Shrek 2 DVD Review:

After a whirlwind honeymoon, Shrek (Myers) and Princess Fiona (Diaz) return to the swamp to start living happily ever after. Marriage bliss is interrupted by an invitation for the couple to dine with Fiona’s parents, the King (Cleese) and Queen (Andrews) of Far, Far Away. Shrek reluctantly agrees to go but warns Fiona that they might be pleased to meet him, as he doesn’t really live up to Prince Charming expectations. As he, Fiona and Donkey (Murphy) arrive in Far, Far Away, he couldn’t have been more right.

The adventures of Shrek, Donkey and Princess Fiona continue as DreamWorks take another hilarious swipe at the Fairytale universe.

Picking up from where the first movie left off, Shrek 2 is more of a continuation of a longer story than a rehash sequel and this is the movie’s biggest asset. The anticipation and curiosity is already there as you clamber to find out what happens next to the beloved trio and to the credit of the screenwriters they take you on a very obvious but extremely amusing path by asking, “What will Fiona’s parents think of Shrek?”

From then on we get to meet five new characters that will become instant favourites within this fairytale land. Who better to voice the King and Queen of Far, Far Away than John Cleese and Julie Andrews? These quintessential British actors convey the presence of royalty just through the dulcet tones of their voices, bringing a regal grandeur to the characters. This all goes out of the window however, when the King meets Shrek and the verbal confrontation begins with only the Queen offering any sign of decorum. Only John Cleese could rant and argue in this way but Mike Myers rises to the challenge.

The villains of the piece step to the very small mark left by Lord Farquaad in the original. Jennifer Saunders and Rupert Everett voice the Fairy Godmother and her son Prince Charming, Fiona’s real intended knight in shining armour, brilliantly. The Fairy Godmother is supposed to be woman that makes the happily ever after come true but she just uses that power to make her own diabolical plans reach fruition. Jennifer Saunders breathes life into this self-serving character with such relish, even getting to sing during a very amusing parody of every fairy godmother ever to grace the fairy tale world. While Prince Charming might be slightly underused, Rupert Everett makes the most of the character’s screen time by making him the upper class toff you’d expect him to be. A man consumed by the love of himself and his ascension to the throne, Charming is the puppet of the Fairy Godmother and her foil to destroy the marriage of Shrek and Fiona.

Stealing the show and by far the best of the new characters is the purrfect Puss In Boots. Voiced brilliantly by Antonio Banderas, the character is, ironically, Zorro in cat’s clothing, who turns from a life as an assassin to a fighter for good and a damm good singer to boot. The confrontations between Donkey and him are hilarious, as the two scrambles to be Shrek annoying talking animal sidekick.

As well as a plethora of new characters it is easy to forget to three leading lights from the original film. Mike Myers voices the self-conscious ogre with such tenderness that you can’t help but be drawn to the character. He appeals to anyone who has ever struggled to fit in and gives hope that there is someone for everyone, whatever you look like. Cameron Diaz has abit more fun with Fiona this time around as the character embraces her ogre side for the first half of the movie but also feels the pressure of her civic duty. Eddie Murphy returns to his best role and proves again that the actor should stick to voice roles and give up his sad and repetitive onscreen persona. Donkey is again on top comedic form but when you throw a magic potion and Puss In Boots into the mix you have a cocktail for comedy.

The magicians at PDI DreamWorks have done it again and raised the bar in the animation stakes. Shrek’s fairytale world and the colourful characters that inhabit it are brilliantly brought to life with astounding detail. This shows what computer animation can do by creating some of the best human and fairytale character ever to the grace screen.

Beautiful animation and astonishing vocal performances would be nothing without an enthralling story. Incorporating digs at everything from modern pop culture (which could inadvertently date the movie) to Disney and the entire fairytale genre, Shrek 2 has an underlying story of accepting who you are that will resonate with everyone who watches it. This is what gives these movies their charm because if you strip away all the jokes and impressive visuals you have a story and a set of characters that you really care about.

Shrek 2 is how a sequel should be made, as it is a continuation of a larger story. With brilliant characters, amazing visuals and a theme that you can’t help but be drawn into, this is a movie that you will simply adore, as it takes you to a far away land where you can live happily ever after.

Star Rating = * * * * *

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen with a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround soundtrack, this is an extremely good transfer. Computer Generated movies actually look better on DVD than they do on the big screen as this is a direct digital transfer. The radiant splendour of Shrek’s fantasy world is beautifully brought to life with all the lush colours coming to bear. The sound is also extremely good, especially during the action sequences and song and dance numbers. There is also a strong emphasis on dialogue, which you want with a comedy and these celebrity vocal performances.

BONUS FEATURES

Disc 1

Commentary by directors Kelly Asbury and Conrad Veron
This chatty and informative commentary track by two of the three directors of the movie covers most aspects of the films production. They reveal what it was like for three of them to be directing the movie in two different cities, the technical differences between the first and second films and working with PDI: DreamWorks. The pair discuss the various writes of the script and been inspired by the vocal performances of the extremely talent cast. This is good commentary from two men who really know the most about the movie and are pleased with their contribution to it, especially Conrad Veron who did the voice of the Gingerbread Man.

Commentary by producer Aron Warner and editor Mike Andrews
This is a detailed and very informative commentary track from the two collaborators. The pair reveals the many movie references and parodies scattered throughout the film and divulge where scenes were removed, added to or re-jigged. They also discuss the aspects of the story that went through many changes, including the extensive storyboarding done by the directors. This is another really good and chatty commentary track that takes you behind the scene of the movie.

