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Shrek 2 is the 2004 sequel to the computer-animated 2001 DreamWorks Pictures movie Shrek that was released in the United States on May 19, 2004. In April 2004 the film was selected for competition at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. There are more Shrek movies to follow, as 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.'" [1] (http://smh.com.au/articles/2004/06/09/1086749775405.html?oneclick=true) Shrek 3 is scheduled for release in 2006.
Shrek 2 scored the second-largest three-day opening in history, as well as the largest opening for an animated movie ever, and as of 2004, is the 3rd highest box office grossing film of all time. It went on to be one of the most successful films in 2004. The associated soundtrack reached the top 10 of the Billboard 200.
Plot
After Shrek and Princess Fiona return from their honeymoon, they receive an invitation from her parents to visit them. Princess Fiona has not told her parents, King Harold and Queen Lilian, that she has married an ogre and has become one herself. So bring their Donkey friend along, the couple go to the kingdom of Far Far Away to meet the king and queen.
When the Fairy Godmother discovers that Fiona is married to Shrek, she reminds King Harold of a deal they had made for Princess Fiona to marry her son Prince Charming. Prompted by her urgings, and his discomfort at having an ogre as a son-in-law, he hires Puss in Boots to kill Shrek.
As a special ending, Donkey's dragon girlfriend returns with a surprise for her lover: baby donkey-dragon mutants.
Cast
The cast and other significant credits for the project include:
Box Office and Critical Response
As of 27 June 2004, Shrek 2 had achieved $390 million at the US box office and $383 million at the world box office.[2] (http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2004/SHRK2.php/1) The film has earned millions more in merchandising. As the budget for the film was $70 million in production costs and $50 million in publicity and advertising, the film has already proved to be highly profitable for Dreamworks.
Metacritic has developed an average rating of 73 out of 100 based on 39 professional reviews published in newspapers, magazines and in highly regarded Internet sites [3] (http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/shrek2/). Users of the Internet Movie Database gave an rating of 7.7 out of 10 to the movie. [4] (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0298148/ratings)
Movie trivia
TV/Movie references
- The scene with Shrek and Fiona kissing on the beach is a spoof of the beach scene with Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in From Here to Eternity. When the wave washes over them Fiona's place is momentarily taken by a mermaid who looks suspiciously like Ariel from Disney's The Little Mermaid. Then Fiona throws her to the sharks.
- Early in the film, a golden ring is forged for Fiona, which is tossed in the air and lands on her finger in a spoof of a similar scene in The Lord of the Rings. However, instead of being inscribed with the Ring-inscription (One ring to rule them all...), it simply reads "I love you".
- At the start of the movie, when Shrek is caught in a trap and hanging upside down, he lands in some mud that covers his face. Fiona wipes off the mud to reveal his mouth and kisses him. This is a spoof of the Spider-Man movie, where Spider-Man is hanging upside down and Mary Jane Watson half-takes off his mask and kisses him in the rain.
- When Fiona beats up several people at the very beginning of the film, the moves she does are carbon copies of Chun-Li's Spinning Bird Kick and Ryu/Ken's Dragon Punch from the fighting game Street Fighter 2.
- When Shrek and Fiona are invited to Far, Far Away, the trumpeter who peels off from the ranks to play a solo (and is subsequently hit over the head) is playing the theme song to Hawaii Five-O.
- Upon first seeing the kingdom of Far, Far Away, Donkey says "Champagne wishes and caviar dreams from now on"; a reference to Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.
- The Fairy Godmother's first song is reminiscent of "A Spoonful of Sugar", one of the songs from the music Mary Poppins, which starred Julie Andrews, who provides the voice of Fiona's mother in this film.
- During the first Fairy Godmother scene there is a reference to Marilyn Monroe's dress scene in The Seven Year Itch.
- Dancing furniture looks remarkably similar to those in Disney's Beauty and the Beast.
- The first visit to The Poison Apple (bar) by the king shows several characters:
- During the scene where Puss in Boots first encounters Shrek, he rips out of Shrek's shirt, in the same manner as aliens 'hatch' out of human bodies in the Alien franchise. This leads to a continuity error: in subsequent shots Shrek's shirt is unripped.
- In the same scene, Puss in Boots inscribes the letter "P" into a tree using three strokes of his sword, parodying the character of Zorro where the callsign of the hero Zorro is slashing the letter "Z" using three sword strokes. Incidentally, Antonio Banderas, the actor voicing Puss In Boots, played Zorro in the 1998 film, The Mask of Zorro.
