Why Shrek 2 is a Perfect Sequel

do you ever just look at your recent videos and say I may have gone too far in a few places because yeah sometimes it seems like all I ever do is complain we'll see about Disney huh go figure let's be positive for a change in fact let's talk about why Shrek 2 is actually one of the greatest sequels of all time no I'm not memeing you I'm dead serious this time most people love this movie some even love it more than the first but I don't think anyone ever takes a look at it and says oh yeah now that's one of the greatest sequels in cinematic history why am i Luigi but here's the thing it totally is one of the greatest sequels in cinematic history now I know what you're thinking whoa whoa there's no such thing as a perfect movie and to that I say there's no such thing as a perfect movie but there is such a thing as a perfect sequel all right you guys really got to stick with me on this one this is probably the most TED talking my channel will ever get so if you understand this next bit you have a high enough IQ to understand the genius of shiny Congrats [Music] so as I said there's no such thing as a perfect movie even my favorite movie of all time isn't perfect I mean what happened to the folder what happened to the folder after Neiman put it down this isn't funny Damien Chazelle this is gonna bug me for the rest of my life where did the folder go so yeah like I said there are no perfect films there's simply too many variables at play directing acting cinematography score editing effects production design writing pacing characters Tama Toa every single one of these elements needs to be perfect in order to craft a perfect film and it can't be done however the criteria for a perfect sequel is a lot more achievable as a result a movie can perform its functions as a sequel perfectly even if it can't be a perfect movie so what's the criteria for a perfect sequel here's what I decree it is number one expand the universe of the first film in meaningful ways to continue the story in a new compelling way three introduce new compelling themes or expand on the themes of the original and four leave an undeniable impact on your franchise a few examples of perfect sequels include Empire Strikes Back aliens The Dark Knight Blade Runner 2049 and Toy Story 2 all of these films meet the criteria for a perfect sequel and in my opinion all of them are a much better film than their predecessor except daily and those two are basically equal so let's go over that criteria I laid out and determine why these movies do everything a sequel should and more expanding the universe aliens introduces new concepts about xenomorph biology a deeper look at the whaling Corp and a much more intricate look at Ripley's life and her as a character in general all of the things introduced in this movie fits so naturally into the alien universe that it feels like these concepts were here from the start of course there's an alien queen of course the aliens incubate their victims like this of course mech suits of course weird giant Mars rovers everything in this movie feels like a natural progression of the first movies world I could also talk about Blade Runner at this point but we don't have 18 hours so let's move on continuing the story in a new compelling way and introducing new compelling the James Bladerunner 2049 takes the introspective themes of the first film such as identity humanity artificiality etc and gives them all a much more thorough explanation while also telling a more compelling story allows for many more chances to develop all these themes the dark night shifts the focus to new characters and gets a chance to explore brand new themes of morality chaos justice etc and Toy Story 2 raises far more interesting questions in the first what happens when a toys owner grows up will they be forgotten and is it worth it to go through that these questions are then directly followed through on in the third movie which leads me to leaving an undeniable impact on the rest of the franchise Empire Strikes Back is the textbook example every major plot beat in the entire series revolves around the twist in this movie it entirely changes the trajectory of Luke evaders character arcs in the next movie the entire point of the prequels is explaining how this twist came to be the theme of family permeates the entire Star Wars saga and it wasn't the first movie that caused this it was the sequel in addition the amount of iconic fan favorite characters the sequel introduces is unreal Yoda Palpatine Lando and this guy whose name you all know and it starts with a B trash yes I before we get into Shrek 2 I want to quickly go over decent and bad sequels Deadpool 2 is by all accounts a pretty good movie better than the first but is it a pretty good sequel mad argue that it's only a decent sequel despite being better in nearly every way it still feels all too familiar with a lot of recycled jokes and bits from the first too much fanservice ain't good fam in addition the tone hasn't really changed much aliens and Empire exciting and rich because of their unique tones compared to the first film this is just more Deadpool I feel mostly the same watching these two movies despite the latter's improvements essentially Deadpool 2 is a galaxy 2 kind of sequel while Empire Strikes Back is a Majora's Mask kind of sequel both good better than the originals even but once trying a lot harder to be a different richer experience and then there's bad sequels I have two examples that I hold an equally low esteem cars2 and the last Jedi these two are the worst kinds of sequels for different reasons Cars 2 is a worthless Side Story that doesn't follow up on anything that made the original decent and its events are completely ignored by cars 3 it left no impact on the franchise and it expanded the world of cars in completely idiotic ways the last Jedi meanwhile feels like a fanfiction written by a pretentious high school student who only read the Wikipedia plot of the previous movie it's connections the force awakens are tenuous at best its themes of failure are designed to