CAN 'SHREK' DO IT AGAIN?Byline: - Glenn Whipp When a movie takes in nearly a half-billion dollars worldwide, spawns a theme-park ride, becomes (at that point) the No. 1 DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. of all time and wins the first Academy Award given to an animated film, green-lighting a sequel is easy. Making it live up to the original is a bit of a nightmare. Lucky for the makers of ``Shrek 2'' they had a vast pool of fairy-tale characters that, in the words of co-director Kelly Asbury, could be ``mined and ripped on.'' So, in addition to the core characters of Shrek, his beloved Princess Fiona and trusty sidekick Donkey, the second installment will spotlight such familiar figures as Puss in Boots Puss in Boots cleverly secures a fortune for its penniless master. [Fr. Fairy Tale: “Puss in Boots” in Benét, 829] See : Cats , Prince Charming Prince Charming handsome suitor fulfills a maiden’s dreams. [Fr. Fairy Tale: Cinderella] See : Love, Victorious , the Fairy Godmother fairy godmother fulfills Cinderella’s wishes and helps her win the prince. [Fr. Fairy Tale: Cinderella] See : Fairy fairy godmother mythical being who guards children from danger and rewards them for good deeds. and the Ugly Stepsister (voiced by none other than Larry King Larry King (born November 19, 1933) is an award-winning American writer, journalist and broadcaster. He currently hosts a nightly interview program on CNN called Larry King Live, one of the longest running talk shows on American air. ). ``Shrek 2'' picks up after the first film's happy ending, with Fiona taking Shrek to meet her parents (voiced by Julie Andrews Dame Julie Elizabeth Andrews, DBE (born Julia Elizabeth Wells[1] on 1 October 1935[2]) is an award-winning English actress, singer, author and cultural icon. and John Cleese). The shock of learning that their new son-in-law is an ogre is offset by the surprise that their daughter is an ogre, too. A great many surprises follow, with one subplot sub·plot n. 1. A plot subordinate to the main plot of a literary work or film. Also called counterplot, underplot. 2. A subdivision of a plot of land, especially a plot used for experimental purposes. involving Donkey's rivalry with the great ogre slayer ... Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas). The movie's tone, Asbury says, is the same as the original: satirical wit that ``exists in the same universe as the old Mad magazine.'' That will surely please the original's many fans but won't do anything to quiet detractors who thought the first film was too topical to be timeless. ``I've heard that about every movie I've worked on,'' says Asbury, whose resume includes ``Toy Story,'' ``Beauty and the Beast'' and ``The Little Mermaid.'' ``All I know is the original 'Shrek' shows no signs of stopping. It's satirical, but I don't think it's so of-the-moment where people are going to be lost 50 years from now. Who knows ... maybe 50 years from now, somebody will still be doing something with the Shrek character.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) ``Shrek 2,'' opening May 21. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion