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首齣奧斯卡最佳動畫
幕後班底捲土重來
《史力加 2》
5月21日繼續反轉香港

反轉動畫傳統的《史力加》在2001年震驚全世界，全球票房勁收接近5億美元，更贏得2002年首設的奧斯卡最佳動畫。這齣與傳統童話必然是美麗公主與英俊王子大團圓唱反調的創新動畫，將於5 月21日神話再續《史力加2》。

故事大綱
上集提到史力加（米克邁亞斯聲演）與死黨驢友（愛迪梅菲聲演）要勇鬥噴火龍及科格親王而奪得美人歸，當他與費安娜公主（金馬倫戴雅絲聲演）有情人終成眷屬後，就開開心心去渡蜜月。續集描述充電回來後的史力加，首要面對的考驗是怎樣跟公主回外家見父王母后呢？

全城上上下下的子民一早就夾道歡迎這對新人，而夏洛國王（尊奇連斯聲演）和莉莉安皇后（茱莉安德絲聲演）一直以為自己的女兒嫁了英俊王子，怎也沒想到女兒會嫁給城中最醜的醜八怪！他們質疑為何女兒會變成那樣？

夏洛國王一直希望費安娜公主能覓得一個好歸宿，費安娜根本沒有料到，與史力加的這段戀曲已把父王對她的畢生寄望完全粉碎。然而夏洛國王愛女心切，還是盼望女兒有個童話般的結局：與英俊王子快快樂樂生活下去。於是他請求法力無邊的仙女教母（珍妮花桑狄絲聲演）、魅力王子（胡拔徹艾菲韋徹聲演）及貓貓（安東尼奧班達拉斯聲演）幫忙，希望可以令愛女最終能得到一個真真正正的大團圓結局。

幕後班底捲土重來
承接奧斯卡最佳動畫的美譽，導演安德魯亞當遜決定開拍《史力加2》。除了繼續反動畫傳統外，今次他加入了更多人類角色，並要為觀眾製造更多驚喜。超班的幕後製作今次再大玩電腦立體特技，製作規模比上一集《史力加》更大更完美的動畫--《史力加 2》甚至被美國影評人稱為"另類的藝術品"。

由於《史力加2》加插了更多人物，故加重了動畫製作的工序，而夢工場/PDI動畫工作室為求力臻完美，技術部總監特別為史力加加添了面部肌肉至218條，讓他所有的表情都如真人一樣自然。有些動畫技術師甚至參加了演技訓練班，希望能掌握每個人物角色的情緒表達！

至於服裝設計，服裝指導也為每個演員"度身訂造"，因應不同場景及動作的需要而揀選布料，甚至連摺痕及陰影部分都兼顧得到，絕不馬虎。

大明星配音：更令動畫生色不少
《史力加 2》的配音班底陣容鼎盛，除了原班星級人馬：米克邁亞斯繼續聲演史力加、愛迪梅菲聲演驢友、金馬倫戴雅絲聲演費安娜公主，並有更多明星助陣，包括金像演員茱莉安德魯絲聲演莉莉安皇后、約翰奇里斯聲演夏洛國王、安東尼奧班達拉斯聲演貓貓、路柏艾華列聲演魅力王子、珍妮花桑達斯聲演仙女教母。

至於香港的粵語版本，今次我們請到大癲大肺又夠抵死的杜汶澤大開金口聲演史力加；而有份聲演上一集《史力加》驢友角色的張衛健今次繼續扮驢仔，有大明星助陣，相信《史力加 2》必能再下一城。

米克邁亞斯再度聲演史力加
天生是"笑面笑匠"的米克邁亞斯早於92年憑打破開畫票房的《反斗智多星》在美國喜劇界一炮而紅，搞笑形象從此深入民心，後來他所拍的《凸務之王》系列把他的爆笑事業推至最高峰，一提"包話事"無人不識。而繼上次聲演史力加大獲好評後，他再接再厲為《史力加2》配音，米克還向傳媒透露，《史力加2》所帶給觀眾的訊息比上一集更有意義！