actively frustrate the viewer and it does very little to advance the story to develop any characters aside from its villain of all people shrek as a franchise is obviously no stranger to bad sequels but what's incredible is that DreamWorks managed to sidestep every possible problem the sequel could have and hit that criteria I laid out perfectly in its first outing Shrek 2 is obviously not a perfect movie so it's okay for her to be intolerant I guess that's why she gets murdered at the end problem solved so yeah this is not a perfect movie however it is most definitely a perfect sequel and hey let's talk about that Shrek 2 features such a perfect expansion of the first movie story characters in world that it blows my mind the story proceeds in such a natural way and answers so many questions that the first movie might have left us with Fiona's a princess right okay oh well what Kingdom does she belong to who were her parents and why did they leave her in that tower who are her people who are you people I don't have people no people huh Fiona so look the movie expands upon all these questions in a way that makes a complete sense having it all be a ploy by a manipulative fairy godmother in order to get her son a future bride all in exchange for the happily ever after she promised King Harald who also happens to be the Frog Prince which is also foreshadowed over the course of the film don't you remember when we were young and oh we used to walk down by the lily pond they were in blue my first kiss that's amazing to quote my 12th grade government teacher who also kind of looks like a white Shrek now that I think about it it all comes together like a beautiful tapestry much like Blade Runner 2049 Shrek - lets you rethink the events of the first film with all the new revelations it gives you what but at the same time it offers a completely satisfying standalone story unburdened by a need to know what happened in the first film this is a very satisfying standalone and follow-up story complete with twists turns and dare I say it layers the opening narration sets the stage pretty well echoing the same story the first film opened with but with new details and a mysterious new narrator instead of Shrek the movie is wasting no time in expanding the Shrek universe and getting you intrigued to learn more about it we see tons of new locations that feel completely different from the places we went to in the first film there's a lot of magic spells and potions that enhance the world building these concepts weren't really explored too much in the first film but there front and center here and it feels organic we'll get to themes later but does this movie leave an undeniable impact on the franchise bruh 9:00 a.m. the franchise far far away is the main setting of the series from this point on everything that happened in the first film might as well have been forgotten Lord Farquaad is some old buddy who had no real presence as a villain just a joke fairy godmother is a compelling antagonist who's implied to be behind Fiona's curse in the first place and her impact is felt in universe and in real life apparently and just like Empire the newcomers here are fan favorite mainstays Puss in Boots the king and queen Prince Charming Doris voiced by Larry King the supporting cast is so good you guys are like okay so Shrek 2 hits all the criteria it's a perfect sequel I convinced you guys hooray we're done here room back in the 90s I was in a no I'm not done explaining what makes this movies so good get out your 2004 era mp3 players and log into that Napster it's the music we're gonna talk about the music now soundtrack of Shrek 2 is in a word phenomenal it accomplishes so much in terms of setting the tone enhancing the story and making me forget how much I hate Footloose damn you Shrek - seriously though is it safe to say that Shrek - not only has the better version of holding out for a hero but it uses it in the story in a much better way well I can what lose it's just there without any real reason for it to be sung she's just singing about a hero just because for no reason here it ties in to the story so naturally and it blends so well with the score that's not even a contest shucks to make such perfect use of the song that's associated primarily with this movie obviously this is the big example everyone likes to point to and we'll discuss it later but let's talk about how every other song in the soundtrack is perfectly implemented and enhances the scene I think people take for granted just how important the soundtrack is to a Shrek movie it's a lot like guardians of the galaxy in that regarding the pop culture songs are integral to strikes identity and they help make the series what it is for instance that the main goal of the first Shrek soundtrack is essentially ooh get that away from me you know I'm allergic to defenses of the last Jedi but yeah Shrek one delivers his songs mental at the audience know this ain't your grandma's fairy tale the entire tone of the movie is made explicitly clear through one magical little compound word once you hear smash mouth you know exactly what this movie is gonna be it's an edgy take on fairy tales and it doesn't give a damn about its bad reputation as the movie slows down it really starts to examine the blooming relationship between Shrek and Fiona the songs start reflecting that from the one that one remembers - hallelujah - the song with an opening so perfect it feels like it was written for this story it's such a solid soundtrack with an explicit and strong connections that the story is trying to tell take these amazing songs out and the story doesn't work quite as well this is why I think Shrek The Musical is complete garbage but we'll talk about that another day what's amazing is the fact that Shrek 2 takes the concept of pop-culture musical storytelling from the first movie says now that's sucked and improves it tenfold the only movie I can think of that incorporates pop-culture music into its story better than this is baby driver and if I'm talking about a movie in the same breath as baby driver that's how you know okay this is a pretty good movie the central theme of this movie is exploring the relationship between Shrek and Fiona this comes across so perfectly with accidentally in love which is a jam despite being the most early 2000 song I've ever heard possibly is there no better way to describe strike and Fiona's relationship then accidentally in love ever fallen in love reflects this perfectly as well while also being a great action song I need some sleep and people ain't no good perfectly reflects recs mindset and the tone of each scene Funkytown and little drop of poison or the perfect ways to establish new locations and I could gush about how David Bowie's changes is used in this movie for hours how could this soundtrack be any more perfect oh yeah the one song I can't seem to wrap my head around is livin la vida loca which seems more like a random choice thrown in because of popularity but whatever it's still a solid way to go out plus it's nice to hear Antonio Banderas and Eddie Murphy sing especially since Mu Shu was robbed of having his own song but that's ok I'm sure I'll have one in the live-action remake right right holdin along if you add up all the songs in this movie there could be 10 I didn't mention the fairy godmother song since it's an original creation and mostly Mendes I take that to Disney kind of like the Robin Hood song from the first movie and it's good for what it is so this is a movie with 10 songs all ranging from solid to spectacular with nine of them serving vital relevance to their scenes and ultimately enhancing the viewing experience compare that to Suicide Squad it's too easy compare that to Shrek the third what is wrong with this movie I can't make sense of any of the song choices here why is Live and Let Die playing at King Harald's funeral this is a bond song you guys why is it here is it because it has died in the title wow that's really stupid thanks so much guys I love this movie yeah really can't appreciate a perfectly integrated soundtrack until you experience a poorly integrated one so thanks for that I guess okay I don't want to think about shrek the throne anymore moving on this movie is really funny guys I don't even know what else to say here thank you [Laughter] legit I watched this movie last week and I laughed out loud on numerous occasions I never laugh out loud at movies unless I'm with an audience and I wasn't with no audience when I watch this it is just that funny that I couldn't help myself the pop-culture references are so seamlessly integrated into the world of this movie that it's incredible like I love you Madagascar but this is just referencing for references sake Shrek 2 has fryers Fatboy nights far bucks even just the concept of Far Far Away being like la is brilliant and a great contrast to the locations of the first movie the jokes and delivery from everyone is top-notch I think my favorite performance in this movie has to be John Cleese she's class I should look up how to pronounce that before I record this none okay that's okay John Cleese cheese John cheese as King Harold everything he says just cracks me up this is Fiona's choice yes but you were supposed to choose the prince we [ __ ] little details like prince charming wearing a Burger King crown this Cyclops stood at the door to the poison apple these terrified people escaping one far bucks just to go to another across the street this movie came out in 2004 why is that so topical there are now three Starbucks's on my college campus who needs that many Starbucks C's to quote that weird [ __ ] guy from the live-action Beauty and the Beast isn't one enough also those movies are way better fairy tales on the live-action Beauty and the Beast boom send tweet I also love the dinner scene and how chaotic it gets it's the perfect mixture of awkwardness and hilariousness and I have to say it's pretty much the best scene in the movie nah I'm only kidding how do you even think of something like this how is it possible who came up with this idea Jesus a scene like this shouldn't exist it is unworthy of us bortles you can't make a flawless movie but you can make a flawless scene and this is it it's simultaneously hilarious and suspenseful the stakes are made explicitly clear if Charming kisses Fiona she falls in love with him and it's an instant game over we're invested in Shrek's plight to stop that kiss and all the close calls in the scene but good god it's hysterical to mongos death is so emotionally invested and funny at the same time I love the part where tournaments about to kiss her and she picks up the rose and stem they keep dancing I can't get over how well the hero vocals sync up with the action and the underlying score I can't get over the hero vocals in general oh my god this cover it's so goddamn perfect and it might be the best thing DreamWorks has ever made actually you know what it is the best thing DreamWorks has ever made this scene is better than every scene in the Prince of Egypt I'm not joking Prince of Egypt is the better overall movie but this individual scene out does every individual scene of this movie also as a better seen than the Lightspeed Ram is that what you people wanted to hear are you are you happy now but believe it or not this sequence despite being easily the best part of the movie isn't that why this movie as a whole is so well regarded it's a big part of it obviously but in my opinion there's an underlying theme that's allowed this movie to persist in our minds for so long and to quote a wise old fat guy you may not have noticed it but you're brain dead the most important reason shrek 2 is such a perfect sequel is how it carries over the themes of the original and expands on them in a deep satisfying way the first shrek is about a guy who was told time and time again that he is unworthy of being loved society hates him for existing he is seemingly content with his role as the person everyone hates he doesn't need anyone that all changes when he meets donkey someone who sees him for who he is as a person he opens up the donkey about his frustration with how the world sees him or at least