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Shrek 2

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This article is about the featured computer-animated film. For the video game, see Shrek 2 (video game).
Shrek 2
File:Shrek 2 Poster.png
Movie poster for Shrek 2
Directed byAndrew Adamson
Kelly Asbury
Conrad Vernon
Written byScreenplay:
Andrew Adamson
Joe Stillman
J. David Stem
David N. Weiss
Story:
Andrew Adamson
Book:
William Steig
StarringMike Myers
Eddie Murphy
Cameron Diaz
Antonio Banderas
Julie Andrews
John Cleese
Rupert Everett
Jennifer Saunders
Edited byMichael Andrews
Sim Evan-Jones
Music byHarry Gregson-Williams
Distributed byUSA
DreamWorks SKG (2004-present) Paramount Pictures (2006-present)
Non-USA Theatrical
United International Pictures
Worldwide DVD/Video
Universal Pictures (2004-2006)/ Paramount Pictures (2006-present)
Release date
May 19, 2004
Running time
93 minutes
LanguageEnglish
BudgetOverall
$125 million USD
Production
$75 million USD
Marketing
$50 million USD
Box officeDomestic
$441,226,247
Worldwide
$919,838,758[1]

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

Shrek 2 scored the fourth largest three day opening weekend in US history,[2] as well as the largest opening for an animated movie until 18 May 2007, when it was eclipsed by its sequel Shrek the Third.[3] As of 2008, it is the 10th highest-grossing film of all time.[4] It went on to be the most successful film in 2004.[4] The associated soundtrack reached the top ten of the Billboard 200. It is also the seventh highest ticket selling animated film of all time[5]. It is, as well, the highest-grossing fully-animated movie of all time[6].

This second movie was shown on the Shrek 2/The Ballad of Little Joe DVD edition.

Plot

Shrek (Mike Myers) and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) return from their honeymoon to find they have been invited by Fiona's parents to a royal ball to celebrate their marriage, an event Shrek is reluctant to participate in. Fiona talks him into it, and along with Donkey (Eddie Murphy), they travel to the kingdom of Far Far Away. They meet Fiona's parents, King Harold and Queen Lillian (John Cleese and Julie Andrews), the former of which is repulsed by Shrek being an ogre. At a shared meal, Shrek and Harold get into a heated argument over how Shrek and Fiona will raise their family, and Fiona, disgusted at Shrek's behavior, locks herself away in her room that evening. Shrek worries that he has lost his true love, particularly after finding her childhood diary and reading that she was once infatuated with Prince Charming (Rupert Everett).

As everyone goes their separate ways, Harold is accosted by the Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders) and Charming, her son. They reprimand Harold for breaking an old promise that Charming would be able to marry Fiona, and demand that he find a way to get rid of Shrek. Harold arranges for Shrek and Donkey to join him on a fictitious hunting trip, which really is a trap to lure the two into the hands of an assassin, Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas). However, Puss is unable to defeat Shrek and, revealing that he was paid by Harold, asks to come along as a way to make amends. The three sneak into the Fairy Godmother's potion factory and steal a "Happily Ever After" potion that Shrek believes will restore Fiona's love for him.

Shrek and Donkey both drink the potion and fall into a deep sleep, awakening the next morning to discover its effects: Shrek is now a handsome man, while Donkey has turned into a white stallion. In order to make the change permanent, Shrek must kiss Fiona by midnight. He, Donkey, and Puss return to the castle to discover that the potion has also transformed Fiona back into her former, human self. However, the Fairy Godmother, having learned of the potion's theft, intercepts Shrek and sends Charming to pose as him and win her love. At the Fairy Godmother's urging, Shrek leaves the castle, believing that the best way to make Fiona happy is to let her go.

