Foreword:After seeing Shrek 2 on 28th May, I was so excited to write a review that I immediately requested the MS ppl to add it as a new product. However, that didn’t happen till June 1 and so I wrote my review under Shrek 1 category itself. I’m very grateful that many of you who’d rated it there, have now done it again (when the MS ppl finally pasted my original review in Shrek 2 category) despite the fact that it was badly formatted & unedited. I’ll request the MS team now to delete the same review under Shrek 1 category.
Thanks once again!
ONCE UPON A TIME.... IN A KINGDOM FAR FAR AWAY........... There was a King and a Queen, who?d been longing to meet their freed-from-the-clutches-of-a-dragon and curse-cured beautiful daughter and her handsome rescuer husband. And when the dutiful daughter and her (coerced to be dutiful) husband finally pay them a visit.............
All hell breaks loose!!!!!!
Whaat? Well........ what had you expected??
Shrek 2 like it?s predecessor is ``an ogre-whelming fairy tale never told!??. And like Shrek 1, it deals with the concept of meaning of existence of fairy tale creatures with the optimum amount of (polite) iconoclasm. Spoofs and satires still remain a prominent feature and scenes from a wide variety of movies like Lord Of The Rings, SpiderMan I, School of Rock, Godzilla and The Matrix (that couldn?t have been left out anyways :-D) have been imitated well and draw immediate smiles.
It all begins with Shrek?s reluctant tour to the palace in the kingdom of ``Far Far Away?? which houses fairy celebrities like Rapunzel, Cindrella etc. and there itself, the seeds of adventure are sown. A disappointed father-in-law (King Harold), a flamboyant but infuriated Prince Charming who had to return empty-handed from his quest (of rescuing princess Fiona and giving her the love?s first true kiss), a saccharine-smile-possessing Fairy Godmother who also happens to be Charming?s mother and holds some dark and dirty secret of King Harold; together hatch a plot to get rid of our Hero, the Cute Green Monster! :-)
---- POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD ! ----
A clandestine deal follows and a feline assassin is hired and the movie?s most amazing & charming character ``Puss In Boots?? is revealed to us. However, there is a delightful reversal of heart and Puss In Boots shifts gears by pledging life to Shrek. Determined to please Fiona, a reluctant Shrek requests Fairy Godmother to help him, unaware that she?s actually the kingpin of conspiracy hatched against himself. The sly Fairy Godmother tries to mislead Shrek into believing that He and Fiona can never lead a happy life because of his being an Ogre. Fortunately, this instead of lessening Shrek?s morale, inflames his animosity for her and a mis-adventure later (with Donkey & Puss alongwith), Shrek succesfully steals the ??Happily Ever After?? potion from FairyGodmother?s larder.
Unsure of what could be the effects of potion on him, Shrek & Co roam in wilderness. Some brooding and a (typical) compulsive lecture from Donkey (who?s tasted the potion already), Shrek finally consumes the potion. And the next morning.... lo-behold!!! Shrek the Green Monstrous Ogre is transformed into a handsome looking man with maidens swooning over him. The Donkey too gets his longtime-craved-position of a Noble Stead.......... he?s transformed into a Stallion!
Lots of great gags and set-pieces later, like a hysterical parody of a TV show ``The Cops?? re-christened as ??The Knights??, the thrilling adventure reaches it?s climax with the transformed pair of Shrek, Donkey... er Stallion and Puss In Boots chained up in a deep dungeon, with the celebration going on in the palace, where Fiona, transformed back into the lovely princess (by the action of the ??Happily Ever After?? potion), is misled to believe the Prince Charming is the actual transformed Shrek.
A rescue team of Pinnochio, GingerBread man and the Pigs reach the dungeon and Pinnochio is dropped inside the dungeon in typical Tom Cruise (Mission Impossible) style with the background score complimenting his daring feat.... :-D What follows is probably the most hilarious part of the movie:
< To reach the wall where Shrek & co. have been fettered up, a tangled-into-his-own-ropes Pinnochio needs to extend his nose, so that Gingerbread man can walk on it and reach the key to open the locks >
GingerBread Man: Say a lie... come on, say something that?s not true.
Donkey (in his usual enthusiasm-gushing manner): Yeah, Say a lie...... say something like you?re wearing a ladies underwear!
Pinnochio (solemnly): ??I?m wearing a ladies underwear!??
<NOTHING happens..........................>
<SILENCE......................>Shrek (smirking): You are!!! ???
GingerBread Man (lifting Pinnochio?s shorts a little): He is!!!!
Pinnochio (indignantly): ??I?m not!??
<PINNOCHIO?S extending.............. starts nose>
GingerBread Man: Infact.... it?s a THONG!!
Pinnochio (almost angry): ??It?s not!??
<AND nose fully.................... extends Pinnochio?s>
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It?s humor like this, what makes Shrek 2 is an instant winner. Describing the ending would be needless, or rather not a very fruitful idea but I guarantee that Shrek 1 fans are sure to have a wonderful time with their endearing favorite characters Shrek (Mike Myers), Fiona (Cameron Diaz), Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and newcomers like Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderas).
It?s altogether a wonderful work of animation from Dreamworks and a very good (though a bit predictable) sequel.
Praying that Shrek 3 comes soon now! :-D
--nitin