff on Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.

Most significantly, the movie is solely funnier than the unique. Whereas the primary movie had numerous successful gags, it admittedly ran out of steam in its ultimate third. Shrek 2, then again, stays persistently hilarious from starting to finish, with gags that fly by at a breakneck tempo. The popular culture references lower deeper and thus have aged a lot better (the Mission: Unimaginable riff is especially hilarious), whereas the tone of the humor feels much less overtly nasty than within the first movie, extra akin to a loving nudge than a cynical jab.

Shrek 2 Options Improbable New Characters

One other aspect that retains Shrek 2 from feeling like a rehash of the unique is the stacked supporting forged. Admittedly, exterior the villainous Lord Farquaad and the lovable Gingy, the ensemble was a bit gentle the primary time round, however that’s not the case right here. The Fairy Godmother makes for a delightfully nasty villain; her son Prince Charming is endearingly brainless, and Fiona’s mother and father (voiced by display screen legends John Cleese and Julie Andrews) have the pleasant dynamic of a long-married couple that contrasts completely with their newly-wed daughter and her husband.

However none of those characters maintain a candle to, arms down, the MVP of Shrek 2 and probably your entire franchise, Puss in Boots. There’s a cause the feline Zorro expy has gotten two solo movies of his personal; Antonio Banderas performs the function to absolute perfection, with comedic timing and an acidic wit that offers a pleasant distinction to Eddie Murphy’s fast-talking, boisterous Donkey. He will get a very pleasant character arc, wherein he’s initially employed to kill Shrek for cash, however after the ogre spares his life, he proves himself to be an honorable rogue, paying his gratitude by serving to our heroes on their journey. And the operating gag involving his unhappy kitten eyes (typically deployed with tactical precision to get enemy henchmen to decrease their guard) won’t ever not be laugh-out-loud humorous.

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Nevertheless, what elevates Shrek 2 is its shocking emotional depth. The primary movie had a optimistic message about staying true to oneself and never judging a ebook by its cowl, however the uplift clashed a bit with the overtly snarky humor. Because the humor in Shrek 2 feels extra loving general, it blends a lot better with a equally optimistic message. It correctly refuses to rehash Shrek and Fiona’s romantic arc from the unique, as an alternative progressing their relationship believably, as Shrek worries that the truth that her mother and father may by no means actually settle for him might drive them aside. Whereas this drives him to attempt to change himself for Fiona’s sake, she in the end helps him settle for that nothing will change her love for him. Some may even discover themselves getting a bit misty-eyed close to the top.

The Defining Shrek Chapter within the Franchise

It’s no secret that the third and fourth installments of the sequence didn’t come anyplace near dwelling as much as the excessive customary that Shrek 2 set, however it was arguably unimaginable. This was the uncommon comedy sequel that actively refused to rehash its predecessor however as an alternative superior the story and characters, and it refined the weather that didn’t solely work the primary time round. Shrek 2 is nothing lower than the franchise’s system zeroed in to utter comedic perfection, greater than sufficient to surpass the excessive requirements set by the authentic Shrek movie. Each Shrek and Shrek 2 are streaming now on Peacock.