Development began in 2001, and following disagreements with producers, the first film's screenwritersTed Elliott andTerry Rossio were replaced with Adamson. The story was inspired byGuess 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 alsoparodies other films based on fairy tales and features references to American popular culture.[5][6][7] The film is dedicated to the memory ofShrek creator William Steig, who died on October 3, 2003, eight months before the film was released.
NewlywedsShrek andPrincess Fiona return from theirhoneymoon to find they have been invited by Fiona's parents to a royal ball to celebrate their marriage.[b] Though Shrek is mortified about visiting the kingdom as an ogre, and resents Fiona's parents for locking her in the tower, Fiona convinces him to attend, and they travel to the kingdom of Far Far Away withDonkey in tow and the fairy tale creatureshouse sitting. They meet Fiona's parents,King Harold andQueen Lillian, who are repulsed to see they are ogres. At dinner, Shrek and Harold get into a heated argument, and afterwards Fiona encountersFairy Godmother, a celebrity potions saleswoman who offers to help Fiona but is mortified to see she is married to Shrek. Shrek worries he is losing Fiona, particularly after finding her childhood diary and reading that she was seemingly once infatuated withPrince Charming.
Harold is secretly reprimanded by Fairy Godmother, who had arranged with Harold for her son—Charming—to be the one to rescue and marry Fiona; she hopes to use the marriage to rule Far Far Awaythrough Charming. She orders Harold to get rid of Shrek or else lose his own happy ending, so Harold hires swashbuckling outlaw and mercenaryPuss in Boots to assassinate Shrek.
Unable to overpower Shrek, Puss reveals that he was paid by Harold and offers to help him in gratitude for having his own life spared. Shrek, Donkey, and Puss meet with Fairy Godmother at her potions factory to find something to help Shrek appeal to Fiona, but she coldly rejects his request, insisting ogres do not deserve happy endings. They retaliate by stealing a potion labeled "Happily Ever After" and accidentally trashing the factory. Shrek and Donkey drink the potion and soon fall asleep. Back in Far Far Away, Fiona notices Shrek is missing and tries to find him, but she too falls asleep.
The next morning, Shrek and Fiona awaken to find they are now human, and Donkey is a whitestallion. In order to make the change permanent, Shrek must kiss Fiona by midnight. Shrek, Donkey, and Puss return to the castle; however, Fairy Godmother, having discovered the theft, has sent Charming to pose as human Shrek and win Fiona's love. At Fairy Godmother's urging, Shrek leaves the castle, believing that the best way to make Fiona happy is to let her go.
Fiona is skeptical of Charming; therefore, to ensure the two will wed, Fairy Godmother gives Harold a love potion to put into Fiona's tea. This exchange is overheard by Shrek, Donkey, and Puss, who are arrested by the royal knights after Donkey inadvertently exposes them. While the ball begins, the fairy tale creatures - having seen the arrest on the news - rescue the trio from the dungeon. They all storm the castle with the help of Mongo, a monstrous livinggingerbread man created by theMuffin Man.
Though Mongo is destroyed, the group manages to break into the ball. Shrek fails to prevent Charming from kissing Fiona, but instead of falling in love, Fiona knocks him out. Harold reveals that he swapped Fiona's tainted teacup with his own, refusing to go through with the plot. Livid, the Fairy Godmother tries to strike Shrek with a spell from hermagic wand. Harold jumps in front of it and is struck; the rest of the spell reflects off hisbreastplate and hits the Fairy Godmother, causing her to disintegrate into bubbles.
Harold reverts intothe Frog Prince, having used the "Happily Ever After" potion years earlier to gain Lillian's love. He approves of Shrek and Fiona's marriage, while Lillian assures Harold that she still loves him. As the clock strikes midnight, Fiona declines Shrek's offer to remain human, and they revert into ogres, while Donkey also returns to normal, much to his sadness. Everyone celebrates as the ball continues. In amid-credits scene,Dragon, who had recently married Donkey, arrives with several dragon-donkeyhybrid babies.
Joan Rivers' cameo as herself marked the first time that a real person had been represented on screen by theShrek animation team. Her part (though retaining her visual representation) was re-dubbed by presenterKate Thornton for the United Kingdom release.
Simon Cowell appears as himself onFar Far Away Idol, a parody ofAmerican Idol, on the DVD special features and just before the credits on the American VHS edition (see Home Media).
