Ninja Pajamas, and other good things.

Without giving too much away Shrek II is an enjoyable romp through the territory of the original Shrek. The cgi is, for lack of a better word, awesome.

In this film, we pick up at the end of the first film, where Shrek and Fiona go on their honeymoon and return to find that Fiona's parents, King and Queen of Far, Far Away (which looks suspiciously like Beverly Hills) have summoned them to bestow their royal blessings on the marriage. Therefore, you can see that the plot is much weaker than the original.

There are other things missing, as well. In this, Shrek has become a typical groom, and wants to do anything to please Fiona. Fiona seems to have abandoned all vestiges of her former self, becoming an ogre completely, down to eating weird things and wallowing in mud. Both characters have lost their strong wills and self confidence. Therefore, everyone except Donkey seems to have changed entirely. Also missing are the hilarious slams on Disney - there are a few vague references, but the refreshing juxtaposition has been boiled down to some innocuous background jokes. The other thing that I missed was the humorous take on the fairy-tale world. You may remember Lord Farquaad's brilliant discourse with The Gingerbread Man in the first film - "Do you know The Muffin Man?" I was sincerely hoping to see even more of that type of wittiness in the second film, but it's simply not there.

However, this film hails the introduction of some absolutely fabulous new characters. The bright and shining example being Fairy Godmother, voiced by Jennifer Saunders of AbFab fame. Where her over the top screetching is annoying at best on the BBC TV series, in the world of Shrek, it not only fits, but it is synergistically perfect. Fairy Godmother is lovely, self-obsessed, a bit rotund, but completely over the top in her self promotion and propensity for provocative clothing. We get to see the inside of her magic-potion factory, and explore the dark side of the mythic Happiness Peddler.

In true form, Shrek pokes fun at many current movies, The Lord of the Rings, James Bond, and Ghostbusters. As usual, the richly designed locales leave no pun unturned and no detail ignored - for example, a sign in the tavern reads, "No one under XXI served." Even though it's just there for a flash, it's there - showing that the makers have not lost their eye for detail and quality.

Although some of the elements that make the first film classic are missing, Shrek II is a worthy successor. It doesn't feel like a television episode like MIB II, but is a movie in it's own right. In fact, this one has many many instances of bust-a-gut hilarity. When you go, remember to stay through a bit of the credits to find out what happened to Dragon (and see possibly the most doggone cute thing in the world). The showing that I went to did not have any outtakes at the end of the crawl, though, so you can leave after that part. Unless, of course, you distrust me. But then, if you distrusted me, then you wouldn't think that it is imperative that you see Shrek II, so you wouldn't go. So it's all moot. But I digress.