Once Again, Shrek Is the Color of Money

May 19, 2004 -- They did it. You'll love it. Title this one Meet the Parents: The King and Queen of Far, Far Away, a kingdom filled with pop culture gags that, well, keep on popping.

Shrek 2 starts where Shrek 1 ended, with Shrek and Fiona on their honeymoon. They choose the shore, where the green-skinned ogres give us their rendition of From Here to Eternity.

I was dazzled by this new generation of computer animation. The colors are even brighter, the images crisper, the detail far more defined than the original Shrek just three years ago. Hand-drawn animation will go the way of silent movies, mimeograph machines and telephones with rotary dials. There's just no need for it anymore.

But it's not the technology that makes this a great film. Or the pop culture references, from The Lord of the Rings to Spider-Man to Marilyn Monroe to Seinfeld, not that there's anything wrong with that.

It's not even the incredible cast, which includes Julie Andrews, as the queen of Far Far Away, who tells her husband, John Cleese, "Don't be such a drama king."

It's the story. And the message: No matter what you look like, everybody is beautiful.

No, it isn't easy being green. Unless you're talking about profits. This should be this summer's family movie blockbuster hit. No, it's not as good the first. It can't be. As the old saying goes, it's only the first time once. But it passes the Joel Siegel sequel test: If this were the original, would they make a sequel of it?

Yes! In fact, they are. Shrek 3 is in the works, and I predict we'll see a little green bundle of joy. Grade: A-