Shrek 2


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This article is about the featured computer-animated film. For the video game, see Shrek 2 (video game).
Shrek 2

Movie poster for Shrek 2
Directed by Andrew Adamson
Kelly Asbury
Conrad Vernon
Written by Screenplay:
Andrew Adamson
Joe Stillman
J. David Stem
David N. Weiss
Story:
Andrew Adamson
Book:
William Steig
Starring Mike Myers
Eddie Murphy
Cameron Diaz
Antonio Banderas
Julie Andrews
John Cleese
Rupert Everett
Jennifer Saunders
Music by Harry Gregson-Williams
Editing by Michael Andrews
Sim Evan-Jones
Distributed by USA
DreamWorks SKG (2004-present) Paramount Pictures (2006-present)
Non-USA Theatrical
United International Pictures
Worldwide DVD/Video
Universal Pictures (2004-2006)/ Paramount Pictures (2006-present)
Release date(s) May 19, 2004
Running time 93 minutes
Language English
Budget Overall
$125 million USD
Production
$75 million USD
Marketing
$50 million USD
Gross revenue Domestic
$441,226,247
Worldwide
$919,838,758[1]
Preceded by Shrek (2001)
Followed by Shrek the Third (2007)

Shrek 2, released in the United States on 19 May 2004, is the 2004 Academy Award nominated sequel to the 2001 computer-animated DreamWorks Pictures film Shrek in the Shrek series. In April 2004 the film was selected for competition at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.

Shrek 2 scored the fourth largest three day opening weekend in US history,[2] as well as the largest opening for an animated movie until 18 May 2007, when it was eclipsed by its sequel Shrek the Third.[3] As of 2008, it is the 10th highest-grossing film of all time.[4] It went on to be the most successful film in 2004.[4] The associated soundtrack reached the top ten of the Billboard 200. It is also the seventh highest ticket selling animated film of all time[5]. It is, as well, the highest-grossing fully-animated movie of all time[6].

This second movie was shown on the Shrek 2/The Ballad of Little Joe DVD edition.

Contents

Plot
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The film begins with Prince Charming narrating the story, as he searches for the princess in the Highest Room of the Tallest Tower. After traveling for many days and nights, Prince Charming climbs to the Highest Room of the Tallest Tower and reaches the Princess' Tower. When he finds the Big Bad Wolf in the Princess's bed, he finds out the Princess is on a honeymoon, the Princess being Fiona.

Shrek and his new wife, Fiona spend their time enjoying their honeymoon. After coming home from their honeymoon, Shrek and Fiona are invited to Far Far Away for a Royal Ball celebrating their marriage, during which Shrek will receive a blessing from Fiona's dad, King Harold, and become part of the royal family. But Shrek thinks he should not go, since it would be a bad idea to have the King see Fiona looking like a ogre. Fiona eventually convinces Shrek to journey to Far Far Away to attend the ball. So Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey set off to Far Far Away

After a long journey, they arrive in Far Far Away, making their way to meet Fiona's parents, Harold and Lillian. Shrek's belief that it was a bad idea is confirmed by the hostility of the crowd and the reaction of Fiona's parents. At dinner, Shrek and Harold have an argument about how a family should be raised, which ends up in a food fight between Harold and Shrek, after which Fiona storms off, unable to bear the hostility between father and husband. Soon, Fiona's Fairy Godmother appears in her room, comforting Fiona. When Shrek and Donkey arrive, Shrek and Fiona get into a fight, with Shrek not apologizing for his behavior, and Fiona becomes angry that Shrek refuses to change his ways, even though Fiona changed a lot for him.

It then cuts to King Harold, who was apparently listening to the whole argument between Fiona and Shrek. The Fairy Godmother shows up, where it is revealed that Prince Charming is her son, and whom the king promised would marry Fiona. The godmother demands that the king end their relationship. Harold then seeks a meeting at a shady bar, with a shadowy assassin agrees to "take care of" Shrek. After their meeting, Shrek finds Fiona's diary in their room and reads it, revealing Fiona's old wish to become "Mrs. Fiona Charming". Shrek's thoughts are interrupted when the king comes knocking and asks if Shrek would want to join him on a hunting trip the next morning. Shrek reluctantly agrees.

The next day, Shrek and Donkey become lost in the forest on their way to the rendezvous with Harold. Shrek and Donkey are ambushed by Puss in Boots, who is revealed as the king's assassin. Puss attacks Shrek until he is incapacitated by a hairball. Shrek and Donkey take his sword and threaten to neuter him, and Puss reveals that Harold paid him. Shrek then decides to go the Fairy Godmother for help. Shrek allows Puss to tag along, over Donkey's objections.

