TV Times

TV Times

The Green Ogre returns
By Harinda Vidanage
Shrek the proud winner of an Oscar for the category of Best Animated feature, opened up in 2001 to worldwide box office success and critical acclaim. The award was the first ever presented introduced as a new category at the academy awards.

The computer-animated comedy “Shrek” returns with its sequel “Shrek 2” this time and with a new variety of characters. The story line goes after battling a fire-breathing dragon and the evil Lord Farquaad to win the hand of Princess Fiona, Shrek now faces his greatest challenge the first visit to his in-laws. Shrek and Princess Fiona return from their honeymoon to an invitation to visit Fiona’s parents, the king and queen of the Kingdom of Far Far Away.

With Donkey along for the ride, the newly weds set off. All of the citizens of Far Far Away turn out to greet their returning Princess, and her parents joyfully anticipate the homecoming of their daughter and her new Prince.

As every one can quite recall in the final moments of the movie Shrek which ended with Beautiful Princess Fiona’s transformation. Thus the in laws have to take it from there making them wander how much their little girl has changed. Also they are expecting a charming prince to be the valiant saviour of the Princess but who returns with her is too much for them.

Director Kelly Asbury remarks, “‘Shrek 2’ explores what happens when the natural balance of fairy tales is disrupted. Fiona’s parents locked her in a tower expecting a handsome prince to rescue her and break the curse that turned her into an ogre when the sun went down.

New fairy tales opened the door to new characters, but “Shrek 2” could only have come about with the return of the central characters Shrek, Donkey and Princess Fiona, and, more importantly, original cast members Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz to voice them.

“Shrek 2” brings back the voices of Mike Myers as Shrek, Eddie Murphy as Donkey and Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona. Joining the all-star voice cast are: Academy Award winner Julie Andrews (“Mary Poppins”) and Oscar nominee John Cleese (“A Fish Called Wanda”) as Fiona’s royal parents, Queen Lillian and King Harold; Antonio Banderas (“Spy Kids”) as Puss In Boots; Rupert Everett (“My Best Friend’s Wedding”) as Prince Charming; and Jennifer Saunders (“Absolutely Fabulous”) as the Fairy Godmother.

This time the Donkey gets some unwelcome competition for the role of “annoying talking animal” in Shrek’s life from that fashionable feline, Puss In Boots. The story of Puss In Boots depicts him as a clever and fearless ogre killer, which would make him a formidable adversary for Shrek. But fate turns the tables on Puss and he decides to join forces with Shrek and a very reluctant Donkey.

Making his animation debut, Antonio Banderas leapt at the chance to play Puss In Boots, or, as Banderas refers to him, “El Gato con Botas in Spanish. He is a character I have known since I was maybe three, but I never thought I would have the chance to play him. It was also great fun to have a little laugh at the expense of my Zorro character.”

The movie spoofs Hollywood as a whole, starting with the entrance of Far Far Away, which has a Hollywood-like sign in the hills, and buildings that look distinctly like those in Beverly Hills. In fact, some of the exact same shops and buildings that Julia Roberts strolled past in her famous “Pretty Woman” shopping scene are depicted.

Eddie Murphy is the most commercially successful African-American actor in the history of the motion picture business, and is one of the industry’s top-five box-office performers overall. He makes a remarkable contribution in both movies as the Donkey voice, whose non-stop talking nearly drove Shrek to distraction in the award-winning animated hit “Shrek.”

Murphy won an Annie Award and earned BAFTA and MTV Movie Award nominations for his performance in the first “Shrek.” After having a successful stint in the Cannes film festival and winning a round of critical applause Shrek 2 will be a treat for the fans of animation entertainment.

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