- Two assistants turn into a clock and candle (like those in Beauty and the Beast) after Shrek dumps a vat of potion
- In the scene where Shrek, Donkey, and Puss in Boots are drinking in the tavern, Puss in Boots says "I hate Mondays", a line often used by Garfield the cat in Jim Davis's Garfield comic strip.
- The love potion that the Fairy Godmother gives King Harold to give to Fiona is labeled "IX", a reference to the 1959 pop hit Love Potion #9, by The Clovers.
- "Knights" spoof of Cops; reference to O.J. Simpson and his fleeing from the police with "We've got a white bronco heading east into the forest, requesting backup."
- Spoof of Mission: Impossible when Pinocchio is lowered down the well.
- The giant gingerbread man is a spoof of the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters. His name, Mongo, is named after Alex Karras's dim-witted strongman in Blazing Saddles. Also, the scene in which he first appears knocking down palm trees is similar to the T-Rex-invading-city scene in Jurassic Park 2. He also lets out a Godzilla roar when his gum drop button is shot off and tells the little Gingerbread Man to "Be good" in imitation of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
- Before singing "Holding Out for a Hero" at the ball, the Fairy Godmother changes her outfit to that of Jessica Rabbit from Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
- Puss in Boots sits in a chair and douses himself with water, just like Jennifer Beals did in Flashdance.
Places and names in Far Far Away
In order of appearance:
Far Far Away Idol Songs
At the end of the Shrek 2 DVD, Shrek, Fiona, and Pop Idol's Simon Cowell judge an Pop Idol-like contest called Far Far Away Idol. Here were the numbers:
- Donkey sings the Tramps' "Disco Inferno," with his girlfriend blowing fire
- Pinocchio sings Styx's "Mister Roboto"
- Doris, the Ugly Stepsister (voiced by Larry King) sings Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"
- The Big Bad Wolf and the Three Little Pigs sing Duran Duran's "Hungry Like The Wolf"
- Prince Charming sings Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy"
- The Three Blind Mice sing Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now"
- Gingerbread Man (also known as Gingy) sings The Archie's "Sugar Sugar"
- Captain Hook sings Blue Swede's "Hooked on a Feeling"
- Puss in Boots sings Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walking"
- Shrek and Fiona sing The Romantics' "What I Like About You"
If someone other than Shrek and Fiona, Donkey, or Puss in Boots wins, Simon Cowell sings Frank Sinatra's "My Way."
Other trivia
- In the UK, the parts of the Ugly Stepsister and the entertainment correspondent (originally voiced by Larry King and Joan Rivers, respectively) were re-dubbed by Jonathan Ross (among other things, the presenter of the BBC's Film show) and Kate Thornton. They are credited at the very end of the original credits.
- John Cleese and Julie Andrews recorded most of their dialogue in the same studio, at the same time, which is considered unusual for a production like this which usually records its voice actors separately.
- Joan Rivers' cameo marks 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.
- When Shrek attempts to crowdsurf but lands on the dog, the dog wets itself just before being squashed by Shrek
Soundtrack
The soundtrack for Shrek 2 was released in May 2004 in the US, to accompany the film. It reached the top 10 of the Billboard 200 and #1 on the soundtrack albums as well as reaching the top 40 of the Australian album charts. The lead single "Accidentally in Love" by the Counting Crows has reached the top 10 of the Billboard Adult Top 40 and the top 20 of the world soundtrack singles charts as of June 27, 2004. The soundtrack also features two versions of the 1980s hit by Bonnie Tyler "Holding out for a Hero".
Track Listing
- "Accidentally in Love" by Counting Crows
- "Holding out for a Hero" by Frou Frou
- "Changes" by Butterfly Boucher & David Bowie
- "As Lovers Go" by Dashboard Confessional
- "Funkytown" by Lipps Inc
- "I'm on my Way" by Rich Price
- "I Need Some Sleep" by Eels
- "Ever Fallen in Love" by Pete Yorn
- "Little Drop of Poison" by Tom Waits
- "You're So True" by Joseph Arthur
- "People Ain't No Good" by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
- "Fairy Godmother Song" by Jennifer Saunders
- "Livin' la Vida Loca" by Antonio Banderas and Eddie Murphy
- "Holding out for a Hero" by Jennifer Saunders
External links
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Shrek 2
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