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Shrek-ing Good Fun, But a Tad Complacent

By Mary-Ann Russon •·•; UrbanWire
• email reporter • email story · printer friendly

Why does Dreamworks enjoy poking fun at Disney so much?

As the story goes, nearly 10 years ago, 1of the founders of Dreamworks, Jeffrey Katzenburg, was Chairman of Walt Disney Studios. He reportedly had a big argument with his big boss at Disney, and quit. Together with music mogul David Geffen and movie Midas Steven Spielberg, he decided to launch their own studio, and what better way to stab at Disney than to make a film spoofing and laughing at all of Disney's most famous films and even Disneyland? A perfect revenge, which was all the sweeter when Shrek became a box office hit.

The idea of a solitude-loving ogre rescuing a princess simply to get his peace back, and doing the deed for a cowardly, spoilt king too lazy to do it himself, was really, honestly funny. Shrek kept surprising audiences, managing to capture the one element that makes a truly good tale - that rare ability to twist a plot so well that the audience doubts whether there will be a happy ending.

Now, Dreamworks is back with Shrek 2, but although it's pretty good for a sequel, Shrek is a tough act to follow, and Shrek 2 lacks that quintessential unpredictability which made Shrek such an instant hit.

The movie opens with Shrek (Mike Myers) and Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) enjoying their honeymoon. On their return to Shrek's swamp, the couple receive a summons from her parents, the King and Queen of Far, Far, Away (voiced by John Cleese and Julie Andrews), who eagerly await a reunion with their beautiful daughter and her handsome prince.

Shrek fears that his royal in-laws will not accept him, but on Fiona's insistence he, Princess Fiona, and returning sidekick Donkey (Eddie Murphy) journey to Far, Far, Away. Unfortunately, Shrek realises his misgivings are correct when the King enlists seasoned ogre-killer Puss in Boots (Antonio Benderas) to get rid of him, and Shrek has to face down Princess Fiona's all-powerful Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders), who wishes to see her son Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) rightfully married to Princess Fiona.

In Shrek 2, you'll see new hilarious role-reversals of many well-known fairytale characters, and yet more spoofs of American pop culture. This time round, the land of Far, Far, Away is a complete spoof of Los Angeles, complete with large white "Hollywood-esque" letters on a distant hill, palm trees, and plenty of brand labels that look strikingly similar to Burger King, Gap, Starbucks, and Saks 5th Avenue, to name a few.

Can You Spot Them?

Here are the spoofs that UrbanWire managed
to spot in Shrek 2 -
can you find them all?

- The Lord of The Rings (New Line Cinema movie)
- Tuck Everlasting (Disney movie)
- Indiana Jones (Paramount Pictures)
- Fame (MGM / United Artists movie)
- Zorro (Disney TV Series)
- Cops (Reality TV Show)
- Ghostbusters (Columbia Pictures)
- Swan Princess (20th Century Fox animated movie)
- Mission Impossible (Paramount Pictures)
- E! Entertainment's Coverage of the Oscars Red Carpet Event 2004 (E! Entertainment Channel)

If you've spotted spoofs we haven't included, email maryann@theurbanwire.com and we'll credit you and add the titles to our list!

One thing that can be said is that Shrek 2 really is a barrel of laughs. However, at the same time, the plot doesn't seem to be as strong as its predecessor's. Although Dreamworks added a lot of very clever gags and spoofs, the general plotline feels rather complacent - there are no more surprises. When Shrek and Fiona go to visit Fiona's parents, you know that only one of two things will happen - either Fiona's parents will accept Shrek (which would make for a really short movie), or they won't. They didn't. When the Fairy Godmother starts plotting to get Prince Charming to marry Fiona, you know that Shrek will somehow save the day and win Fiona back - which is exactly what happens. I can't really see where Dreamworks can go from here - they managed to do "happily ever after" with Shrek, and now "happily married ever after" with Shrek 2, but I don't see how they can extend the plot anymore for Shrek 3, unless they decide to feature Shrek's kids, following the example of the many rubbish "straight-to-DVD" film sequels released by their rival, Disney.

All in all, Shrek 2 is a hilarious, feel-good film, with lots of trademark Dreamworks humour, and is sure to be a success in the box office. Its only flaw is that it has a predictable plot, but if you like this sort of humour, watching Shrek 2 won't be a waste of your money.