愛迪梅菲聲演驢友
做棟篤笑主持出身的愛迪梅菲，憑笑片系列《妙探出差》聲名大噪，而在一人分飾七角的《肥佬教授》以及《鬼咁多大屋》裡，他的確能把其搞笑本色發揮得淋漓盡致。他在上一集《史力加》聲演"口水多過茶"的驢友，除了令導演安德魯亞當遜對他讚不絕口外，更獲得英國電影電視藝術學院頒發最佳原著劇本。今次導演誠邀他再為驢友配音，並大讚愛迪非常投入研究劇本，完全演活了這個生鬼的角色。

金馬倫戴雅絲聲演費安娜公主
四度獲得金球獎提名的金馬倫戴雅絲，99年憑愛情喜劇《情迷索瑪莉》而廣為人認識，為了擺脫花瓶角色的形象，她曾嘗試多方面戲路，其後憑幽默電影《玩謝麥高維治》、劇情片《魂離情外天》及《紐約風雲》而三次獲得金球獎最佳女配角提名，證明了她的實力是不容置疑。

擁有天使面孔、魔鬼身材的金馬倫在《神探俏嬌娃》的第一、二集裡奠定了每個男士心目中"女神"的地位，以她來為費安娜公主配音就最適合不過。金馬倫也表示，因為太投入角色，自己也似乎真的愛上了史力加！

安東尼奧班達拉斯聲演魔法貓
能歌善舞的拉丁美男子安東尼奧班達拉斯一直主演浪跡天涯的動作片，96年在《貝隆夫人》裡首次大展歌喉，而他在《三步殺人曲》及《殺手攻略》中超有型的開槍動作更攻陷了不少少女心！不過他今次就放下武器，展露柔情的一面，聲演家傳戶曉的貓貓。安東尼奧更表示，他從未想過可以聲演這個一直陪伴他成長的卡通人物；導演康域費諾亦透露；安東尼奧在錄音室裡又扮貓叫又在地上亂爬，簡直是100%的投入！

粵語配音演員
杜汶澤聲演史力加
杜汶澤自從夥拍吳君如主持電台節目"嘩嘩嘩打到嚟"後人氣不斷急升，相信沒有人會否定他是個搞笑能手，這位性格演員能唱能跳，憑《無間道》更首次獲提名金像獎最佳男配角。他以傻更更但甚有義氣的形象令人印象深刻，恰巧與史力加本身的性格有點相似。

張衛健再度聲演驢友
超人氣演員張衛健多次參演《齊天大聖孫悟空》電視劇系列，他又生鬼又精靈，一直是小朋友心目中的偶像，他自創急口令式的抵死對白也是他獨有的標記。繼上一次為《史力加》的驢友配音後，他更深受大人小朋友歡迎，今次再度邀請他聲演更是無可置疑！

《史力加 2》5月21日繼續反轉香港
夢工場呈獻
PDI/DREAMWORKS製作
導演：安德魯亞當遜《真實謊言》、《新蝙蝠俠不敗之謎》、《蝙蝠俠與羅賓》
　　　加莉艾斯貝莉《反斗奇兵》、《小馬王》
　　　康域費諾
執行監製：謝菲基辛保《史力加》
監製：謝菲基辛堡《咪走雞》、《埃及王子》
　　　大衛立曼
　　　艾朗華納《蟻哥正傳》、《天煞地球反擊戰》
　　　尊H.威廉斯《特務踢死兔》、《西藏七年》
根據威廉史迪原著改編
故事：安德魯阿當遜《史力加》
編劇：威廉史迪
　　　J.大衛史甸
　　　祖史迪曼
　　　大衛N.韋斯
聲音演出：史力加：米克邁亞斯《凸務之王》、《至out特務in嬌娃》
　　　　　驢友：愛迪梅菲《D老篤日記》、《肥佬教授》
　　　　　費安娜公主：金美倫戴雅絲《情迷索瑪莉》、《神探俏嬌娃》
　　　　　莉莉安皇后：茱莉安德絲
　　　　　夏洛國王：尊奇連斯
　　　　　魔法貓：安東尼奧班達拉斯《貝隆夫人》、《殺手攻略》
　　　　　魅力王子：胡拔徹艾菲韋徹
　　　　　仙子：珍妮花桑狄絲
剪接：米高安德斯
音樂總監：基斯杜烈戴斯《凸務之王》
音樂：夏利格力遜威廉斯《咪走雞》、《蟻哥正傳》
發行：希杰娛樂有限公司
級別： I

