50 Fun Facts About Shrek 2

Which actor voices Puss in Boots, the sword-wielding cat hired to ambush the ogre in Shrek 2?

Antonio Banderas first tried a high-pitched voice for the cat before settling on a tone deeper than his own. He said he took the part because he had enjoyed the first film so much.

Which fairy tale figure does King Harold turn back into after shielding Shrek from a spell in Shrek 2?

The Frog Prince is Harold's true form: years earlier he drank the same potion Shrek steals, so that he could win Lillian's love. She tells him she loves him just as much this way.

What does Donkey wake up as after sharing the stolen Happily Ever After potion with Shrek in Shrek 2?

A white stallion is Donkey's new form, while Shrek becomes a handsome human. Donkey is the one left disappointed when the spell wears off and he returns to normal.

Whose 1980s hit Holding Out for a Hero does the Fairy Godmother belt out at the royal ball in Shrek 2?

Bonnie Tyler's hit gets two fresh versions on the soundtrack, one of them sung in character by the Fairy Godmother's own voice actress.

Which film opened in cinemas the day Shrek 2 reached DVD and later beat it to the Best Animated Feature Oscar?

The Incredibles won the Oscar for Pixar, though Shrek 2 had the bigger year at the box office: it was the highest-grossing film of 2004 worldwide.

A knight's poster in Fiona's childhood bedroom in Shrek 2 nods to which star, then dating Cameron Diaz?

Justin Timberlake is the likely target of the joke: the young knight in the picture is named Sir Justin, and Diaz is the voice of Fiona.

What is the name of the giant gingerbread man who helps Shrek's friends storm the castle in Shrek 2?

Mongo, described as Gingy's giant brother, does not survive the assault: he ends up sinking into the castle moat.

Which earlier film about a tense meeting with the in-laws inspired the plot of Shrek 2?

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, a 1967 comedy-drama, shaped the script by director Andrew Adamson, who took over after the first film's writers left the project.

Which TV talent-show judge plays himself in Far Far Away Idol, the sing-off included on the Shrek 2 DVD?

Simon Cowell judges alongside Shrek and Fiona, and if viewers pick a minor character as the winner he rejects the result, names himself champion and sings My Way.

Which Absolutely Fabulous star voices the scheming Fairy Godmother and sings her songs in Shrek 2?

Jennifer Saunders recorded the whole part in only four days spread across a year, reading her lines opposite the director instead of her co-stars.

Which British stage and screen dame voices Queen Lillian, Fiona's more understanding parent, in Shrek 2?

Julie Andrews never met the actress voicing the Fairy Godmother during production: the cast recorded apart, and the two were first introduced at the film's premiere.

Which Monty Python star voices King Harold, Fiona's disapproving father, in Shrek 2?

John Cleese voices a king with a guilty secret: Harold had promised his daughter's hand to someone else, so he quietly hires an assassin to remove his new son-in-law.

Which English actor voices the vain Prince Charming, the Fairy Godmother's son, in Shrek 2?

Rupert Everett's prince was meant to be the hero of the tale: his mother had arranged with the king that Charming would be the one to rescue and marry Fiona.

Which American talk-show host voices Doris, the Ugly Stepsister behind the bar, in the US release of Shrek 2?

Larry King voices the barmaid in American prints, while British audiences heard one of their own chat-show hosts in the part.

Which comedian appears as herself in Shrek 2, the first real person the series' animators put on screen?

Joan Rivers keeps her animated likeness in every version, but for the United Kingdom release her voice was re-dubbed by the presenter Kate Thornton.

Which rock band wrote and recorded Accidentally in Love for the opening sequence of Shrek 2?

Counting Crows recorded the song within a day after cancelling shows in Brussels at the last minute, and it earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.

Which Ricky Martin hit do Donkey and Puss in Boots perform together as Shrek 2 comes to an end?

Livin' la Vida Loca is sung by the two characters' own voice actors, and their duet made it onto the soundtrack album.

By what deadline must Shrek kiss Fiona to make their new human forms permanent in Shrek 2?

Midnight arrives and Fiona turns the offer down: she prefers the ogre she married, so the pair let the clock run out and change back.

What does the Fairy Godmother dissolve into when her own spell rebounds on her at the ball in Shrek 2?

Bubbles suit the character: her bubble motif throughout the film is a reference to Glinda the Good Witch from The Wizard of Oz.

What are Shrek and Fiona returning from when the royal invitation arrives at the start of Shrek 2?

Their honeymoon ends with a summons from Fiona's parents to a ball in the couple's honour, which Shrek dreads attending as an ogre.

Which nursery-rhyme figure creates the giant gingerbread ally for the assault on the castle in Shrek 2?

The Muffin Man made Gingy too, and one of the film's directors voices the baker and both of his gingerbread creations.

What is the name of the tavern full of fairy tale villains where Doris works behind the bar in Shrek 2?

The Poison Apple has a Cyclops on the door as its bouncer, and Shrek, Donkey and Puss go there to drown their sorrows.

Which storybook villain is seen playing the piano in the villains' tavern in Shrek 2?

Captain Hook makes only a brief appearance at the keys here, but in the following film he is promoted to a secondary villain.

What does Shrek read in Fiona's childhood bedroom that makes him fear he is losing her in Shrek 2?

Her diary shows that the young Fiona was once seemingly infatuated with Prince Charming, the very man her father had agreed she would marry.

What does King Harold secretly swap before the ball in Shrek 2 to keep a love potion away from Fiona?

