Shrek 2

By Corona's Coming Attractions     June 08, 2004

Genre:
Fantasy/Animated/Sequel.

Studio:
DreamWorks SKG.

Production Company:
DreamWorks SKG.

Project Phase:
In the Can.

Type of Animation:

Computer Generated Imagery.

Whose Voices Are In It:
Mike Myers (Shrek); Cameron Diaz (Princess Fiona); Eddie Murphy (Donkey); John Cleese (The King); Julie Andrews (The Queen); Antonio Banderas (Puss 'n Boots); Jennifer Saunders (The Fairy Godmother); Rupert Everett (Prince Charming).

Who's Making It:
Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, Conrad Vernon (Directors); Andrew Adamson, Joe Stillman, David Stern, David Weiss (Screenwriters); Andrew Adamson (Story); Aron Warner, David Lipman, John H. Williams (Producers); Pacific Data Images (Computer Animation House); Harry Gregson-Williams (Musical Score); based on characters created by William Steig.

Premise:
Shrek must make the journey to a neighboring kingdom to meet his new in-laws, Princess Fiona's parents.

Release Date:
May 19, 2004.

Comments:
This movie is going forward on all cylinders, though little is known about the project. Even Diaz herself hasnâââ‰â¢t seen the new script, but sheâââ‰â¢s still confident in the film. âââ¬Ã...âTheyâââ‰â¢re such a creative and wonderful group of people,âââ¬ï¿½ she says about the SHREK filmmakers. âââ¬Ã...âIâââ‰â¢m sure theyâââ‰â¢ll come up with something really, really fun.âââ¬ï¿½ Diazâââ‰â¢s only concern is that the second film be committed to Fionaâââ‰â¢s decision to accept herself and her body for what it is. âââ¬Ã...âI hope it allows us to stay true to Fiona and the message that Shrek sent out.âââ¬ï¿½

Scoop Feedback:

June 5, 2001... Surprising absolutely no one, DreamWorks announced a sequel to the animated flick that broke the record for best DreamWorks opening and made second place when it came to animated openings overall. Almost $150 million in three weeks? Oh yeah. Rossio and Elliot have been tapped to write the followup and word says a fairy godmother character might be introduced. [Info provided by DreamWorks, taken also from Hollywood Reporer.]

July 11, 2001... Variety reports today that by the end of the week, deals could be in place for Murphy, Myers, and Diaz to return and voice their characters again for this flick. Their word on the coin? $5 million for each. Not too shabby. [Originally appeared in Variety.]

October 17, 2001... Variety again reports new Shrek 2 news: now it seems screenwriters David Stern and David Weiss are writing the script for the film and not Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio as was previously reported. [Source: Variety.]

November 15, 2001... Only one of Shrek's two directors is returning to work on the sequel. Andrew Adamson will direct Shrek 2 without Vicky Jenson. Currently Adamson is working on Shrek 2's storyline with the movie's screenwriters. Adamson will first direct Truckers, a live-action/animation movie for DreamWorks before diving full into Shrek 2.

Speaking with Variety, Adamson said that the success of the first film has painted them into a creative corner. "The worst thing was that we let Shrek and the princess get married, because we could have used that," he said. "At the time, we were hardly thinking about the sequel, we were just so thrilled that we'd worked all that time and people didn't think it sucked." [Originally appeared in Variety.]

January 6, 2002... The latest issue of Creative Screenwriting magazine features an interview with one-half of the Shrek writing duo of Terry Russio and Ted Elliott. Russio explains why him and his writing partner turned down the option of doing Shrek 2, and it also offers us a clue as to what direction the sequel might be headed:

"Many great SHREK sequels can be made...we felt that all good sequel versions had a similar quality, being that you start out with a fairy tale convention and out of those conventions you tell a dramatic and funny story. But the story idea Dreamworks chose for SHREK 2 does not deal with fairy tale conventions."

[Scooped by 'double whammy'; originally appeared in Creative Screenwriting magazine.]