The natural order of fairy tales is interrupted in the sequel to the Academy Award(R)-winning blockbuster "Shrek." "Shrek 2" sends Shrek, Donkey and Princess Fiona on a whirlwind of new adventures with more fairy-tale favorites to lampoon along the way.

After battling a fire-breathing dragon and the evil Lord Farquaad to win the hand of Princess Fiona, Shrek now faces his greatest challenge: the in-laws. Shrek and Princess Fiona return from their honeymoon to an invitation to visit Fiona's parents, the king and queen of the Kingdom of Far Far Away. With Donkey along for the ride, the newlyweds set off. All of the citizens of Far Far Away turn out to greet their returning Princess, and her parents joyfully anticipate the homecoming of their daughter and her new Prince. But no one could have prepared them for the sight of their new son-in-law, not to mention how much their little girl had…well…changed.

Little did Shrek and Fiona know that their marriage had foiled all of her father's plans for her future…and his own. Now the king must enlist the help of a powerful Fairy Godmother, the handsome Prince Charming and that famed ogre killer Puss In Boots to put right his version of "happily ever after."

"Shrek 2" brings back the voices of Mike Myers as Shrek, Eddie Murphy as Donkey and Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona. Joining the all-star voice cast are: Academy AwardR winner Julie Andrews ("Mary Poppins") and OscarR nominee John Cleese ("A Fish Called Wanda") as Fiona's royal parents, Queen Lillian and King Harold; Antonio Banderas ("Spy Kids") as Puss In Boots; Rupert Everett ("My Best Friend's Wedding") as Prince Charming; and Jennifer Saunders ("Absolutely Fabulous") as the Fairy Godmother.

The computer-animated comedy was directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon, with Aron Warner, David Lipman and John H. Williams producing, and Jeffrey Katzenberg executive producing. Adamson and Joe Stillman and J. David Stem & David N. Weiss wrote the screenplay from a story by Adamson, based upon the book by William Steig.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

AFTER HAPPILY EVER AFTER

The computer-animated comedy "Shrek" opened in 2001 to worldwide box office success and critical acclaim, culminating in an Academy AwardR, the first ever presented in the new category of Best Animated Feature. On the heels of that success, plans for "Shrek 2" were put into the works, but far from being a given, the sequel was contingent on a number of crucial factors, the first being the story.

Producer Aron Warner offers, "We wanted to do something very different from 'Shrek,' by widening the scope. During the process, we were continually asking ourselves, 'Is this funny? Is it as heartfelt? Does it have as much to say as the first movie did?'"

"We didn't want to go back and rehash the same things," producer David Lipman adds. "We wanted to revisit this world, but have it be as fresh and exciting and fun as the original."

Writer/director Andrew Adamson notes, "When Jeffrey Katzenberg first came to me about doing a sequel, I realized we had painted ourselves into a corner as far as your typical fairy tale goes: We'd let Shrek and Fiona get married, presumably to live happily ever after. But that ended up creating a whole new story angle for us. I started thinking about what happens after marriage, the idea being that you don't just marry your spouse, you marry their whole family."

Meeting the parents was probably the last thing on Shrek's mind when he literally swept Princess Fiona off her feet and married her. But royal trumpets signal the end of the newlyweds' honeymoon when Shrek's new in-laws-the king and queen of Far Far Away-send a formal invitation for Princess Fiona to come home for a royal ball to celebrate her wedding to her "Prince Charming."

Therein lay another important aspect of the story: meeting expectations…or rather not meeting them. Adamson says, "We all know that Fiona had expected to meet Prince Charming and live happily ever after. Well, her parents were expecting the same thing, so her showing up with an ogre, as an ogre, is a pretty big shock."

