MOVIE REVIEW | 'Shrek 2' New characters are just as charming

The sequel is every bit as funny as the original.
By MILAN PAURICH
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Though smelly, green ogre Shrek, Princess Fiona and the irrepressible Donkey are all back for more high-spirited shenanigans, "Shrek 2" is stolen by a little-bitty cat. Of course, Puss In Boots is no garden variety feline.
Uproariously voiced by Antonio Banderas in Zorro-esque fashion, this Puss is such a hoot-and-a-half that my preview audience greeted his every appearance with gales of laughter. Now that's a star!
Thanks to Banderas, the fabled giant and ogre slayer of fairy tale yore has been transformed into a haughty, preening Latin seducer. Hired by Fiona's, uh, conflicted dad, King Harold (John Cleese), to assassinate Shrek, his undesirable new son-in-law, Puss winds up becoming one of our hero's most indispensable allies. The Booted One's secret weapon isn't a sword, but his disarming "puddy tat" routine. Whenever he's cornered in battle, Puss flirtatiously bats his saucer eyes. It works like, well, catnip.
Banderas' delightful Puss isn't the only recipient of much-deserved audience goodwill.
Raising the bar
"Shrek 2" takes a while to get going -- following an instant classic like the 2001 original is hard work -- but once it kicks into gear, it's every bit as laugh-out-loud funny and tirelessly inventive as its brilliant predecessor. The eye-popping, nearly three-dimensional imagery is, once again, nothing short of breathtaking. Like "Shrek," the level of hyper-realism achieved in scene after scene raises the bar for all future computer animated films, including Pixar's. Directors Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon make "Shrek 2" look more like live-action than any previous 'toon while still possessing the elasticity and boundless imagination of classic cel animation.
Plot
In the second of what promises to become one of the most beloved movie franchises in screen history, newlyweds Shrek (Mike Myers) and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) pay a reluctant visit to Fiona's parents, King Harold and Queen Lillian, in the kingdom of Far Far Away. Accompanying them is famous third wheel Donkey (the indispensable Eddie Murphy) who's never without a quip or a comeback. Their visit, of course, doesn't go especially well. Appalled by Fiona's choice in husbands -- not to mention her new ogre-like appearance -- King Harold enlists the aid of a crafty, catty Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders of "Ab Fab" fame) to set things right. The fact that Godmother's son, Prince Charming (Rupert Everett), was Fiona's intended all along -- he's the guy who was supposed to rescue her from the castle -- only gives her a vested interest in eliminating Shrek.
Because this is a fairy tale, a happy ending is never in doubt. What makes it such brash, impudent fun are the particulars along the way: Three Blind Mice, Pinocchio and the Three Little Pigs teaming up to help rescue Shrek from castle guards; the giant Gingerbread Man whose Achilles Heel is Starbucks coffee; a Medieval version of "Cops" called, what else?, "Knights;" fashion commentary by Joan Rivers at the royal ball. As easy as it is to pinpoint favorite scenes, the joys (and jokes) of "Shrek 2" are best discovered on their own. Why spoil the fun?
While reviewing "Shrek" three years ago, I predicted that it would some day join the ranks of such greats as "Babe" and "The Wizard of Oz." That prediction looks like even more of a no-brainer now than it did at the time.
The world is a better place with "Shrek 2" in it -- and how many other movies can you say that about?
XWrite Milan Paurich at milanpaurich@aol.com.