After scamming the front desk clerk at the Fairy Godmother's factory, they make their way to the Godmother's laboratory, where she is making a love potion. After a non-productive meeting with her, they make their way into her storeroom and steal her Happily Ever After Potion. After they escape and leave the factory in ruins, the Fairy Godmother finds out that they have stolen her potion and she concocts a plan to work the potion-stealing to their own advantage. Later, after Shrek, Donkey and Puss leave the factory, Shrek and Donkey drink the potion, which seems not to work at first. It begins to rain, and they take refuge in a barn, where they faint as the potion's effects take place. Meanwhile, Fiona, having become worried about Shrek, tells her parents that she will find Shrek and return to their swamp. But, as soon as she walks out the door, the potion affects her too, and she also faints.

The next day, Shrek and Fiona become attractive humans, and Donkey turns into a white stallion. Shrek learns that if he kisses Fiona by midnight both of them will remain human forever. Shrek, Donkey and Puss return to the castle, but Prince Charming, who is aware of the potion's effects, tricks Fiona into thinking that he is the transformed Shrek. Meanwhile, the Fairy Godmother convinces Shrek that Fiona will be happier with Charming. A depressed Shrek proceeds to a bar, where he overhears the Fairy Godmother ordering Harold to trick Fiona into drinking a love potion, which will make her fall in love with Charming permanently. Harold initially resists, but gives in when the Fairy Godmother threatens to take away his "happily ever after." Shrek realizes that the Fairy Godmother's motives are not as pure as he thought, and he, Donkey, and Puss attempt to reach the castle, but are arrested and thrown in prison.

Shrek, Donkey, and Puss are rescued from the prison by the Gingerbread Man, the Big Bad Wolf, Pinocchio, the Three Little Pigs, and the Three Blind Mice. They proceed to the house of Gingy's creator, the Muffin Man, and create a gigantic gingerbread man to help them gain entrance to the castle. Once inside, they confront Charming and the Fairy Godmother. Before they can do anything, Charming kisses Fiona, who is unaffected due to Harold never having given her the love potion. In the ensuing battle, the Fairy Godmother is destroyed by a deflected spell, which also transforms Harold into the Frog Prince, revealing that he was the recipient of one of the Fairy Godmother's Happily Ever After potion.

Shrek asks Fiona if she wants to remain human. Fiona says she likes him as an ogre, and at the stroke of midnight Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey are transformed back into their original forms. Harold, having accepted Shrek for who he is, apologizes for his actions. Afterwards, Donkey and Puss start a party where they sing the song "Livin' la Vida Loca." The after-credits scene shows Dragon arriving at the castle, having given birth to several hybrid "Dronkeys."

Cast

Actor Role
Mike Myers Shrek
Cameron Diaz Princess Fiona
Eddie Murphy Donkey
Julie Andrews Queen Lillian
Antonio Banderas Puss in Boots
John Cleese King Harold
Rupert Everett Prince Charming
Jennifer Saunders Fairy Godmother
Larry King Doris the Ugly Stepsister (US version)
Aron Warner Big Bad Wolf
Cody Cameron Pinocchio
Cody Cameron Three Little Pigs
Christopher Knights Three Blind Mice
Conrad Vernon Gingerbread Man
Conrad Vernon Muffin Man
Conrad Vernon Mongo
Conrad Vernon Cedric
Conrad Vernon Announcer
Ian McShane Captain Hook
Kelly Cooney Magic Mirror
Kelly Cooney Magic Dresser
Kelly Asbury Page
Kelly Asbury Elf
Kelly Asbury Nobleman
Kelly Asbury Nobleman's son

Special guest stars

Production

Another unusual item was Joan Rivers' cameo - this marked 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.

Release

Shrek 2 was originally going to release in June 2004. A day before the movie went to theaters, the first five minutes were shown on Nickelodeon's U-Pick Live.

There are more Shrek movies to follow according to Jeffrey Katzenberg. 'We didn't have the guts to tell anybody when we started out, (but) 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.'[7]

It was the first film with over 4,000 theaters in overall count; over 3,700 theaters was its count for an opening day. Spider-Man 2 was the first film with over 4,000 theaters for an opening day and second for overall counts.

When the film was released on DVD on November 5, 2004, it was the second Shrek film to be presented in its original ratio of 1.85:1 on the Region 1 anamorphic widescreen DVD.

