Film Challenge Week 11: A film Newt Sattler has rated 5 stars
Film: Shrek 2 (2004)
Genre: Family/Comedy
Watched on: Peacock
As this challenge was adapted from Newt Sattler's 52-week film challenge, naturally, I picked her as the first person I would watch 5-star film picks from.
According to Letterboxd, she has 70 films rated 5 stars as of July 29, 2025.
Surprisingly, I've seen a few of the films, which include Challengers, Barbie, Nine Days, Palm Springs, Mean Girls, and Easy A. I knew I was in good hands. Now, there were plenty of films to pick from Newt's list. I could have picked Apocalypse Now, My Cousin Vinny, Nickel Boys, and even The Zone of Interest. All of which are highly acclaimed films.
However! One film piqued my interest the most, and that was Shrek 2.
Now hear me out. First of all, I've been meaning to rewatch Shrek because I recently found out there are more than 3 Shrek movies, which I had no idea existed. My knowledge pretty much stops at Shrek 2. Secondly, Zendaya is slated to star in Shrek 5 as Shrek and Fiona's daughter, which is scheduled to open the day before Christmas Eve in 2026. Lastly, I wanted to see why Newt rated Shrek 2 5 stars but not Shrek.
Before watching Shrek 2, I had to watch Shrek, and let me say this.
It holds up despite being released in 2001. The soundtrack is not only nostalgic, but it's top-tier. I burst out laughing a handful of times, which I have not done in a long time when watching a film. Also, I'm a sucker for a good quest storyline with the found family trope. Donkey and Shrek have chemistry, let's be real.
Like most fairytales, this story had a moral too: true love prevails, good trumps evil, and we should love ourselves as we are. Rewatching Shrek in adulthood is so much fun because I can identify the double entendres that flew over my head as a kid, and the animation is still pretty solid in 2025. Shrek is a classic in my humble opinion.
Unlike Shrek, its sequel did not have a lasting memory.
Prince Charming and the Fairy Godmother sparked a minor memory, but overall, I felt like I was watching Shrek 2 for the first time.
In the sequel, Shrek and Fiona travel to the Far Far Away Kingdom to meet Fiona's parents for the first time since they got married. Due to technological limitations, her parents have no idea that she married an ogre and the result of the curse. Hijinks ensue – we are introduced to new characters (Puss in Boots, such a cutie!), human Shrek, and a whole new kingdom.
I loved how Fiona's kingdom, Far Far Away, is modeled after Hollywood, Los Angeles. It's a stark departure from Shrek's swamp and Duloc. There's Rodeo Drive, the Hollywood-esque Far Far Away sign, and "celebrity" homes of princesses we're familiar with, namely, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.
One of my favorite aspects of Shrek is identifying the different fairytale characters and pop cultural references.
When Mongo, the giant Gingerbread Man, tramples on a Farbucks Coffee, the customers ran into another Farbucks Coffee across the street for safety. We love the capitalist commentary in a film made for kids and adults!
The stakes in Shrek 2 were moderately high in that Fiona's father, King Harold, promised the evil Fairy Godmother Fiona's hand in marriage to her son, Prince Charming. So what does the king do? He attempts to assassinate Shrek by hiring Puss in Boots lol. They end up going to the Fairy Godmother's factory to find a potion that will solve Shrek's dilemma of trying to win the approval of Fiona's parents.
The trio, Shrek, Donkey, and Puss, managed to get the Happily Ever After potion, which turns Shrek into a human version of himself and Donkey into a horse. Back in the castle, Fiona transforms back to her human self, too. What happened to Dragon? We don't know.
Since Fiona transformed back, the Fairy Godmother plants Prince Charming in the castle so he could pretend to be Shrek and slips King Harold the True Love's Kiss potion so that Fiona would fall in love with Charming. Fiona is a bright woman, though she knew something was off about "Shrek" from the jump. We see the trio race against time to return to the castle, so that Shrek can kiss Fiona to lock in the Happily Ever After potion, because apparently, all magic is sealed with a kiss.
At the end, a huge family secret is revealed! Spoiler warning, but if you haven't watched Shrek 2 by now, maybe you should have gotten to it a decade ago?
We find out that King Harold is a frog a la The Princess and the Frog! Essentially, he was blackmailed by the Fairy Godmother to jump through hoops to get Fiona to fall in love with Prince Charming, thus securing her and her son to the royal family. But alas, all's well that ends well because this is a fairytale after all!
Shrek and Fiona love each other for who they are. They remain as ogres, and there's a huge musical number at the end.
Why did I sum up Shrek 2? It was fun. I had a good time watching this and genuinely believe that this is a great sequel. The jokes landed for me, although fewer laughs than the first Shrek. As mentioned, the world-building and characters are fantastic. I love seeing the fairy tale and pop cultural references, which I want to see more of in Shrek 5.
Was it a 5-star watch for me? No, the first film in this franchise still has that magic over me that I can't quite shake off. This is a close second, though, pun intended, with a rating of 4.5 stars.
Will I watch Shrek 3? It's on my lineup already.
