Shrek 2
DreamWorks Distribution | Release Date: May 19, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
75
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 40 Critic Reviews
Positive:
33
Mixed:
7
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Just as funny, sweet and engaging as the first film starring the big galoot. Read full review
100
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
Sure, the animation work is great, but it's the actors and their subtle, complex vocal performances that make us care about these fairy-tale characters. Shrek 2 is all about fantasy, but its characters are rousingly, affectingly real -- not to mention real, real funny. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Has a rowdy, jumpin'-jive vivacity. It's not quite as emotionally rounded as ''Shrek'' was... but it's got heart and delirium in equal doses, as well as a firecracker rhythm all its own. Read full review
91
Portland OregonianKaren Karbo
Medal prediction: The green guy is golden. Read full review
90
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
As it turns out, Shrek 2 is one of the funniest movies I've seen in years. But I'm far from sure that it's a kids' movie anymore, even though, like its predecessor, it's a thoroughly sugared-up reading of the book, by veteran New Yorker cartoonist William Steig, on which both films are based. Read full review
90
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Like the first movie this is unassailable family entertainment, with a gentle fairy tale for kids and a raft of mildly satirical pop-culture references for parents. Read full review
90
SlateDavid Edelstein
I wasn't prepared for the slap-happy brilliance of Shrek 2, which should ideally be seen twice--once with kids, once savored at something like a midnight show. Read full review
90
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
There's an old-Hollywood feel to the movie's solid showmanship and unabashed sophistication. These days it's feature-length 'toons, sporting the newest-fangled technology, that take kids and adults alike back to the movies' good old days.
90
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Lightning strikes twice, but not as brilliantly as before, in Shrek 2. The welcome sequel to the monster 2001 Oscar winner about an ogre's unlikely romance with a beautiful princess successfully recycles many of the qualities that made the first one an instant animated classic and worldwide smash. Read full review
88
New York PostLou Lumenick
So gorgeously animated and so thoroughly entertaining for all ages that only an ogre would complain it's not quite as fresh as the original. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Shrek 2 may be computer-generated, but its innate heart and glorious sense of mischief make it one of the best and most humane movies of the summer. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Shrek 2 is a dream, a sequel as exhilarating and riotously funny as 2001's top-grossing original. Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
The Shrek franchise is alive and well -- Model 2 is zippier, sleeker, with ever-improving graphics, vast commercial potential and the same sly ability to reach out and hook the whole family. Read full review
88
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Shrek 2 delivers more fun than there is slime in a green ogre's swamp. Much of that is thanks to Antonio ­Banderas, who runs away with Shrek 2 on little cat feet. Read full review
88
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
It has the charm, irony and saucy wit of the original, plus two supporting characters -- a suave, egocentric feline and a cheerfully conniving fairy godmother -- who are funnier than anyone in "Shrek." Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Its cleverness and its good heart enable it to overcome a slow start, which is how all good fairy tales end. Read full review
80
SalonStephanie Zacharek
The picture is clever and vivacious -- at times, like the first "Shrek," it seems a bit taken with its own precociousness. But its moments of sheer inventiveness can still catch you off-guard, and some of them are wittily poetic. Read full review
80
Dallas ObserverRobert Wilonsky
This Shrek is both funnier and warmer than its predecessor; it's better-looking, too, no longer as clunky and junky as video-game graphics. Read full review
80
EmpireAngie Errigo
Remains hilarious throughout. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
Reunites one of the best voice casts ever for an animated film to create a shrewd entertainment that again successfully aims its jokes at various age groups. Read full review
80
TimeRichard Schickel
This wonderfully animated movie is a little more softly pitched than its predecessor, but it still has plenty of rollicking spin on the ball. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
With its appealing blend of animated comedy, romance, and adventure, Shrek 2 follows the formula of its predecessor while maintaining enough originality not to come across as a direct copy. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy Burr
What works best in Shrek 2 are the smaller roles, the pile-driving pop-culture jokes, and the moments of weird, early-Mad-magazine comic invention. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula Nechak
The real humor comes, once again from Murphy, whose Donkey is so genuinely funny and clever that he very nearly steals the film. Except that it's stolen by Banderas as a rogue Puss In Boots.
75
PremierePeter Debruge
The humor is so satisfying in its moment-to-moment pleasures that it's almost unsportsmanlike to criticize the bigger picture. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
At its best, this "Shrek" sequel draws up a brilliant new blueprint for all-ages animation, blending fairy-tale whimsy with edgy social satire. Too bad it ends with worn-out homilies far less imaginative than the story as a whole. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Bright, lively and entertaining, but it's no "Shrek." Maybe it's too much to expect lightning to strike twice. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMark Caro
Shrek is something of a poignant hero here and not terribly ogre-like; Myers obviously wasn't being paid per giggle generated. Diaz's Fiona feels increasingly fleshed out, while the "annoying talking animals" provide most of the laughs. Read full review
70
The New York TimesDana Stevens
Certainly Shrek 2 offers rambunctious fun, but there is also something dishonest about its blending of mockery and sentimentality. It lacks both the courage to be truly ugly and the heart to be genuinely beautiful. Read full review
70
TV Guide MagazineAngel Cohn
Awash in pop-culture jokes that will fly over the heads of tots and delight their parents, this vividly colored romp is a worthy sequel to the 1991 Oscar winner. Read full review
70
Film ThreatRick Kisonak
Serves up heaping helpings of everything fans loved about the first. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Unsurprisingly, your enjoyment of Shrek 2 will likely be predicated on your enjoyment of Shrek 1. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
Move over donkey, it's Banderas' time to shine. Read full review
60
Village VoiceMichael Atkinson
Some of the buckshot hits its target: Shrek's second sidekick, assassin-turned-comrade Puss in Boots, is voiced by Antonio Banderas as an outrageously mock-dramatic Spaniard with most of the pig-pile screenplay's best toss-offs. Read full review
60
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
The lovable characters remain, but they never do much of interest in a sequel that's safely above average but superfluous. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
The filmmakers betray the essentially childlike appeal of Shrek by piling up all these too-hip Hollywood references aimed at adults. It's not just kids who will feel cheated. Read full review
50
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
There's no innocence left in Shrek 2. The helter-skelter story and throwaway gags emerge from a sensibility that confuses gossipy knowingness and jadedness with wit. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
A sequel was called for, and so a sequel has arrived -- but it's a slightly zombie-like version, with the size, look and shape of the original movie, but without its lightness or spirit, its soul. Read full review
40
Washington PostStephen Hunter
One wishes the same wit and energy had gone into the story. That's Shrek 2 in a nutshell -- very pretty to look at, very hard to care for. Read full review
40
Film ThreatPete Vonder Haar
The soundtrack deserves mention, mostly because its relatively high quality makes the film itself that much more irritating. Read full review
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