Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: Shrek 2 (2004) - Fun and adventure reign supreme in tremendous family animation romp

9/12/2019

Shrek 2 (2004) - Fun and adventure reign supreme in tremendous family animation romp

♥♥♥♥♥

+ Best Huge Hit Movie of the Year + Most Profitable Movie of the Year: 217.92 mil. $ range

Shrek, Donkey, Fiona and a bunch of new characters adjoin on this anticipation-building poster for Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon's Shrek 2

Newly wedded ogres Shrek and Fiona go on their honeymoon to Far Far Away for salutation, - and meeting Fiona's parents. But their reception is less than warm, and problems ensue involving Shrek's father-in-law, Fiona's Fairy Godmother, - and her son, Prince Charming.

Shrek 2 is written by Andrew Adamson (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)), Joe Stillman (Gulliver's Travels (2010)), J. David Stern (Daddy Day Camp (2007)) and David N. Weiss (Clockstoppers (2002)), with Conrad Vernon (Shrek (2001)), Cody Cameron (Open Season 3 (2010, actor)), Walt Dohrn (Trolls (2016, actor)), Chris Miller (Shrek the Third (2007)) and David P. Smith (Shark Tale (2004)) contributing dialog, and directed by returning great New-Zealander filmmaker Andrewson, Kelly Asbury (Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)) and Vernon. - A hefty group of creatives!
The film is arguably even more fun and dynamic than the original crowd-pleaser from 2001. It packs an enormous amount of popular cultural and musical references, while its underlying story also just works flawlessly in itself.
Shrek 2 delights also with wonderful voice performances and handsome animation. It is a brilliant family adventure.

Related posts:

Andrew Adamson: 2005 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Top 10: The best adaptations reviewed by Film Excess to date
Top 10: The best adventure movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
Top 10: Best Disney movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) or, Just Plain Narnia

2004 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Conrad Vernon: Sausage Party (2016) - One outrageous, funny, horny adult animation

2004 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 150 mil. $
Box office: 919.8 mil. $
= Huge hit (returned 6.13 times its cost)
[Shrek 2 premiered 8 May (Westwood, California) and runs 92 minutes. Development began before the release of the first film. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) was an inspiration for the writing team. Voice acting stars Mike Myers (Wayne's World 2 (1993)), Cameron Diaz (Man Woman Film (1999)) and Eddie Murphy (48 Hrs. (1982)) were each paid a staggering 10 mil. $, - up from 350k $ apiece for the first film, - for their approximately 15-18 hours of total voice work done on the film. The many involved writers are a testament to a lengthy and winding road towards the film's finished script. The film opened #1 to a 108 mil. $ first weekend in a record-breaking 4,163 theaters in North America, where it spent another week at #1 and another 3 weeks in the top 5 (#2-#3-#4) and grossed 441.2 mil. $ (48 % of the total gross). Its 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 88.2 mil. $ (9.6 %) and France with 50.9 mil. $ (5.5 %). It was the highest-grossing film worldwide of 2004 and made an additional estimated 800 mil. $ in merchandise sales. It also beat Finding Nemo (2003) as the highest-grossing animated film of all time, a record it held until Toy Story 3 (2010). It is DreamWorks' most profitable title to date and the highest-grossing in the Shrek franchise. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to a notch harder than this one. Rare for a mainstream animated film, Shrek 2 competed for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, losing to Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. It was also nominated for 2 Oscars: It lost Best Animation to The Incredibles and Best Song (Accidentally in Love) to Al Otro Lado del Río from The Motorcycle Diaries. It was also nominated for a Golden Globe, won 1/2 BAFTA nominations, was nominated for 2 Grammys and a wealth of other honors. The Shrek franchise continued with Shrek the Third (2007), Shrek Forever After (2010) and spin-off Puss in Boots (2011). A possible reboot was reported in 2018. Adamson returned with The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005); Asbury with Gnomeo & Juliet (2011); Vernon with Monsters vs. Aliens (2009). Myers returned in 3 video projects before Shrek the Third (2007); Diaz in Far Far Away Idol (2004, video short) and theatrically in In Her Shoes (2005); and Murphy in Father of the Pride (2004, TV-series), Far Far Away Idol and theatrically in Dreamgirls (2006). Shrek 2 is certified fresh at 89 % with a 7.68/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Shrek 2?

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

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9/12/2019

Shrek 2 (2004) - Fun and adventure reign supreme in tremendous family animation romp

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