January 25, 2002... Dark Horizons is the first to carry the news online about Shrek 2's storyline. While speaking with CNN, DreamWorks' Jeffery Katzenberg said the sequel will pick up right where the first movie ended. The second film would begin with Shrek and Fiona returning from their honeymoon to find a letter from Fiona's parents inviting the newlyweds over for dinner. They have no idea that their daughter is now an ogre. [First appeared on CNN; thanks to Dark Horizons for alerting us.]

June 16, 2002... John Cleese has been summoned to the land of fairy tales for Shrek 2. Cleese will provide the voice of Princess Fiona's father in the movie, the ruler of a neighboring land. Wait 'til he meets the son-in-law.

January 16, 2003... Via Dark Horizons, we learn that Reuters issued a report stating that Mary Poppins herself, Julie Andrews, will voice Princess
Fiona's mother in Shrek 2. [Dark Horizons, Reuters.]

November 5, 2003... Access Hollywood is debuting the world premiere of the trailer for SHREK 2 on today's show, but if you go hit the AH zone on MSN, the trailer is already up on the site and can be downloaded. Get your first look at Princess Fiona's parents (voiced by John Cleese and Julie Andrews) in their kingdom of Far, Far Away, Prince Charming and his golden flowing locks of hair, and Puss n' Boots (voiced by Antonio Banderas) -- as well as the return of Shrek, Donkey and Fiona.

Commence the download, amigos! SHREK 2 opens in theaters May 21, 2004. [MSN.]

January 15, 2004... Latino Review has

published your first look at the six new movie banners for SHREK 2, soon to be dangling from the ceiling of your local multiplex. Each of the banners showcases a character or two from the film, with one for Donkey, Shrek, Fiona and ones for the new characters of Puss'n'Boots, the Fairy Godmother and Princess Fiona's parents in the land of Far, Far Away (seen above).

Go hit Latino Review to see the five remaining images.

February 6, 2004... The official website for SHREK 2 has been updated and now features new download content for your enjoyment. Among the new offerings are Valentine e-cards that you can send to friends and your closer friends; three different wallpaper images; a screen saver and buddy icons for your desktop. As well, there's a new animated intro to whet your curiosity for the forthcoming sequel.

Stop by the SHREK 2 to check all this new stuff out. [Official website.]

February 16, 2004... After making its network debut last night on NBC, the new trailer for SHREK 2 is now ready for download from the film's official website. Featuring new looks at Shrek, Donkey and Princess Fiona, as well as such new characters as Puss'n'Boots (voiced by Antonio Banderas), the Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders) and Fiona's parents (John Cleese and Julie Andrews), the trailer shows us that if you liked what you saw in the first SHREK, chances are good that you will also enjoy the sequel. And is that the Gingerbread Man we spotted in the trailer? [Official website.]

April 19, 2004... The Counting Crows leads the list of musical acts on the soundtrack for SHREK 2, arriving in stores on May 11. The Crows' single, "Accidentally in Love", is the first track released from the new animated film's soundtrack and plays over the the start of the film's opening scenes which show us what happened on the honeymoon of Shrek and Princess Fiona.

Along with the Counting Crows, the soundtrack for SHREK 2 features a mix of classic tunes from music legends and new tracks from rising rock stars. There's also three songs that feature three of the cast members from SHREK 2: Jennifer Saunders performs two songs including a remake of "Holding Out for a Hero", and Eddie Murphy and Antonio Banderas sing a duet of Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida Loca".

The complete list of tracks on the SHREK 2 soundtrack are as follows:

Counting Crows, "Accidentally in Love"
Frou Frou, "Holding Out For A Hero"
Butterfly Boucher featuring David Bowie with "Changes"
Lipps, Inc., "Funkytown"
Dashboard Confessional, "As Lovers Go"
Eels, "I Need Some Sleep"
Rich Price, "I'm On My Way"
Pete Yorn, "Ever Fallen in Love"
Tom Waits, "Little Drop of Poison"
Joseph Arthur, "You're So True"
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, "People Ain't No Good";
Jennifer Saunders, "Holding Out for a Hero" and "Fairy Godmother Song"
Eddie Murphy and Antonio Banderas, "Livin' La Vida Loca"

[Geffen Records.]

