Watch Shrek 2 Page

What we got instead is a miracle of pacing, parody, and surprisingly deep emotional storytelling. Two decades later, Shrek 2 isn't just a good sequel; it’s the Citizen Kane of fairy-tale satire.

Let’s be honest: sequels usually sink. For every Empire Strikes Back , there are a dozen Speed 2: Cruise Control s. So when DreamWorks dropped Shrek 2 in 2004—hot on the heels of the culture-shaking original—nobody expected a masterpiece. We expected a cash grab. Watch Shrek 2

King Harold (a hilarious John Cleese) is horrified that his daughter married an ogre. Queen Lillian (Julie Andrews) is trying her best to be polite. What follows is a classic rom-com crisis: Shrek feels he isn't good enough for Fiona, so he makes a deal with the swashbuckling, scene-stealing Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) and the scheming Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders) to become "handsome." What we got instead is a miracle of

If you have never watched Shrek 2 , you are missing a pivotal piece of animation history. If you have, it’s time to revisit Far Far Away. Notice the background jokes (the Starbucks parody "Farbucks"), appreciate the fluid animation of Puss’s "cute" attack, and cry a little when Shrek reads Fiona’s diary. For every Empire Strikes Back , there are