To ensure that Fiona falls in love with Charming, the Fairy Godmother gives Harold a love potion to put into Fiona's tea. This exchange is overheard by Shrek, Donkey, and Puss, who are soon arrested by the royal guards and thrown into a dungeon. While the royal ball begins, several of Shrek's friends band together to free the trio and create a gigantic gingerbread man, which breaks through the castle's defenses so Shrek can stop Charming from kissing Fiona. He is too late to stop them; instead of falling in love with Charming, though, Fiona knocks him out with a headbutt. Harold reveals that he never gave Fiona the love potion, whereupon the Fairy Godmother attacks Shrek. In the ensuing melee, a spell from her wand rebounds off Harold's armor and disintegrates her; it also returns Harold to his true form, that of the Frog Prince. He had used the Happily Ever After potion years ago in order to marry Lillian, but she tells him that she loves him regardless of his appearance.

As the clock strikes midnight, Shrek and Fiona let the potion's effects wear off and they revert to their ogre selves, while Donkey changes back as well. Harold gives his blessing to the marriage and apologizes for his earlier behavior, and the party resumes as the credits begin. They are interrupted by a brief after-party scene in which the Dragon, who had romanced Donkey in the first movie, arrives and reveals that they now have several dragon-donkey hybrid babies.

Cast

Actor Role
Mike Myers Shrek
Cameron Diaz Princess Fiona
Eddie Murphy Donkey
Julie Andrews Queen Lillian
Antonio Banderas Puss in Boots
John Cleese King Harold
Rupert Everett Prince Charming
Jennifer Saunders Fairy Godmother
Larry King Doris the Ugly Stepsister (US version)
Aron Warner Big Bad Wolf
Cody Cameron Pinocchio
Cody Cameron Three Little Pigs
Christopher Knights Three Blind Mice
Conrad Vernon Gingerbread Man
Conrad Vernon Muffin Man
Conrad Vernon Mongo
Conrad Vernon Cedric
Conrad Vernon Announcer
Ian McShane Captain Hook
Kelly Cooney Magic Mirror
Kelly Cooney Magic Dresser
Kelly Asbury Page
Kelly Asbury Elf
Kelly Asbury Nobleman
Kelly Asbury Nobleman's son

Special guest stars

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.

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.'[7]

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

Previews

Before the theatrical release, the previews are for the following films:

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 on the Nine Network and its regional affiliates at 8:30PM AEST.
  • 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
  • The film was aired on Telecinco in Spain for the first time at 2007. Will be repeated again this year, says "Coming Soon" His first film was premiered in Spain in 2004 and has been issued once a year every year.

Home media releases

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

Reaction

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[8] domestically (US and Canada), and $478,612,511 in foreign markets, making a total of $919.8 million worldwide. This puts the movie at fourth on the all-time domestic box-office list and tenth 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[8]) 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 its predecessor, and some rated it even better. 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, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[9] Rotten Tomatoes gave Shrek 2 a "Certified Fresh" rating of 89%, almost the same as the original's 90% rating

Far Far Away Idol

Far Far Away Idol is a bonus feature that can be seen on the DVD of Shrek 2. It has Shrek, Princess Fiona, Queen Lillian, King Harold and Simon Cowell (the judges) trying to decide who the next Far Far Away Idol should be. Below are the contestants and their songs. If the letter V is beside one, that means it has the judges' possible vote and the winner or loser will do an encore.

See also

References

  1. ^ Box Office Mojo: Shrek 2
  2. ^ The-numbers.com Retrieved on 06-05-07
  3. ^ [1] The-numbers.com Retrieved on 06-05-07
  4. ^ [2] Coming on the heels of another extremely successful and popular movie, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban based on the English novel by author JK Rowling. This was the third installment of the series movie-wise, and DreamWorks is hoping for the same success in their third installment of the movie. Boxofficemojo.com Retrieved on 06-05-07
  5. ^ All Time Box Office Adjusted for Ticket Price Inflation
  6. ^ All Time Worldwide Box Office Grosses
  7. ^ http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/06/09/1086749775405.html Smh.com.au Retrieved on 06-05-07
  8. ^ a b Shrek 2 (2004)
  9. ^ [3] Metacritic.com Retrieved on 06-05-07
Wikiquote has quotations related to Shrek 2.
Preceded by
Shrek (2001)
 Shrek 2
2004 		Succeeded by

Template:Box Office Leaders USA

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