Director Kelly Asbury remarks, "'Shrek 2' explores what happens when the natural balance of fairy tales is disrupted. Fiona's parents locked her in a tower expecting a handsome prince to rescue her and break the curse that turned her into an ogre when the sun went down. They expected everything to go as planned, the way it usually happens in fairy tales. They hadn't counted on an ogre named Shrek coming along and breaking the curse in the reverse. Now their daughter is an ogress night and day because, as he's known to do in our fairy-tale world, Shrek skewed the direction of things a bit."

"Shrek" derived a lot of laughter from lampooning some of our most beloved fairy tales and the sequel is no more sparing, taking aim at fairy-tale conventions, as well as some familiar movie moments. Director Conrad Vernon says that the filmmakers had fun finding more fairy tales to spoof. "We really dug into the books to pull from different fairy tales. There were a lot we hadn't used, but the problem was that some of them are so obscure, no one has ever heard of them. So we basically stayed with familiar fairy tales, and found new ways to turn them on their ear."

FAMILY AND FRIENDS

New fairy tales opened the door to new characters, but "Shrek 2" could only have come about with the return of the central characters Shrek, Donkey and Princess Fiona, and, more importantly, original cast members Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz to voice them.

Executive producer Jeffrey Katzenberg asserts, "It would have been unthinkable to have Shrek without Mike Myers, Donkey without Eddie Murphy, or Princess Fiona without Cameron Diaz. They were a huge part of the first film's success and making the sequel without them was simply not an option."

"Our three main characters and the actors who play them are loved by our audience now," says Adamson. "They are vital to the story. No one else could have stepped into those parts; it had to be Mike, Eddie and Cameron."

Mike Myers once again brings a distinctive brogue to everyone's favorite ogre, Shrek. Adamson states, "Mike is Shrek. I can't separate the two. Mike steps into the character and it just comes out of him. Beyond his being an extraordinary actor, he is a wonderful filmmaker and storyteller, so he thinks and acts on that level, too. He knows his character as well as or better than any of us, so he was able to offer ideas that more often than not made the scene even better. It was a wonderful collaboration."

"I've had a great experience being the voice of Shrek," Myers says. "It's funny and well-written, which is great for me as an actor. But it's also very gratifying to me personally. Families come up to me tell me how grateful they are that Shrek exists in the world because of the message of self-acceptance. The message of 'Shrek 2' is that you can make your own happily ever after."

Returning from his honeymoon, Shrek has his own version of happily ever after that Myers says consists of "living in a swamp with his ogre wife, eating swamp rats and having occasional run-ins with angry townsfolk with torches and pitchforks."

Blissfully in love, Princess Fiona shares his vision for their future, but first there is the little matter of introducing her new husband to her parents. Cameron Diaz, the voice of Princess Fiona, remarks, "Of course Fiona is worried about how her parents are going to accept her as an ogre, but I think that marrying Shrek gave her a great sense of herself. She spent her whole life thinking that she was going to be a princess with a fairy-tale Prince Charming, but then she made the decision to be with Shrek, who is the antithesis of that. She loves her man for who he is and that gives her great self-confidence, because if you love someone for the right reasons and you accept yourself for who you are, you can live in a swamp and you'll be happy."

Vernon says, "Cameron gives Fiona that sense of who she is. You can hear in her voice that she is in love with Shrek, whether she is talking to him or about him."

"We are very, very lucky to have Cameron as Princess Fiona," Warner notes. "Cameron is a combination of strength, humor and sophistication, and that's Fiona, too. They are both great women in every way."

There is one member of the wedding party who is not about to be left out of a royal ball: Donkey, voiced by the inimitable Eddie Murphy. Never one to take a hint, Donkey invites himself along on the long, long trip to Far Far Away and is soon driving Shrek and Fiona to distraction with his incessant asking of that age-old question, "Are we there yet?"

