SHREK 2 Co-director Offers The Sequel’s Plot
Kelly Asbury, co-director of the upcoming computer-animated sequel film Shrek 2, told SCI FI Wire that the movie will delve deeper into the characters and their relationships, while aiming its satire squarely at Hollywood. “Like with any sequel, what I like to go to a sequel for is to see the further adventures of these characters that I’ve fallen in love with,” Asbury said in an interview after previewing the movie at DreamWorks in Glendale, Calif. “And that’s what we’re trying to do with this. We’re not just trying to recreate the first one. We’re trying to take it to the next level emotionally.”
With tongue in cheek, Asbury calls the second movie Shrek Meets the Parents, because it turns on the first meeting between Shrek (voiced by Michael Myers) with the parents of his new bride, Fiona (Cameron Diaz). The parents are the King (John Cleese) and Queen (Julie Andrews) of Far Far Away, which Asbury says is the “Beverly Hills of the fairy tale world.” “We like to think it’s bigger, better, funnier, everything,” he said. “That’s always the goal when you make a sequel, especially, is to give the audience more.”
While the first Shrek lampooned the conventions of typical fairy-tale movies, such as those produced by rival studio Walt Disney Co., the sequel aims a little broader, Asbury said. “I think if we’re parodying anything here, we’re more making fun of the Hollywood, Beverly Hills aspect of things,” he said.
Conrad Vernon, who is also a co-director of the sequel, added in an interview, “Again, we’re dealing with beauty and, you know, it’s only skin deep and everything. And we figured where her parents live in Far Far Away is a perfect place to do that.”
Shrek 2 brings back Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and adds the new characters Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas), Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) and Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders). The movie, which is currently in production, is slated for release June 18, 2004.
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