Shrek 2

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

Shrek 2 scored the fourth largest three day opening weekend in US history, as well as the largest opening for an animated movie until 18 May 2007, when it was eclipsed by its sequel Shrek the Third. As of 2006, it is the 3rd highest box office grossing film of all time in the United States. Worldwide, it is the twenty seventh highest-grossing film of all time. It went on to be the most successful film in 2004. The associated soundtrack reached the top ten of the Billboard 200. It is also the seventh highest ticket selling animated film of all time ).

Tagline:

''In summer 2004, they're back for more.... ''

Plot
The film begins with Prince Charming riding to Dragon's Keep in an attempt to save Princess Fiona, while narrating her backstory from the previous film. However, on arrival, Charming finds out from the Big Bad Wolf that Fiona has already left on her honeymoon with Shrek. Shrek and Fiona are then shown on said honeymoon.

When they return to their home in the swamp, a Royal entourage appear and invite the newlyweds to attend a Royal Ball being held by Fiona's parents, taking place in the kingdom of "Far Far Away" (Fiona's home). Shrek, Fiona and Donkey set off to attend the ball.

On arrival at the Royal castle, Doves are released to honour the newlyweds, but once Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey step out of the onion carriage, the crowd and Fiona's parents are shocked by their appearance. Despite this, the couple are invited to attend dinner with the King and Queen.

During the meal, Fiona's father Harold gets involved in an argument with Shrek, which ends with Shrek telling Fiona that they are leaving Far Far Away. Upset, Fiona heads to her room and is crying on the balcony when The Fairy Godmother appears to her, giving her a business card. However, The Fairy Godmother also plots with King Harold to usurp Shrek so that her son Prince Charming can marry Fiona in Shrek's place. They secretly hire Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas), to kill Shrek on a hunting expedition that Harold suggests. Shrek agrees to the expedition in an attempt to bond with Fiona's parents.

The next morning, Shrek and Donkey are lost in the woods when Puss In Boots ambushes them. They are able to subdue the cat, who agrees to join them after Shrek decides not to take revenge on him. Shrek remembers the card Fairy Godmother gave him, and decides to enlist her help in winning over Fiona's parents. Shrek, Puss and Donkey use the card to travel to her Potion Factory. However, Fairy Godmother refuses to help Shrek on the grounds that "Ogres don't live Happily Ever After". Undeterred, the three friends sneak into the Potion Containment Room, where they steal a Happily Ever After potion.

Back in the woods, Shrek and Donkey drink the potion, but nothing happens. Shrek sniffs the potion and sneezes on a toadstool. Once it begins to rain, Shrek, Donkey and Puss head for a barn and stay there for the night, failing to notice that once the rain touches the toadstool, it turns into a rose. Inside the barn, Shrek and Donkey faint. Back in Far Far Away, Fiona is affected by the potion too and faints. The next morning, Shrek and Donkey wake up to realize they have changed. Shrek is a handsome human while Donkey is a noble white stallion. Shrek needs to find Fiona and kiss her before midnight to stay the way they are.

On returning to Far Far Away, Fairy Godmother tricks Shrek into thinking that Fiona loves Charming, while Fiona is led to believe that Charming is actually Shrek himself, in human form. Because she does not like this "New Shrek", Fairy Godmother gives Harold a potion which will cause Fiona to fall in love with the first man to kiss her (Charming). Harold is to slip this potion to his daughter in a cup of tea. Meanwhile Shrek and his friends have been arrested by The Royal Knights. However while watching the Royal Ball coverage on the Magic Mirror, Gingy, Pinocchio, the Three Little Pigs, the Three Blind Mice, and Big Bad Wolf see a trailer for a show named KNIGHTS (A parody of COPS), revealing Shrek's arrest. They head off to Far Far Away to help Shrek.

Meanwhile, King Harold slips the love potion into a cup of tea for Fiona. After he finds her up in the castle, watching the ball, she says she wants her old Shrek back. She then takes a cup of tea. Harold encourages her to go to the ball, telling her that "People change for the ones they love", and after Fiona drinks her tea she goes to the ball.

Back in the dungeon of a far away jail, the fairy tale creatures save Shrek, Donkey, and Puss and create a giant gingerbread man named Mongo with help from the Muffin Man. They use the giant cookie to break into the ball. Fiona and Charming begin to dance at the ball, while Mongo begins to pull down the drawbridge, but the guards dump hot milk on him and his arms fall off. Shrek manages to get through the cracks of the drawbridge and lowers it. Shrek and Donkey charge into the ballroom and the fairy tale creatures begin to fight Fairy Godmother. Fiona realizes it's not Shrek she's dancing with. Fairy Godmother tells Charming to kiss Fiona to activate the potion. But once Charming is done kissing her, she knocks him out with a head butt, revealing that Harold gave her the wrong tea on purpose, after feeling guilty about his actions. Shrek and Fiona embrace one another, but Prince Charming gets the wand and tosses it to the Fairy Godmother and she proceeds to turn on Shrek, telling once again that ogres don't live happily ever after. She then sends a blast of magic out to kill Shrek. Harold uses his armor to deflect the spell which bounces off and hits her. Fairy Godmother disappears, with only her glasses and wand left. Harold is back to his true form, a frog. Shrek and Fiona are about to kiss, but Fiona tells Shrek she wants to live happily ever after, with the ogre she married. Shrek, Fiona and Donkey return to their true forms. Harold apologizes to Shrek and tells him that he only wanted Fiona to be happy. He gives the couple his blessing and goes to leave, however Queen Lillian tells him that she still loves him, even though he's a frog. That night, the gang dance into the night, having a big party.

After the party, Donkey is all alone, singing a song. Puss and two girls are about to head off to the "Kitt Katt Klub" when Dragon comes and tells Donkey that she has had babies. Donkey and Dragon are now proud parents of a litter of mutant dronkeys - donkey/dragon hybrids.

Special guest stars

 * Simon Cowell as himself (in the extended DVD version only)
 * Joan Rivers as herself (in the US version)
 * Kate Thornton as herself (in the UK version only)

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.

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 last Shrek film to be presented in its original ratio of 1.85:1 on the Region 1 anamorphic widescreen DVD.

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 simultaneously on the Nine Network and WIN Television at 8:30PM AEST (Australian Eastern Standard Time).
 * 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

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

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 domestically (US and Canada), and $478,612,511 in foreign markets, making a total of $919.8 million worldwide. This puts the movie at third on the all-time domestic box-office list and ninth 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 ) 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 or better than its predecessor. 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. Rotten Tomatoes gave Shrek 2 an approval rating of 89%, the same as the original.

Online Far Far Away Idol
Doris, the Ugly Stepsister won the online Far Far Away Idol.

DVD Menu Selection

 * Play Movie - Donkey
 * Scene Index - Fairy Godmother
 * Special Features - Puss in Boots
 * Audio Options - Prince Charming
 * Subtitles - King Harold
 * DreamWorks Kids - Gingy
 * Help - Queen Lillian
 * Far Far Away Idol - Fiona
 * New from DreamWorks Animation - Shrek

Trivia

 * It can be found on GBA Video.
 * It is paired with Shark Tale.