The film begins with a narrator reading a book that tells the story of Princess Fiona. It starts out how everyone was happy after she was born. However, she was eventually cursed where every night, she would transform into an ogre. Her parents sought the help of a fairy godmother, who suggested that Fiona get locked away in a tower. That way, she can be rescued by Prince Charming, who will hopefully break the spell by kissing her.

The next scene cuts to Prince Charming, who rides his horse through different lands for several miles. Then he risks his life across a trench of fire and climbs to the tallest tower to save Fiona–only to find the big bad wolf lying on the bed and reading a magazine. He tells Charming that Fiona is on her honeymoon. Then the following scene switches to Shrek and Fiona, ready to enter a gingerbread house.

They continue their honeymoon for a while and then come home to their swamp. Donkey is there when Shrek didn’t want him there. But he claims that he took care of the house–except that it was a mess.

Shrek tells Donkey that he wants alone time with Fiona. So, he asks him to leave. But then a bunch of men are blowing their horns. Their leader shares a letter with Fiona, which is requesting that her parents, who are the king and queen of the kingdom, Far Far Away, see her and give her their blessing for her husband–who was actually supposed to be Prince Charming.

Shrek resists the idea and begs Fiona not to go. But the two end up having to take the trip, leaving the swamp pals, such as Pinocchio and the three little pigs, willing to take care of the house.

On their journey, Donkey keeps asking if they made it to the kingdom yet. That annoys Shrek and Fiona. And then before they know it, they’ve arrived in Far Far Away. Donkey is especially impressed by the city.

They enter the castle’s property, where the crowd is cheering. But when Shrek and Fiona hop out of the carriage, everyone gasps and glares at them in silence as they make their way to the king and queen. They walk toward them, also at unease.

Fiona greets them and introduces them to Shrek. Her father, King Harold, hates him. Their distaste for each other continues during dinner. This leads to a fight, which annoys Fiona. She leaves the table in tears.

The fairy godmother surprises her and tries to make everything better by conjuring various items with money, living furniture, and even a puppy. Fiona declines everything, claiming that she doesn’t need them.

Shrek comes inside. The fairy godmother is shocked by him, particularly as Fiona’s husband. The two fail to get along, prompting Shrek to demand that he and Fiona leave.

That evening, Shrek gets out of bed and reads Fiona’s diary, which is full of drawings of her and Prince Charming. King Harold finds him and the two forgive each other for the argument at dinner.

Later, the fairy godmother comes back and forces King Harold into her flying carriage. He meets Prince Charming, who is mad that he took lots of risks to save Fiona. The fairy godmother orders King Harold to make Fiona marry Prince Charming.

Shrek leaves the castle to find a solution to pleasing the king with his and Fiona’s relationship. He and Donkey meet Puss in Boots, who agrees to help them.

They go to the fairy godmother’s potion factory and manage to get the happily-ever-after potion. It affects both the one drinking it as well as their true love. 

After Shrek drinks it, he doesn’t feel different. But later, he collapses. The same happens to Fiona.

The next day, Shrek wakes up and discovers that he is now a human. That startles him. Fiona has also transformed into a person. 

Shrek returns to Far Far Away to find Fiona. He keeps calling her. But the fairy godmother locks him inside a room.

Meanwhile, Fiona runs into Charming, who claims that he is Shrek, and that the potion made some odd changes to him.

Shrek is heartbroken since he failed to find Fiona and that Charming is pretending to be him. He leaves the castle and gives up. To make matters worse, the fairy godmother forces Harold to give Fiona a potion that’ll make her fall in love with the first man she kisses. And she requires that to be Charming.

Will Shrek be able to stop the kiss and reunite with Fiona?

My thoughts 

As with the other Shrek movies I’ve seen (except the 4th), this film is filled with lots of slapstick humor. I laughed so many times.

Another strength I notice is how there are lots of twists and turns. One of the most memorable ones is when Charming finds the big bad wolf in the tower instead of Fiona. I really admire that since it makes the story less predictable.

A couple of scenes also reminded me of those in the Harry Potter series. For example, there is a moment where Shrek and his swamp pals ride a giant gingerbread cookie to go somewhere important. And that scares the people when they see them. I find this similar to the scene in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 2 for the movie), where Harry, Ron, and Hermione ride a dragon for a crucial reason, and the dragon scares others.

Another part was when Shrek and Fiona jump out of the carriage to the castle. Everybody cheering but being shocked when Shrek and Fiona reveal themselves as ogres and glowering at them, while dark background music plays, is reminiscent of this moment in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire–specifically the film version. You probably remember that after everyone cheered when the three champions were chosen for the Triwizard Tournament, Harry’s name came out of the goblet, prompting everybody to be shocked and giving Harry dirty looks as he walks down the great hall, while scary music plays in the background. I remember thinking how Shrek and Fiona were lucky to have each other while Harry was alone, and unlike Fiona, who tried to be optimistic, Harry probably had no positive thoughts whatsoever.

One aspect I also liked was Shrek and Fiona’s relationship, especially through later parts of the film. I found it to be beautiful.

Even though they fought, their disagreements were portrayed in a believable manner. And that didn’t ruin their relationship.

Shrek also changed from what he was like in the first movie. He behaved better and treated others kindlier, although he still got irritated easily.

Despite his growth, he didn’t stop himself from roaring at Fiona’s dog after he and Fiona argued over how it was a bad idea to come to the castle. However, that was a minor moment. So, it didn’t detract from his character development.

Overall impression

I really enjoyed Shrek 2 a lot. I think it would make a great family movie. 

However, note that there are some innuendos. On the bright side, though, they will likely go over kids’ heads.

I give this movie 5 out of 5 stars.