he tries to anyway odors are like onions end of story bye-bye he then meets Fiona and finds out they have a lot in common he's found someone who could potentially love him after years of assuming he's unworthy of love so he defies society's expectations of him confessing his love for Fiona and usurping a kingdom by murdering its ruler but let's not worry about that he and Fiona get married and his story comes to a close it's a happy ending for someone who never thought he'd get one but the paraphrase a wise old horse man you can't have happy endings and franchises not really because if everyone's happy the show would be over and above all else the show has to keep going you never get a happy ending because there's always more show this is where Shrek 2 comes in Shrek has learned to open up to someone but he's not ready to face society and society is not ready to face him spike gaining someone's love and affection he is still not accepted he's not the son-in-law of the king once he's not the Prince the Kingdom once has gotten something he's wanted for so long and yet society thinks he doesn't deserve it and his insecurities make him believe that he doesn't deserve it this is why Shrek 2 speaks to me and so many others I think we've all been in the position where we second-guess ourselves about whether or not we really deserve something let me tell you as a musical theatre geek who really can't sing I've gotten part after part in high school and community shows while my female friends with actual great singing voices get practically nothing the gender balance and community theater is way off so I got part after part while my friends maybe got one big role every three years if they're lucky I've had at least a named role in every show I've ever been in some girls I've met have never had a named role and I hear how good their voices and I just want to say sorry I want to give them my part somehow because I know they'd sing it better it makes me feel like a joke for even getting that part I've also had positions in many different organizations ones I didn't work that hard to get while my friends tried their hardest to get and still didn't it makes me feel like garbage for being in a position like that when I know my friend would do so much better and then there's romantic connection I've only really had five or six serious questions in my lifetime so far and one of them was on Tama Toa so I don't think that really counts I confessed my feelings in one instance and that led to a relationship but with the other cases instead of confessing my feelings all I could think to myself was man I wish I was good enough to be with these people I know for a fact that I'm not the only person who's experienced this feeling that sense of doubting yourself even irrationally at times because you let your insecurities control your life and that is why we as a society connect so well with Shrek in the first movie he doesn't confess his feelings because he misunderstands a conversation between Fiona and donkey and he lets his irrational fears get the better of him realising only later how foolish that is and after confessing his love to Fiona even after seemingly gaining her love and affection back he still thinks that he is not good enough he's not the charming prince that this girl was promised all her life he tries to drastically change himself in order to become the man he thinks she deserves but he realizes that no matter what he can't change who he is inside she's a princess that's something no amount of potion is ever going to change but that's okay he learns to be content with who he is because that's the person she fell in love with to quote Dara vannhansen you don't have to convince me you don't have to be scared you're not enough because what we've got going is good I should mention that Kung Fu Panda also focuses on the idea of getting something you've always wanted but ultimately believing you don't deserve it while this movie is excellent and it handles this idea well I think Shrek 2 handles it better because Shrek's journey through this movie is more relatable and emotional how remains an optimist even in the face of constant adversity and rejection from the society he desperately wants to join that's admirable in its own right however Shrek exemplifies the kind of personal growth so many of us experience we try to change ourselves to be better in certain roles to be a better performer a better worker a better communicator a better partner we want to improve but in the end it's so easy to lose track of who we are to compromise our identity in order to conform to what society wants us to be sometimes we lose hope that it's even worth it we believe that no matter what we're not good enough but we are you are good enough don't let society change anything about you be proud of who you are and what you've accomplished because no matter who you are no matter what anyone else says no matter how much that little voice in the back of your head is telling you that you don't deserve it it's not true you deserve to live happily ever after [Music] Wow Shrek 2 is incredible guys DreamWorks movies clearly peaked during 2004 in fact I think I'll review the other DreamWorks movie that came out that year I don't remember what it was but considering how amazing this one is I'm sure they followed it up with another incredible class [Music]

Channel: Schaffrillas Productions

Views: 4,469,816

Rating: 4.92029 out of 5

Keywords: Schaffrillas Productions, Shrek 2, Shrek, Donkey, Fiona, Fairy Godmother, I Need a Hero

Id: 9Nk7y6c1Tow

Length: 24min 4sec (1444 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 18 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/Becquerel33]

You all seemed to like the last video i posted by Schaffrillas'. And this one is way better imo, I highly recommend his channel for good movie breakdowns.

Edit: I'm also glad that Oscar's and Fairy godmothers face is going to be front and centre on this sub for a while

[u/Devilled_Advocate]

Yeah, this is a great video.

[u/bionicjoey]

This made me realize I need to rewatch Shrek 2