Shrek 2 is a 2004 American animated fantasy comedy film loosely based on the 1990 children's picture book Shrek! by William Steig. Directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, and Conrad Vernon from a screenplay by Adamson, Joe Stillman, and the writing team of J. David Stem and David N. Weiss, it is the sequel to Shrek (2001) and the second installment in the Shrek film series. The film stars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz, who reprise their respective voice roles of Shrek, Donkey, and Princess Fiona. They are joined by new characters voiced by Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Rupert Everett, and Jennifer Saunders. Shrek 2 takes place following the events of the first film, with Shrek and Donkey meeting Fiona's parents as the zealous Fairy Godmother, who wants Fiona to marry her son Prince Charming, plots to destroy Shrek and Fiona's marriage. Shrek and Donkey team up with a sword-wielding cat named Puss in Boots to foil her plans.
Development began in 2001, and following disagreements with producers, the first film's screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio were replaced with Adamson. The story was inspired by Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), and new animation tools were utilized to improve the visual appearance of each character, particularly Puss in Boots. The lead actors also received a significant bump in salary to $10 million, which at the time was among the highest contracts in their respective careers. Like its predecessor, Shrek 2 also parodies other films based on fairy tales and features references to American popular culture. The film is dedicated to the memory of Shrek creator William Steig, who died on October 3, 2003, seven months before the film was released.
Shrek 2 premiered at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival on May 15, 2004, where it competed for the Palme d'Or, and was released in theaters on May 19, by DreamWorks Pictures. Like its predecessor, it received positive reviews from critics and is considered by many to be one of the best sequel films ever made. The film grossed $933.8 million worldwide, and scored the second-largest three-day opening weekend in United States history and the largest opening for an animated film at the time of its release. It went on to become the highest-grossing film of 2004 and the fourth-highest-grossing film overall at the time of its release. Shrek 2 is also DreamWorks Animation's highest-grossing film to date and the highest-grossing film released by DreamWorks Pictures, and it held the title of being the highest-grossing animated film of all time worldwide until Pixar Animation Studios' Toy Story 3 surpassed it in 2010. This pay increase represented a significant rise from the $350,000 salary that each of the three were paid for the first film.
Director Andrew Adamson returned to direct Shrek 2, after previously directing the first Shrek film. Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, the screenwriters and co-producers of the first film, insisted that the sequel would be a traditional fairytale, but after disagreements with the producers, they left the project and were replaced by Adamson. His writing for Shrek 2 was inspired by the 1967 comedy-drama film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, and was completed with the help of the film's co-writers Joe Stillman (one of the other writers from the first film), and screenwriting duo J. David Stem and David N. Weiss, and co-directors, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon, the latter two of whom spent most of the film's production duration in Northern California while Adamson spent most of his time with the film's voice actors in Glendale, California.
DreamWorks began production of Shrek 2 in 2001, before the first Shrek film was completed. In particular, Puss in Boots necessitated development of a whole new set of film production tools to handle the appearance of his fur, belt, and hat plume; Puss' fur especially required an upgrade to the fur shader. All of the character setup was completed in the first three years of production. Shrek 2 also appears much darker in terms of lighting when compared to the original film. Designers reportedly took inspiration from 19th century French illustrator and engraver Gustav Doré to improve the film's richness of detail and setting. According to production designer Guillaume Aretos, "There are a lot of medieval paintings and illustrations [and] my own influences, which are classical paintings from the 15th and 16th centuries...The design of Shrek is always a twist on reality anyway, so we tried to [pack] as much detail and interest as we could in the imagery."
Casting
Antonio Banderas signed on to the film as the voice of Puss in Boots. Banderas said that his initial motivation to voice Puss was that he enjoyed the first Shrek film. According to the actor, he was chosen for the role of Puss because of his Spanish accent. According to Banderas, he was on Broadway for the musical Nine when Katzenberg approached him about taking the role. The Shrek 2 filmmakers showed him "a lot of paintings of the character", and he realized how "little" Puss was. Banderas said that he had developed a strategy for playing Puss after accepting the role, which had determined Puss's personality.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack for Shrek 2 was composed solely by Harry Gregson-Williams, who returned after composing the score for the first Shrek film, marking it as his fifth film with DreamWorks Animation. It also features two versions of the 1980s Bonnie Tyler hit "Holding Out for a Hero".