Previews

Before the theatrical release, the previews are for the following films:

TV releases

  • This film had its US network television premiere on November 24, 2006], airing on ABC at 8 PM/7 PM ET/CT. It premiered on British terrestrial television on Christmas Day (25th December) 2007 on BBC1.
  • The film aired for the first time on free to air television in Australia on June 3, 2007. It was broadcast on the Nine Network and its regional affiliates at 8:30PM AEST.
  • The film appeared on FOX Latin America (Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela, etc.) on February 4, 2007, after intensive publicity since the TV broadcast of Garfield on December 31, 2006
  • The film was aired on TVN in Poland on March 2, 2007
  • The film was aired on ProSieben in Germany on April 6, 2007
  • The film was aired on Canale 5 in Italy for the first time on May 23, 2007
  • The film was aired on Kanal 5 in Sweden for the first time on August 25, 2007
  • The film was aired on bTV in Bulgaria for the first time on December 25, 2007

Home media releases

This film has been released on VHS, Gameboy Game Paks, DVD, and Blu-ray Disc. The discs have "Far Far Away Idol", a parody of the wildly popular FOX talent show American Idol.

Reaction

Box office performance

The film spent a total of 149 days in theaters (roughly 21 weeks), closing on November 25, 2004. It grossed $441,226,247[8] domestically (US and Canada), and $478,612,511 in foreign markets, making a total of $919.8 million worldwide. This puts the movie at fourth on the all-time domestic box-office list and tenth on the worldwide box-office list. It was also the number one grossing movie of 2004. With DVD sales and Shrek 2 merchandise are estimated to total almost $800 million, the film (which was produced with a budget of $150 million[8]) is DreamWorks' most profitable film to date.

Critical reception

The film was well received by a number of critics, many rating it as good as its predecessor, and some rated it even better. Metacritic has developed a weighted average rating of 75 out of 100 based on 39 professional reviews published in newspapers, magazines and in highly regarded Internet sites, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[9] Rotten Tomatoes gave Shrek 2 a "Certified Fresh" rating of 89%, almost the same as the original's 90% rating

Far Far Away Idol

Far Far Away Idol is a bonus feature that can be seen on the DVD of Shrek 2. It has Shrek, Princess Fiona, Queen Lillian, King Harold and Simon Cowell (the judges) trying to decide who the next Far Far Away Idol should be. Below are the contestants and their songs. If the letter V is beside one, that means it has the judges' possible vote and the winner or loser will do an encore.

Donkey: "Disco Inferno" V

Pinocchio: "Mr. Roboto"

Doris the Ugly Stepsister: "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"

The Big Bad Wolf and the Three Little Pigs: "Hungry Like the Wolf"

Prince Charming: "I'm Too Sexy"

Three Blind Mice: "I Can See Clearly Now"

Gingy: "Honey Honey"

Captain Hook: "Hooked on a Feeling"

Puss in Boots: "These Boots Are Made For Walking" V

Shrek and Princess Fiona: "What I Like About You" V

King Harold and Queen Lillian: "There's a Hole in the Bottom of the Sea" V

See also

References

  1. ^ Box Office Mojo: Shrek 2
  2. ^ The-numbers.com Retrieved on 06-05-07
  3. ^ [1] The-numbers.com Retrieved on 06-05-07
  4. ^ [2] Coming on the heels of another extremely successful and popular movie, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban based on the English novel by author JK Rowling. This was the third installment of the series movie-wise, and DreamWorks is hoping for the same success in their third installment of the movie. Boxofficemojo.com Retrieved on 06-05-07
  5. ^ All Time Box Office Adjusted for Ticket Price Inflation
  6. ^ All Time Worldwide Box Office Grosses
  7. ^ http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/06/09/1086749775405.html Smh.com.au Retrieved on 06-05-07
  8. ^ a b Shrek 2 (2004)
  9. ^ [3] Metacritic.com Retrieved on 06-05-07

External links

Wikiquote
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Shrek 2
Preceded by
Shrek (2001)		 Shrek 2
2004		 Succeeded by
Shrek the Third (2007)


Preceded by
Troy		 Box office number-one films of 2004 (USA)
May 23, 2004 – May 30, 2004		 Succeeded by
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
v • d • e
Shrek series
Books
Films
Shrek (2001) · Shrek 2 (2004) · Shrek the Third (2007) · Shrek Goes Fourth (2010)
Cast
Spin-offs
Shrek 4-D (2003) · Shrek the Halls (2007)
Main characters
Other characters
Villains
Theater adaptations
Music
Video games
v • d • e
DreamWorks Animation
Computer-animated films
Antz (1998) • Shrek (2001) • Shrek 2 (2004) • Shark Tale (2004) • Madagascar (2005) • Over the Hedge (2006) • Shrek the Third (2007) • Bee Movie (2007) • Kung Fu Panda (2008) • Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)
Traditionally animated films
Films produced with
Aardman Animations
Future films
Monsters vs. Aliens (2009) • How to Train Your Dragon (2010) • Shrek Goes Fourth (2010) • Master Mind (2010) • Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) • Puss in Boots: The Story of an Ogre Killer (2011) • Shrek 5 (2013)
Direct-to-video
Shorts
v • d • e
Films directed by Andrew Adamson






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