>>149706278 (OP)
Ignoring the obvious bait, I'd like to add that I always felt like the relationship between Shrek and Fiona's dad never properly developed and their conflict was resolved in a total copout plot twist that invalidated the very reasonable and realistic reasons Fiona's dad had for having a beef with Shrek. It's like the writers wanted to tackle more mature themes grounded in reality but backed off from that premise midway through the movie and stripped the 3rd arc from all the interpersonal drama of the first two arcs in exchange of a typical larger than life epic where everything is made stupid simple and easy. The first movie was not like that though, Shrek and Fiona didn't go from hating eachother's guts and loving eachother on a whim, there was a slowburn buildup and numerous narrative elements put in place to foreshadow their eventual falling in love and everything in the story centered around their relationship and how they grew better and happier with it. All this is what gave the punch to the climax where Shrek finally confessed his love at the wedding. But in the second movie, there isn't nowhere near this much focus on a central theme, too many elements are introduced to fight eachother for attention leaving little to no room for characters to change or grow or develop relationships significantly. I still like Shrek 2 a lot and love almost everything about it to this day but narrative-wise, I think it's a noticeable downgrade from the first. Heck, even Ever After has a stronger story. I wouldn't go as far as to call it ''overrated'' but by god, do I NOT buy Schraffilas review of Shrek 2.