Far Far Away Idol (5.13 mins)

A special version of the hit Idol reality shows but this time the contestants are all your favourite characters from the movie. Listen to songs by Shrek and Fiona, Donkey, Puss in Boots, Prince Charming, the Wolf, the Gingerbread Man and many more as they all come under the judgemental eye of Simon Cowell. This is a great extra feature that allows you to choose the winner and then see them been crowned Far Far Away Idol.

The Tech of Shrek 2 (6.32 mins)

Writer/director Andrew Adamson, visual effect supervisor Ken Bielenberg, co-director Kelly Asbury, producer Aron Warner, executive producer Jeffrey Katzenberg, producer David Lipman, co-director Conrad Vernon, production designer Guillaume Aretos, character designer Tom Hester, chief technical officer Ed Leonard, costume designer Isis Mussenden, art designer Steve Pilcher and star Mike Myers talk about the improved technology used to bring Shrek 2 to the silver screen. They reveal how the characters and settings were developed including the look, hair and costumes for each of the characters and the environment in which they live.

Meet the Cast (10.04 mins)

Directors Andrew Adamson, Conrad Vernon and Kelly Asbury and stars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Antonio Banderas, Jennifer Saunders and Robert Everett take you behind the scenes of the recording of the vocal performances for Shrek 2.

Meet Puss in Boots (4.04 mins)

Director Andrew Adamson and stars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and Antonio Banderas talk about introducing a new main character into the Shrek family. The reveal the rivalry between Donkey and Puss and Antonio Banderas talks about the character and what he loves about the role.

The Music of Shrek 2 (4.56 mins)

Director Andrew Adamson, music supervisor Douglas Douridas, singer/songwriter Adam Duriz (Counting Crows), singer/songwriter David Bowie, composer Harry Gregson-Williams, singer/songwriter E (The Eels), singer/songwriter Pete Yorn and stars Jennifer Saunders and Antonio Banderas talk about their contributions to the Shrek 2 sound track.

Technical Goofs (3.19 mins)

Making a movie using computer graphic isn’t as simple as you might think and his mini-featurette shows you how a computer can really get it wrong. Highlights include a fuzzy Puss, Shrek bouncing head and Fiona with really long arms.

DreamWorks Kids

Fiona’s Jukebox
Listen to and watch your favourite thirteen songs from the movie including Accidentally in Love, Funky town, Fairy Godmother’s Song and many more.

Sing-a-long with Fairy Godmother

Watch Fairy Godmother’s song with subtitles so you can sing-a-long.

Music Video

Watch the music video for Accidentally in Love by the Counting Crows.

Favourite Scenes
Skip to your favourite scenes that highlight Donkey, Shrek, Fiona, Puss in Boots and some laugh out loud moments.

Gingy’s House of Fun
Play interactive games with Gingy like ‘Find Puss in Boots’ and ‘Save Fiona’. You can also look at an interactive map of Far Far Away, Weblinks and Printable images from the movie.

Previews
Trailer for Shark Tale, Madagascar, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Cat in the Hat and Thunderbirds

Disc 2

Puss in Boots Music Video (2.19 mins)

Watch the full video for “These boots were made of walking” sung by Antonio Banderas for Far Far Away Idol. The video includes new animated footage of Puss and Antonio singing the song.

Learn how to Burp with Shrek and Fiona
Have you ever wondered what it would sound like if you burped the words ‘Hello’, ‘I love you’, ‘Goodbye’, ‘Goodnight’, ‘Yes’ and ‘No’, then here is your chance. But what would they sound like if you burped them in French, German, Italian or Spanish?

Learn to Draw (15.45 mins)

A step-by-step guide showing you how to draw Donkey, Puss in Boots, Fiona, Gingy and Shrek

The Making of Far Far Away Idol (7.22 mins)

Far Far Away Idol director Simon J. Smith, music producer Matt Mahaffey and vocal stars Antonio Banderas, Eddie Murphy, Larry King (US Ugly Sister), Cody Cameron (Pinocchio), Aron Warner (Wolf) and Simon Cowell take you behind the scenes of the making of Far Far Away Idol.

Shrek 2 Around the World (17.42 mins)

Shrek 2 was released in 33 different languages for its worldwide release and each country had their own homegrown superstar vocal cast to provide voices for all your favourite characters. This featurette introduces us to the international talent brought together for each language by DreamWorks and the Shrek 2 team. Chang Shao-Han (Fiona – Taiwan), Bussunda (Shrek – Brazil), Eugenio Derbez (Donkey – Mexico), Masutoshi Hamada (Shrek – Japan), Alain Charbat (Shrek – France), Esther Schwiens (Fiona – Germany) and many others talk about bringing these famous characters to life for their native countries.

Storyboard to Screen (17.12 mins)

Watch the animated storyboard for ‘The Dinner Scene’ and ‘Puss in Boots in the Forest’ and then compare them to the finished scene.

OVERALL

DreamWorks have done a great job with this DVD transfer. While the movie is classed as family entertainment, the DVD extras are not just focused towards the younger viewer. The commentary tracks and some of the featurettes are made with the film enthusiast in mind and make the DVD package that more impressive. The extras on the second disc are not that great however and don’t really constitute the extra expense as most things are covered on the first disc. This is still a very good package however that will please Shrek fans of all ages.

DVD Star Rating = * * * *

Jamie Kelwick

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