Release
In April 2004, the film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.
Shrek 2 was originally scheduled for release on June 18, 2004. The film was then moved forward from June 18, 2004, to May 21, 2004; however, due to "fan demand", it was moved up two days from May 21, 2004, to May 19, 2004. A day before the film went to theaters, the first five minutes were shown on Nickelodeon's U-Pick Live.
Playing in 4,163 theaters over its first weekend in the United States, Shrek 2 was the first film with over 4,000 theaters in overall count, surpassing X2 for having the widest release of any film. The film would hold the record for having the biggest number of theaters for three years until 2007 when Spider-Man 3 took it. Over 3,700 theaters was its count for an opening day.
The film was theatrically re-released in the United States for one week beginning on April 12, 2024, in celebration of its twentieth anniversary.
Home media
Shrek 2 was released on VHS and DVD on November 5, 2004 and on Game Boy Advance Video on November 17, 2005. It became one of the best-selling DVD releases of all time with over 37 million copies being sold grossing $458 million. However, 5 million more copies were printed than sold, causing DreamWorks to miss their forecasted first quarter earnings that year by 25%.
In February 2006, Paramount Pictures acquired the rights to all live-action films DreamWorks had released between 1997 and 2005, following Viacom's $1.6 billion acquisition of the company's live-action film assets and television assets. Additionally, Paramount signed a six-year distribution agreement for past and future DreamWorks Animation films, with DreamWorks Animation having spun off into a separate company from the live-action division in 2004. On August 16, 2010, Paramount Home Entertainment released a 10 film box set titled the "DreamWorks Animation Ultimate Box Set", which included Shrek, Shrek 2, Shrek the Third and 7 other DreamWorks Animation films. A 3D-converted version of the film was released exclusively with select Samsung television sets on Blu-ray on December 1, 2010, along with the other three films of the series. A non-3D version was released on December 7, 2010, as part of the Shrek: The Whole Story box set, and a stand-alone Blu-ray/DVD combo pack was released individually on August 30, 2011, along with the other two films of the series. A stand-alone 3D Blu-ray version of the film was released on November 1, 2011. The DVD release features two full-length commentary tracks, one by co-directors Conrad Vernon and Kelly Asbury, and a second by producer Aron Warner and editor Michael Andrews.
On December 31, 2012, DreamWorks Animation's distribution agreement with Paramount officially ended, Shrek 2 was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray on November 22, 2022, by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.
Far Far Away Idol
Far Far Away Idol is a special feature on the DVD and VHS release based on American Idol and guest starring Simon Cowell. Taking place right after Shrek 2 ends, the short features characters from Shrek compete in a sing-off while being judged by Shrek, Fiona, and Cowell.
Reception
Box office
The film opened at No. 1 with a Friday-to-Sunday total of $108 million, and $129 million since its Wednesday launch, from a then-record 4,163 theaters, for an average of $25,952 per theater over the weekend. At the time Shrek 2s Friday-to-Sunday total was the second-highest opening weekend, only trailing Spider-Mans $114.8 million. In addition, Saturday alone managed to obtain $44.8 million, making it the highest single-day gross at the time, beating Spider-Mans first Saturday gross of $43.6 million.
The film grossed $439.8 million domestically (US and Canada) and $494 million in foreign markets for a total of $933.8 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of both 2004 and in its franchise. This also puts the film at 14th on the all-time domestic box office list and 42nd on the worldwide box office list. The film sold an estimated 71,050,900 tickets in the US.
The film also took away the highest worldwide gross made by an animated feature, which was before held by Finding Nemo (2003), although the latter still had a higher overseas-only gross. With DVD sales and Shrek 2 merchandise estimated to total almost $800 million, the film (which was produced with a budget of $150 million) is DreamWorks' most profitable film to date.
Shrek 2 remained the highest-grossing animated film worldwide until the release of Toy Story 3 (2010), and held the record for the highest-grossing animated film at the North American box office until the release of Finding Dory (2016) as well as the highest-grossing non-Disney animated film at this box office until the release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie in 2023. It also remained the highest-grossing non-Disney animated film worldwide until it was surpassed by Despicable Me 2 in 2013.