Production
In 2001, soon after the originalShrek proved to be a hit,Mike Myers,Eddie Murphy, andCameron Diaz negotiated an upfront payment of $10 million each for voicing a sequel to the film.[16][17][18][19] This pay increase represented a significant rise from the $350,000 salary that each of the three were paid for the first film.[18] According toJeffrey Katzenberg, the executive producer ofShrek 2 and a co-founder ofDreamWorks Pictures, who led the negotiations, the payments were probably the highest in the actors' entire careers.[16] Each of the actors were expected to work between 15 and 18 hours in total.[16] The film was produced with a $70 million budget.[20][21]
DirectorAndrew Adamson returned to directShrek 2, after previously directing the firstShrek film.Ted Elliott andTerry 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 forShrek 2 was inspired by the 1967 comedy-drama filmGuess Who's Coming to Dinner, and was completed with the help of the film's co-writersJoe Stillman (one of the other writers from the first film), and screenwriting duo J. David Stem andDavid N. Weiss, and co-directors,Kelly Asbury andConrad Vernon, the latter two of whom spent most of the film's production duration inNorthern California while Adamson spent most of his time with the film's voice actors inGlendale, California.[22]
DreamWorks began production ofShrek 2 in 2001,[23] before the firstShrek film was completed.[22] The studio added more human characters to the film than there were in its predecessor and improved character appearance and movement with the use of several new animation/rendering systems.[24] 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.[25] All of the character setup was completed in the first three years of production.[22]
In an early version ofShrek 2, Shrek abdicated the throne, and called for a fairy tale election. Pinocchio's campaign was an "honesty" campaign, while Gingy's was a "smear" campaign. Adamson said that although this plot did have many funny ideas, it was also too overtly satiric and political, and considered "more intellectual than emotional".[26]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 engraverGustav 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."[27]
The soundtrack forShrek 2 was composed solely byHarry Gregson-Williams, who returned after composing the score for the firstShrek film, marking it as his fifth film with DreamWorks Animation.[22] The soundtrack reached the 8th position on the USBillboard 200 and 1st on the USSoundtracks (Billboard).[28] It also features two versions of the 1980sBonnie Tyler hit "Holding Out for a Hero".
Shrek 2 was originally scheduled for release on June 18, 2004.[30] 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.[31] A day before the film went to theaters, the first five minutes were shown onNickelodeon'sU-Pick Live.[32]
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. Over 3,700 theaters was its count for an opening day.[33]
The film was theatrically re-released in the United States for one week beginning on April 12, 2024, in celebration of its twentieth anniversary.[34]
Home media
Shrek 2 was released onVHS andDVD on November 5, 2004[35][36] and onGame Boy Advance Video on November 17, 2005.[37] It became one of the best-selling DVD releases of all time with over 37 million copies being sold grossing $458 million.[38] However, 5 million more copies were printed than sold, causing DreamWorks to miss their forecasted first quarter earnings that year by 25%.[39]
In February 2006,Paramount Pictures acquired the rights to all live-action films DreamWorks had released between 1997 and 2005, followingViacom's $1.6 billion acquisition of the company's live-action film assets and television assets.[40][41] Additionally, Paramount signed a six-year distribution agreement for past and futureDreamWorks Animation films, with DreamWorks Animation having spun off into a separate company from the live-action division in 2004.[42][43][44] On August 16, 2010,Paramount Home Entertainment released a 10 film box set titled the "DreamWorks Animation Ultimate Box Set", which includedShrek,Shrek 2,Shrek the Third and 7 other DreamWorks Animation films.[45] A 3D-converted version of the film was released exclusively with select Samsung television sets onBlu-ray on December 1, 2010, along with the other three films of the series.[46] A non-3D version was released on December 7, 2010, as part of theShrek: The Whole Story box set,[47] 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.[48] A stand-alone 3D Blu-ray version of the film was released on November 1, 2011.[49] The DVD release features two full-length commentary tracks, one by co-directorsConrad Vernon andKelly Asbury, and a second by producerAron Warner and editor Michael Andrews.