May 5, 2004... Due to what DreamWorks calls "ogre-whelming early demand", the movie studio has pushed up the release date of SHREK 2 two days ahead of schedule. The sequel will now open in theaters on Wednesday, May 19 as opposed to Friday, May 21.

"I can't remember a time when we've felt more anticipation for a film from both the public and the press," commented Jim Tharp, DreamWorks Head of Distribution. "The response to early screenings has been wonderful, so we thought this would be a great way to meet the demand to see the movie and to give audiences a way to guarantee having tickets in hand when they get to the theatre."

Furthermore, the studio said that starting this coming Friday advance tickets for SHREK 2 screenings will be available for purchase online. [DreamWorks.]

May 19, 2004... Studio estimates for SHREK 2 have pegged the green sequel with netting nearly $50 million dollars in ticket sales in just three days. Estimated grosses for the picture now total $49,445,000 -- a phenomenal achievement for any film during a non-holiday period and especially for one that opened in the middle of the work week. Tallies indicate that SHREK 2 took in $11.8 M on Wednesday, $9.1 M on Thursday and $28.5 M yesterday. If the film continues to perform at this pace SHREK 2 is looking at a $70-80 million dollar weekend. [DreamWorks.]

After Its Release:

May 20, 2004... On its opening day yesterday SHREK 2 grossed an estimated $11.8 million dollars, setting a new record for a mid-week debut by an animated film. "This was a spectacular opening and one that exceeded all of our expectations," said DreamWorks Head of Distribution Jim Tharp. "We had hoped to come within range of the record, but to fly well past it was thrilling, to say the least. Based on the reactions of both audiences and critics, we anticipate that positive reviews and very strong word of mouth will spell a very successful weekend and will carry SHREK 2 well into the summer months."

May 22, 2004... Studio estimates for SHREK 2 have pegged the green sequel with netting nearly $50 million dollars in ticket sales in just three days. Estimated grosses for the picture now total $49,445,000 -- a phenomenal achievement for any film during a non-holiday period and especially for one that opened in the middle of the work week. Tallies indicate that SHREK 2 took in $11.8 M on Wednesday, $9.1 M on Thursday and $28.5 M yesterday. If the film continues to perform at this pace SHREK 2 is looking at a $70-80 million dollar weekend.

May 23, 2004... To paraphrase Michael Douglas in WALL STREET: Green is good.

DreamWorks' SHREK 2 completely surpassed everyone's expectations at the box office this weekend by having the second-highest opening weekend of all time. The sequel stands to gross an estimated $104.3 million dollars from Friday to Sunday, right behind SPIDER-MAN's 2002 three-day run of $114.8 M.

SHREK 2 also set new records. It beat last year's FINDING NEMO record for an animated feature opening (which had stood at $70 M), it has the biggest gross ever for a Saturday ($44.8 M) and it stands to take the crown from THE RETURN OF THE KING for the Wednesday opening of a movie ($124.1 M for KING.) And that's not counting the 4,163 theaters the film is playing on, the most screens ever for a film to date.

May 30, 2004... DreamWorks' SHREK 2 retained the top perch at the box office this weekend, with the sequel netting $95,578,365 over the Memorial Day long weekend. That's a dip of about one-third from the movie's gross last weekend, a very impressive feat considering that SHREK's main competition was THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, one of the summer's big event films. TOMORROW opened well, grossing $85 M over its first three days at around 800 screens less than SHREK 2.

As it stands today, SHREK 2 has netted approximately $238 M dollars in its first 11 days. That's enough to make it the second fastest-grossing film to achieve $200 M (SPIDER-MAN was first in nine days.)

June 6, 2004... In its third week of release, DreamWorks' SHREK 2 crossed the $300 M barrier by adding an additional $37 M to its tally. The sequel has already surpassed the $267 M that the first film took in domestically and is still holding strong in each week of its performance.