Shrek 2 is the 2004 sequel to the computer-animated 2001 DreamWorks Pictures movie Shrek that was released in the United States on May 19, 2004. In April 2004 the film was selected for competition at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. There are more Shreks to follow, as 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 difference is they did have the guts to make all three of them 'back-to-back-to-back.'" [1] Shrek 3 is scheduled for release in 2006.

Shrek 2 scored the second-largest three-day opening in history, as well as the largest opening for an animated movie ever. It went on to be one of the most successful films in 2004. The associated soundtrack reached the top 10 of the Billboard 200.

Plot

After Shrek and Princess Fiona return from their honeymoon, they receive an invitation from her parents to visit them. Princess Fiona has not told her parents, King Harold and Queen Lilian, that she has married an ogre and has become one herself.

When the Fairy Godmother discovers that Fiona is married to Shrek, she reminds King Harold of a deal they had made for Princess Fiona to marry her son Prince Charming. Prompted by her urgings, and his discomfort at having an ogre as a son law, he hires Puss in Boots to kill Shrek.

The cast and other significant credits for the project include:

• Shrek - Mike Myers
• Donkey - Eddie Murphy
• Princess Fiona - Cameron Diaz
• King Harold - John Cleese
• Queen Lilian - Julie Andrews
• Puss in Boots - Antonio Banderas
• Prince Charming - Rupert Everett
• Fairy Godmother - Jennifer Saunders

• Pinocchio
• Three Blind Mice
• Gingerbread man

As of 27 June 2004, Shrek 2 had achieved $390 million at the US box office and $383 million at the world box office.[2] The film has earned millions more in merchandising. As the budget for the film was $70 million in production costs and $50 million in publicity and advertising, the film has already proved to be highly profitable for Dreamworks.

Metacritic has developed an average rating of 73 out of 100 based on 39 professional reviews published in newspapers, magazines and in highly regarded Internet sites [3]. Users of the Internet Movie Database gave an rating of 7.7 out of 10 to the movie. [4]

• The giant gingerbread man is a spoof of the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters. Also, the scene in which he first appears knocking down palm trees is similar to the T-Rex-invading-city scene in .
• Dancing furniture looks remarkably similar to those in Disney's Beauty and the Beast.
• At the start of the movie, when Shrek is caught in a trap and hanging upside down, he lands in some mud that covers his face. Fiona wipes off the mud to reveal his mouth and kisses him. This is a spoof of the Spider-Man movie, where Spider-Man is hanging upside down and Mary Jane Watson half-takes off his mask and kisses him in the rain.
• Early in the film, a golden ring is forged for Fiona, which is tossed in the air and lands on her finger in a spoof of a similar scene in The Lord of the Rings. However, instead of being inscribed with the Ring Poem (One ring to rule them all...), it simply read "I love you".
• In the UK, the parts of the Ugly Stepsister and the entertainment correspondent (originally voiced by Larry King and Joan Rivers, respectively) were re-dubbed by Jonathan Ross and Kate Thornton. They are credited at the very end of the original credits.
• Spoof of when Pinnochio is lowered down the well.
• Spoof of From Here to Eternity Lancaster/Kerr beach kissing scene. The spoof includes Ariel from The Little Mermaid.
• When Fiona beats up several people at the very beginning of the film, the moves she does are carbon copies of Chun-Li's Spinning Bird Kick and Ken's Dragon Punch from the video game series Street Fighter 2.
• During the scene where Puss in Boots first encounters Shrek, he rips out of Shrek's shirt, in the same manner as aliens 'hatch' out of human bodies in the Alien franchise.
• After the giant ginger bread man's gum drop button is shot off, he lets out the same scream as Godzilla.

The soundtrack for Shrek 2 was released in May 2004 in the US, to accompany the film. It reached the top 10 of the Billboard 200 and #1 on the soundtrack albums aswell as reaching the top 40 of the Australian album charts. The lead single "Accidentally in Love" by the Counting Crows has reached the top 10 of the Billboard Adult Top 40 and the top 20 of the world soundtrack singles charts as of June 27, 2004. The soundtrack also features two versions of the 1980s hit by Bonnie Tyler "Holding out for a Hero".

Track Listing

1. "Accidentally in Love" by Counting Crows
2. "Holding out for a Hero" by Frou Frou
3. "Changes" by Butterfly Boucher & David Bowie
4. "As Lovers Go" by Dashboard Confessional
5. "Funkytown" by Lipps Inc
6. "I'm on my Way" by Rich Price
7. "I Need Some Sleep" by Eels
8. "Ever Fallen in Love" by Pete Yorn
9. "Little Drop of Poison" by Tom Waits
10. "You're So True" by Joseph Arthur
11. "People Ain't No Good" by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
12. "Fairy Godmother Song" by Jennifer Saunders
13. "Livin' la Vida Loca" by Antonio Banderas and Eddie Murphy
14. "Holding out for a Hero" by Jennifer Saunders