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Wednesday, May 19, 2004 'Shrek 2' offers awesome animationBy Jeff Farance | News-Journal Film Critic DAYTONA BEACH — An ogre, a donkey and a cat clad in boots walk into a bar. The barkeeper looks at the donkey and asks, "Why the long face?" "Shrek 2" borrows from its predecessor and, obviously, from everyone else. Its trio of directors and one of its three writers all were on board for the initial "Shrek." Yet they've all gone to great lengths to make the sequel seem fresh. A new character, the fabled Puss-in-Boots (prissily voiced by Antonio Banderas) is one notable newcomer. He's hired as a hit cat only to become a trusted comrade-in-paws with ogre Shrek (again provided with a monstrous brogue by Mike Myers) and Donkey (Eddie Murphy back with his tongue newly honed). The avocado-skinned ogre Shrek and princess bride Fiona (voiced by Cameron Diaz) return from their honeymoon to an invitation from her parents, the King (voiced by John Cleese) and Queen (voiced by Julie Andrews) to a palace ball in celebration of their wedding. The rulers are in for a royal surprise, as they don't know their son-in-law is an ogre, or that their daughter has turned into one as well. Meanwhile, the resident Fairy Godmother (voiced by Jennifer Saunders) is trying to undo the marriage so her charmless son Prince Charming (voiced by Rupert Evans) can have Fiona instead. What follows is a whirlwind series of takeoffs on classic cinematic moments and the repeated skewing and skewering of fairy tales. All the way, the soundtrack is nothing short of fabulous, with a whole scene appropriately set to David Bowie's "Changes," plus performances by Tom Waits, Counting Crows and more. The grandest of finales has a donkey and puss duet to a rousing and riotous "Livin' la Vida Loca." For all of its recycled humor and simplistic silliness, "Shrek 2" shines brightest in its appearance. Animation advances are so sophisticated that beard stubble is clearly defined — and that's just on Fiona. Flesh tones are lifelike, even ogrelike. And the tiniest nuance of facial expression communicates fully. "Shrek 2" is not over until it's ogre. Did You Know?From cave drawings to computer generated images, animation has come a long way. * Walt Disney's 1928 film "Steamboat Willie" became the first animated film to synchronize music, sound and voices. * "The Flintstones" in 1960 became the first animated prime-time television series. * Walt Disney's 1991 film "Beauty and the Beast" became the first animated feature to be nominated for the Oscar as best picture. * The 1995 Walt Disney movie "Toy Story" became the first feature-length animated film done completely with computer-generated images. Prior to CGI, animation was done mostly using cell animation. This kind of animation required tens of thousands of characters and backgrounds to be hand drawn on celluloid sheets. |
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