ONCE UPON ANOTHER TIME…

Newly-weds Shrek and Fiona visit the princess’ parents and cross swords with the Ferry Godmother who wanted her son to marry Fiona. A typical example of how some filmmakers are first given a budget and then have to try to come up with a way to continue a finished story. The amazing thing here is that they actually pull it off. The story is admittedly a rather forced epilogue, but there are enough funny jokes and likeable characters to make this film a highly enjoyable experience. The best new character is Puss in Boots, a manipulative cat passionately voiced by Zorro himself, Antonio Banderas; Larry King is also an excellent choice as the Ugly Stepsister.

2004-U.S. Animated. 88 min. Color. Produced by Aron Warner, David Lipman, John H. Williams. Directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, Conrad Vernon. Screenplay: Andrew Adamson, Joe Stillman, J. David Stem, David N. Weiss. Voices of Mike Myers (Shrek), Eddie Murphy (Donkey), Cameron Diaz (Fiona), Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Antonio Banderas… Rupert Everett, Jennifer Saunders, Larry King, Joan Rivers.

Trivia: Followed by Shrek the Third (2007).

Last word: “It took five years for the first ‘Shrek’. And then with the second, they said well, now we have to do this in two and a half, three years. When you say to someone, ‘We only had three years’, they ask, ‘What do you mean only three years? That’s a long time.’ Well, not when you’re doing an 80-minute film one frame at a time. Every single frame is labored on by a lot of people.” (Vernon, Stumped Magazine) 

IMDb