Their teacups are switched at the last moment, so when Charming kisses Fiona she feels nothing for him and knocks him out instead.

How do the fairy tale creatures minding the swamp learn that Shrek has been arrested in Shrek 2?

On television they watch the trio being hauled away, so they travel to the kingdom and break Shrek, Donkey and Puss out of the dungeon.

Who arrives with a brood of hybrid babies fathered by Donkey in the mid-credits scene of Shrek 2?

Dragon had married Donkey not long before, and their children are known as the Dronkeys, a blend of both parents.

At which European film festival did Shrek 2 have its premiere while competing for the top prize?

Cannes put the film in competition for the Palme d'Or, and its premiere there was where the Fairy Godmother's voice actress first met her castmates.

Which film released six years later finally overtook Shrek 2 as the highest-grossing animated film worldwide?

Toy Story 3 took the worldwide crown in 2010, but in North America the ogre sequel stayed the top animated earner for another six years.

Which film did Shrek 2 overtake to become the highest-grossing animated feature worldwide of its day?

Finding Nemo had set the mark only a year earlier, and it kept one edge: the Pixar hit earned more outside North America than the ogre sequel did.

Which Shrek 2 co-director also voices Gingy, the small gingerbread man tortured by Lord Farquaad in the first film?

Conrad Vernon spent most of the production in Northern California with co-director Kelly Asbury, while Andrew Adamson worked with the voice actors in Glendale.

Shrek 2 is dedicated to the memory of which author, creator of the original Shrek picture book?

William Steig died in October 2003, seven months before the sequel reached cinemas; his 1990 picture book is the loose basis for the whole series.

The Fairy Godmother's first song in Shrek 2, with its dancing furniture, parodies which Disney animated film?

Beauty and the Beast is spoofed as the furniture dances around Fiona, in one of two songs performed by the villain's voice actress herself.

Puss in Boots in Shrek 2 was modelled partly on which screen hero once played by his own voice actor?

Zorro shaped more than the swordplay: the animators studied the actor's performance in The Mask of Zorro for insight into how to portray the cat.

Which rock legend added new vocals to Butterfly Boucher's cover of his song Changes for the Shrek 2 soundtrack?

David Bowie sang alongside the Australian artist on the remake, with his own part produced by Tony Visconti.

Which electronic duo featuring Imogen Heap covers Holding Out for a Hero over the closing credits of Shrek 2?

Frou Frou had already split after their debut album flopped, and the film's music supervisor, a fan, talked the pair into recording together again.

In an abandoned early plot for Shrek 2, what did the fairy tale kingdom hold after Shrek gave up the throne?

An election was dropped as too overtly political: Gingy was to run a smear campaign, and the director judged the idea more intellectual than emotional.

Which other DreamWorks film joined Shrek 2 among the nominees for the Best Animated Feature Oscar that year?

Shark Tale meant the studio had two films in the race, yet neither of them took the award home.

The voice of Shrek 2's Fairy Godmother was cast after Spielberg heard her failed audition for which Disney villain?

Ursula went to another actress in The Little Mermaid, but the old audition tape reached Steven Spielberg years later and he insisted the directors hire her.

The Fairy Godmother sings atop a grand piano in Shrek 2 in a nod to which actress in The Fabulous Baker Boys?

Michelle Pfeiffer's sultry piano-top rendition of Makin' Whoopee in the 1989 film is the model for the villain's showpiece near the end of the sequel.

At its release, the three-day opening weekend of Shrek 2 was second in US history only to which film's?

Spider-Man had opened to $114.8 million; the ogre sequel took $108 million, though its Saturday alone set a new single-day record.

Which Shrek 2 voice actor won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Animated Movie Star as Donkey?

Eddie Murphy's prize was one of five People's Choice wins for the film, which was also voted Favorite Movie Comedy and Favorite Sequel.

Which punk band wrote Ever Fallen in Love, a favourite of the film's lead actor, covered by Pete Yorn for Shrek 2?

Buzzcocks were singled out by the star of the film as underrated cultural influencers, and the song was written by the band's Pete Shelley.

Which 19th-century French illustrator reportedly inspired the richer, darker look of the designs in Shrek 2?

Gustave Doré's engravings were one model for a sequel lit far more darkly than the original; the production designer also drew on paintings of the 15th and 16th centuries.

What does the Fairy Godmother's spell bounce off when King Harold leaps in front of Shrek in Shrek 2?

His breastplate reflects the rest of the spell straight back at her after it strikes him, which is how the villain meets her end.

The voice of Puss in Boots in Shrek 2 also dubbed the cat himself in which pair of other languages?

Spanish and Italian audiences hear the same star as English-speaking ones, while the cat's purrs and other vocal sounds are provided by Frank Welker.

Which singer-songwriter's People Ain't No Good was licensed for the soundtrack of Shrek 2?

Nick Cave recorded the song with his band the Bad Seeds, and it sits on the soundtrack album beside Tom Waits's Little Drop of Poison.

Which of Shrek's fairy tale friends briefly gets his dearest wish in Shrek 2, only to change back moments later?

Pinocchio is turned into a real boy at last, but within a few moments he is made of wood again.

Which composer shared the score of the first Shrek film but amicably stepped aside before Shrek 2?

John Powell and Harry Gregson-Williams parted ways so that neither would be pigeonholed, leaving Gregson-Williams to score the sequel alone.

Which band's Island in the Sun was the temporary track for the opening of Shrek 2 before a new song was written?

Weezer's song held the place in early cuts; when the artist first asked to replace it declined, Accidentally in Love was composed for the scene.