Critical response
Shrek 2 received positive reviews from critics. The film has an approval rating of based on professional reviews on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of . Its critical consensus reads, "It may not be as fresh as the original, but topical humor and colorful secondary characters make Shrek 2 a winner in its own right." Metacritic (which uses a weighted average) assigned Shrek 2 a score of 75 out of 100 based on 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.
Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars, saying it is "bright, lively, and entertaining", and Robert Denerstein of Denver Rocky Mountain News called it "sharply funny". James Kendrick of QNetwork praised the plot, calling it "familiar, but funny". J. R. Jones of the Chicago Reader called it "unassailable family entertainment", and similar to the first film. Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post called it "better and funnier than the original".
Though he wrote that it is not as good as the first film, Kevin Lally of Film Journal International described it as "inventive and often very funny". Peter Rainer of New York magazine, however, stated the film "manages to undo much of what made its predecessor such a computer-generated joy ride."
Sean Naughton of Complex described it as "one of the best-animated sequels ever".
Accolades
Shrek 2 was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. It won five awards at the 31st People's Choice Awards: Favorite Animated Movie, Favorite Animated Movie Star for "Donkey" (Eddie Murphy), Favorite Movie Comedy, and Favorite Movie Villain for "Fairy Godmother" (Jennifer Saunders), and Favorite Sequel. It also won a Teen Choice Award in the category of Choice Award Choice Movie – Comedy. The film was nominated at the 3rd Visual Effects Society Awards in the category of "Outstanding Performance by an Animated Character in an Animated Motion Picture."
Along with Shark Tale, the film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, but lost to The Incredibles. One of the film's songs, "Accidentally in Love" received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.
In 2008, the American Film Institute nominated the film for its Top 10 Animation Films list.
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Awards
|-
! Award
! Category
! Name
! Outcome
|-
| rowspan=2|Academy Awards
| Best Animated Feature
| Andrew Adamson
|
|-
| Best Original Song
| "Accidentally in Love"
|
|-
|style="border-top:10px black" rowspan=5| Annie Awards
| Best Animated Feature
| Andrew Adamson
|
|-
| Music in an Animated Feature Production
| Harry Gregson-Williams
|
|-
| Best Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production
| Conrad Vernon
|
|-
| Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production
| Antonio Banderas
|
|-
| Best Writing in an Animated Feature Production
| Andrew Adamson, Joe Stillman, J. David Stem, and David N. Weiss
|
|-
||Awards Circuit Community Awards
| Best Animated Feature Film
|
|
|-
|rowspan="2"| BMI Film & TV Awards
| BMI Film Music Award
| Harry Gregson-Williams
|
|-
| Most Performed Song from a Film
| "Accidentally In Love"
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| Broadcast Film Critics Association Award
| Best Animated Feature
|
|
|-
| Best Song
| "Accidentally In Love"
|
|-
|| Cannes Film Festival
| Palme d'Or
| Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury & Conrad Vernon
|
|-
||Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association
| Best Animated Film
|
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|Gold Derby Awards
| Best Animated Feature
|
|
|-
| Best Original Song
| Counting Crows
|
|-
| rowspan="3"|Golden Schmoes Awards
| Most Overrated Movie of the Year
|
|
|-
| Best Animated Movie of the Year
|
|
|-
| Coolest Character of the Year (for "Puss in Boots")
|
|
|-
||Golden Trailer Awards
| Best Animation/Family (for "Ant Farm, The")
|
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|Grammy Awards
| Best Compilation Soundtrack Album
| Andrew Adamson, Christopher Douridas & Michael Ostin
|
|-
| Best Song
| David Bryson, Adam Duritz, David Immerglück, Matthew Malley & Dan Vickrey for "Accidentally In Love"
|
|-
||Hollywood Film Awards
| Animation of the Year
| Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury & Conrad Vernon
|
|-
||International Film Music Critics Association
| Best Original Score for a Comedy Film
| Harry Gregson-Williams
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| International Online Cinema Awards
| Best Animated Feature
| Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury & Conrad Vernon
|
|-
| Best Original Song
| "Accidentally In Love"
|
|-
||Irish Film & Television Academy
| Best International Actress
| Cameron Diaz
|
|-
||Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists
| Best Foreign Director
| Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury & Conrad Vernon
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|Italian Online Movie Awards
| Best Animated Feature Film
|
|
|-
| Best Original Song
| "Accidentally in Love"
|
|-
||Motion Picture Sound Editors
| Best Sound Editing in Feature Film – Animated
| Randy Thom, Dennis Leonard, Jonathan Null, Marilyn McCoppen, David C. Hughes, Scott Guitteau, J.R. Grubbs Ewa Sztompke, Larry Oatfield, Andre Fenley & Mark Jan Wlodarkiewicz
|
|-
|MTV Movie & TV Awards
| Best Comedic Performance
| Antonio Banderas
|
|-
||MTV Movie Awards, Mexico
| Favorite Voice in an Animated Film
| Eugenio Derbez as the voice of Donkey in Latin America
|
|-
| rowspan="5" |Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
| Favorite Movie
|
|
|-
|Favorite Animated Film
|
|
|-
|Favorite Voice From An Animated Movie
| Mike Myers
|
|-
|Favorite Voice From An Animated Movie
| Eddie Murphy
|
|-
|Favorite Voice From An Animated Movie
| Cameron Diaz
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|Online Film & Television Association
| Best Animated Picture
| Aron Warner, David Lipman & John H. Williams
|
|-
| Best Music, Original Song
| Adam Duritz, Charles Gillingham, Jim Bogios, David Immerglück, Matthew Malley, David Bryson & Daniel Vickers (for "Accidentally in Love")
|
|-
||Online Film Critics Society
| Best Animated Film
|
|
|-
|rowspan="6"|People's Choice Awards
| Favorite Movie Comedy
|
|
|-
| Favorite Sequel
|
|
|-
| Favorite Animated Movie
|
|
|-
| Favorite Animated Movie Star
| Eddie Murphy
|
|-
| Favorite Movie Villain
| Jennifer Saunders
|
|-
| Favorite Motion Picture
|
|
|-
||Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards
| Best Original Song
| "Accidentally in Love"
|
|-
||Russian National Movie Awards
| Best Blockbuster Movie
|
|
|-
||Satellite Awards
| Best Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media
| Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, and Conrad Vernon
|
|-
||Teen Choice Awards
| Choice Movie: Animated/Computer Generated
|
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |Teen Choice Awards
| Choice Movie – Comedy
|
|
|-
| Choice Movie of the Summer
|
|
|-
||Visual Effects Society
| Outstanding Performance by an Animated Character in an Animated Motion Picture
| Antonio Banderas<br />Raman Hui
|
|-
|rowspan="3"|World Soundtrack Awards
| Soundtrack Composer of the Year
| Harry Gregson-Williams
|
|-
| Best Original Soundtrack of the Year
| Harry Gregson-Williams
|
|-
| Best Original Song Written for Film
| Counting Crows
|
|-
||Young Artist Awards
| Best Family Feature Film – Animation
|
|
|}
Other media
Video games
- Shrek 2 (2004)
- Shrek 2 Activity Center: Twisted Fairy Tale Fun (2004)
- Shrek 2: Beg for Mercy (2004)
- Shrek SuperSlam (2005)
- Shrek Smash n' Crash Racing (2006)
Novels
Shrek 2: The Movie Storybook was published by Scholastic in 2004. It was written by Tom Mason and Dan Danko and illustrated by Michael Koelsch.
Sequels and spin-offs
Shrek 2 was followed by two sequels; Shrek the Third was released on May 18, 2007, while Shrek Forever After was released on May 21, 2010. A fifth film is in development, releasing on June 30, 2027.
A spin-off film Puss in Boots was released on October 28, 2011, and focuses on the character of Puss in Boots, who was introduced in this film. On November 6, 2018, it was reported by Variety that Chris Meledandri had been tasked to reboot both Shrek and Puss in Boots, with the original cast potentially returning. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was released on December 21, 2022. It is a sequel rather than a reboot.
Notes
References
External links
- at DreamWorks