Green ogre and pals captivate again

After their wedding, Fiona and Shrek enjoyed an extended romp in the sunflower fields of Fairyland. But now the honeymoon is over: It's time for the bride to take her beloved green ogre home to meet the parents.

Will Fiona's royal kin, who expected Prince Charming, accept Swamp Thing into the family? Will the guy who eats with his fingers use utensils? Will Fiona find the ogre's hut too down-market after a spell at her parents' roomy castle? The prospect of meeting fancy in-laws rekindles all of Shrek's insecurities about being ugly and unlovable.

Shrek is a wreck. But Shrek 2 is a dream, a sequel as exhilarating and riotously funny as 2001's top-grossing original.

This time, the computer-animated feature's "accept yourself" theme cuts even deeper because the filmmakers get to the dyed roots of intolerance. They reveal the secret of why Fiona's father, King Harold (voice of John Cleese), so anxiously rejects his son-in-law, much to his wife's exasperation.

"You're such a drama king!" Queen Lillian (voice of Julie Andrews) tweaks her husband.

During the course of its 93 galloping minutes, Shrek 2 carries the standard for self-esteem while spoofing showbiz, fairy tales, self-help books, and every other cultural phenom from animal-testing to the Oscars.

With their beloved sidekick, Donkey (voice of Eddie Murphy), riding shotgun, the newlyweds travel to Far Far Away, a Fairyland metropolis that resembles a medieval Beverly Hills. The best part of their odd odyssey is the Shreks' encounter with Puss-in-Boots, hilariously voiced by Antonio Banderas as a cross between Zorro and the Cheshire Cat. His foppish feline gives bounce to this ball.

In Far Far Away, the streets are lined with gated mansions and retail emporiums such as Farbucks and Barney's Old York. There are even premieres where Fairyland celebs arrive on the red carpet and are greeted by a fashion cop who resembles Joan Rivers. Only Grumpy would fail to laugh when Sleeping Beauty falls out of her carriage face-down on the carpet, snoring her narcoleptic song.

The pomp and presumption of Far Far Away totally intimidates Shrek, who makes the worst first impression imaginable. And that's before he discovers Fiona's teenage diary, in which she confides her dream of marrying Prince Charming (voice of Rupert Everett), the son of Fairy Godmother (voice of the absolutely fabulous Jennifer Saunders), who is cooking up something in her lab that requires cruelty to animals.

Rather than being his colorful, carbuncled, trumpet-eared self, Shrek wants to be the man of Fiona's teen dreams. Unlike the wise authors of Shrek 2, he hasn't read Bruno Bettelheim's landmark study of fairy tales, The Uses of Enchantment.

Being oneself is not enough, Bettelheim observed. The secret we learn from fairy tales is that happiness is being oneself with another.

The improbably moving Shrek, both first and second chapters, follows its characters as they learn, forget, and are reminded once again to be comfortable in their own, neon-green skin.

Like its predecessor, Shrek 2 combines eloquence with irreverence, striking a unique visual and narrative tone that is both photorealistic and surreal. If the film has a flaw, it's that Banderas is so friskily funny that he easily hijacks the film from the other characters, including Murphy's scene-stealing Donkey.

Whatever you do, don't walk out during the credits: The after-party is happening.

Contact movie critic Carrie Rickey at 215-854-5402 or crickey@phillynews.com.

Shrek 2 *** 1/2 (out of four stars)

Produced by David Lipman, Aron Warner, and John H. Williams; directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon; written by Adamson, J. David Stem, Joe Stillman, and David N. Weiss, based on characters by William Steig; music by Harry Gregson-Williams and Stephen Barton; distributed by DreamWorks.

Running time: 1 hour, 33 mins.

Voice of Shrek. . . Mike Myers

Voice of Fiona. . . Cameron Diaz

Voice of Donkey. . . Eddie Murphy

Voice of Puss-in-Boots. . . Antonio Banderas

Parent's guide: PG (brief drug reference, crude humor, discreet sexual humor)

Showing at: area theaters