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Preview by: Jack Foley
FOLLOWING the announcement that Shrek 2 is to play in competition
at Cannes, it seemed only natural
for us to check out what delights are in store for audiences rushing
to see the sequel.
The follow-up to 1998’s huge hit picks up pretty much where
the last film left off, with Shrek (Mike Myers) and Fiona (Cameron
Diaz) returning from their honeymoon to find an invitation to
dinner from Fiona’s parents (John Cleese and Julie Andrews).
The only problem is that they have no idea that Fiona is now
an ogre, and that she is married to another ogre, and, to make
matters worse, not everyone is happy with the marriage - with
the most irate person being Prince Charming (Rupert Everett),
who was supposed to be the one who lifted Fiona's curse.
Along for the star-studded ride are the mysterious Fairy Godmother
(Jennifer Saunders), and a bar called the Poison Apple, where
the villains of the fairy tale world hang out, including the great
ogre-slayer... Puss-in-Boots (Antonio Banderas).
Eddie Murphy, naturally, reprises his role as the talking mule
- a performance which earned the star an Oscar nomination for
the original.
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Advance word on Shrek 2, which opens in the UK on July 2, is
said to be so hot, that DreamWorks is already considering a possible
third film in the series, with rumours abounding that the storyline
could spoof the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round
Table.
But for now, directors Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon are keen
to extol the virtues of the sequel, with the former predicting
that it’s ‘bigger, better, and funnier’.
Adds Vernon, in an interview with US-based website, About.com:
"As far as the writing of the script is done, we’ve
worked a little bit differently on this one, where the writer
[Joe Stillman] has been more involved from the beginning.
"It’s not like we had a script and then we go in and
see what works and what doesn’t, start changing it. We actually
worked from an outline on this one."
What’s more, the directors are promising even more fleshed
out characters, thanks to the advances in technology since the
original.
Facial expressions, body movements and action sequences are all
expected to be far more detailed, and more adventurous, as a result
of both the advances and the fact that audiences already know
the characters and can move forward with them more quickly.
Of the returning favourites, expect appearances from John Lithgow’s
scheming, pint-sized villain, Prince Farquaad, as well as the
Gingerbread Man (now fully recovered from his torture).
There aren’t too many films that feel equipped to deal with
Spider-Man 2 this Summer, but
Shrek 2 looks to be one of them, and don’t bet against a
friendly ogre and his mule making an ass of the competition, and
turning others green with envy, come the year-end round-up.
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