On December 31, 2012, DreamWorks Animation's distribution agreement with Paramount officially ended,[42][44] and in July 2014, DreamWorks Animation announced they had reacquired the distribution rights to all of their films from Paramount, transferring these rights to their new distribution partner20th Century Fox.[8] On April 28, 2016, DreamWorks Animation was purchased byComcast subsidiaryNBCUniversal for $3.8 billion.[50][51]Shrek 2 was released onUltra HD Blu-ray on November 22, 2022, byUniversal Pictures Home Entertainment.[52]
Far Far Away Idol is a special feature on the DVD and VHS release based onAmerican Idol and guest starringSimon Cowell. Taking place right afterShrek 2 ends, the short features characters fromShrek compete in a sing-off while being judged by Shrek, Fiona, and Cowell.[35]
After the performances, on the DVD release, the viewer gets to pick the winner. If any character besides Shrek, Fiona, Donkey, or Puss is selected, an alternate ending plays where Cowell would refuse to accept the winner and proclaim himself the victor, leaping onto the judging table and performing his "own" rendition of "My Way". At the end of the VHS release, it gives a link to a website where the viewer can vote for their favorite to determine the ultimate winner.[35] DreamWorks Animation announced on November 8, 2004, three days after the DVD and VHS release, that with 750,000 votes cast, the "winner" of the competition was Doris.[53]
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 timeShrek 2's Friday-to-Sunday total was the second-highest opening weekend, only trailingSpider-Man's $114.8 million. In addition, Saturday alone managed to obtain $44.8 million, making it the highest single-day gross at the time, beatingSpider-Man's first Saturday gross of $43.6 million.[12] The film remained at No. 1 in its second weekend, expanding to 4,223 theaters, and grossing another $95.6 million over the four-day Memorial Day weekend, narrowly beating out the $85.8 million four-day tally of new openerThe Day After Tomorrow. It spent ten weeks in the weekly Top 10, remaining there until July 29, and stayed in theaters for 149 days (roughly twenty-one weeks), closing on November 25, 2004. The film was released in theUnited Kingdom on July 2, 2004, and topped the country's box office for the next two weekends, before being dethroned bySpider-Man 2.[54]
The film grossed $439.8 million domestically (US and Canada) and $494 million in foreign markets for a total of $933.8 million worldwide,[55] making it the highest-grossing film of both 2004[56] and in its franchise.[57] This also puts the film at14th on the all-time domestic box office list[58] and42nd on the worldwide box office list.[59] The film sold an estimated 71,050,900 tickets in the US.[60]
The film also took away the highest worldwide gross made by an animated feature, which was before held byFinding Nemo (2003),[61] although the latter still had a higher overseas-only gross.[62] WithDVD sales andShrek 2 merchandise estimated to total almost $800 million, the film (which was produced with a budget of $150 million)[2] isDreamWorks' most profitable film to date.
Shrek 2 remained the highest-grossing animated film worldwide until the release ofToy Story 3 (2010),[15] and held the record for the highest-grossing animated film at the North American box office until the release ofFinding Dory (2016)[63][64] as well as the highest-grossing non-Disney animated film at this box office until the release ofThe Super Mario Bros. Movie in 2023. It also remained the highest-grossing non-Disney animated film worldwide until it was surpassed byDespicable Me 2 in 2013.
Critical response
Shrek 2 received positive reviews from critics.[65] The film has an approval rating of 89% based on 239 professional reviews on thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 7.7/10. Its critical consensus reads, "It may not be as fresh as the original, but topical humor and colorful secondary characters makeShrek 2 a winner in its own right."[66]Metacritic (which uses a weighted average) assignedShrek 2 a score of 75 out of 100 based on 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[67] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[68]
Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars, saying it is "bright, lively, and entertaining",[69] and Robert Denerstein ofDenver Rocky Mountain News called it "sharply funny".[70] James Kendrick ofQNetwork praised the plot, calling it "familiar, but funny".[71] J. R. Jones of theChicago Reader called it "unassailable family entertainment", and similar to the first film.[72] Michael O'Sullivan ofThe Washington Post called it "better and funnier than the original".[73]
Though he wrote that it is not as good as the first film, Kevin Lally ofFilm Journal International described it as "inventive and often very funny".[74] Peter Rainer ofNew York magazine, however, stated the film "manages to undo much of what made its predecessor such a computer-generated joy ride."[75]
Sean Naughton ofComplex described it as "one of the best-animated sequels ever".[76]
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
Shrek 2 was followed by two sequels;Shrek the Third was released on May 18, 2007, whileShrek Forever After was released on May 21, 2010. Afifth film is in development, releasing on June 30, 2027.[92]
Aspin-off filmPuss in Boots was released on October 28, 2011, and focuses on the character ofPuss in Boots, who was introduced in this film. On November 6, 2018, it was reported byVariety thatChris Meledandri had been tasked to reboot bothShrek andPuss in Boots, with the original cast potentially returning.[93][94]Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was released on December 21, 2022. It is a sequel rather than a reboot.
^Tartaglione, Nancy (April 22, 2004)."A crowded field at Cannes".Los Angeles Times.Archived from the original on August 29, 2016. RetrievedAugust 19, 2016.