"Unbeknownst to Donkey, he's become the third wheel, but he hasn't figured that out because he's a jackass," Murphy laughs. "Shrek and Fiona love him, but you've got to pick your moments, you know. Comes the time when ogres need some alone time. But Donkey is such an optimist; he's always looking at the bright side of everything. He's thinking, 'This is all good. It's all worked out and we are together at last.' He is a happy-go-lucky Donkey…I wouldn't have it any other way."

Adamson states, "Eddie is an incredibly intuitive comedian. I mean, we'd sit and pitch him a sequence and he'd quietly nod and maybe smile…and then we'd start reading the scene together, and you find yourself trying to keep up, which I usually couldn't do. You never know what's going to come out of his mouth. He does more than merely read the lines or just improv; he embodies the character."

Lipman agrees, "Eddie is pure genius. When he switches it on, he is Donkey, and every word that comes out of his mouth is precious and hysterical. It's gold."

In "Shrek 2," Donkey gets some unwelcome competition for the role of "annoying talking animal" in Shrek's life from that fashionable feline, Puss In Boots. The story of Puss In Boots depicts him as a clever and fearless ogre killer, which would make him a formidable adversary for Shrek. But fate turns the tables on Puss and he decides to join forces with Shrek and a very reluctant Donkey.

Adamson relates that "Puss In Boots" had been a favorite fairy tale of his as a child. "He is such a great character. In the original story, Puss In Boots is an ogre killer who helps his master gain the attention of the king, so it seemed appropriate that in this case he would go from being hired as an ogre killer to helping Shrek win the king's favor. All of those elements worked together for our story."

The filmmakers initially thought of developing Puss In Boots as another English-type character, but that seemed far too conventional for their unconventional fairy-tale world. After deciding instead to make him their first Latin character, they had only one actor on their list to play Puss In Boots. "We pictured him as Zorro embodied in a cat, so from that moment on, Puss In Boots was Antonio Banderas," Adamson attests.

Making his animation debut, Antonio Banderas leapt at the chance to play Puss In Boots, or, as Banderas refers to him, "El Gato con Botas in Spanish. He is a character I have known since I was maybe three, but I never thought I would have the chance to play him. It was also great fun to have a little laugh at the expense of my Zorro character."

"Antonio gave Puss In Boots a Zorro personality times ten," Vernon says. "He definitely embraced his character. He was practically climbing the walls in the recording studio. He was whipping around, hissing and spitting and marking his territory," the director laughs. "It was amazing, because we thought we made that character over the top, but Antonio took it to the next level and made it his own, which was fantastic."

It is not unusual for a fairy-tale character to act larger than life, but in the case of Puss In Boots this is especially true. Banderas explains, "Puss has a tremendous sense of honor and a very strong personality, but his body doesn't exactly correspond to how he presents himself to the world. He's really an adorable, little kitty cat-you just want to cuddle him-and that contrast makes him very appealing to anybody…except Donkey."

It turns out that Puss In Boots had not come upon Shrek and Donkey by chance. He had been dispatched by Princess Fiona's father, King Harold, for the king's own ends, unbeknownst to Queen Lillian and Fiona.

As befits royalty, Queen Lillian and King Harold are portrayed by two legendary actors: Julie Andrews and John Cleese. "They have both influenced so many people, and you realize why when they step in front of the microphone. The characters just pour out of them," says Vernon.

Asbury notes, "John Cleese is the king of Far Far Away. He loves his daughter, but he has other issues to deal with, and an ogre coming into the picture doesn't fit in with his plans. Julie Andrews is the ultimate fairy-tale queen, who just wants her daughter to be happy. She is much more accepting than the king is. We wanted that warmth and patience and all that we know and love about Julie to come through in the queen."

Rarely in animation do actors work together, usually recording their lines individually with a director feeding them their cues. So it was a particular thrill for the filmmakers to have Julie Andrews and John Cleese on the recording stage at the same time for some of their scenes. "It was really fun recording John and Julie together, because they obviously know their stuff and were able to play off of each other a lot," Adamson comments. "As a director, working with performers of that calibre makes it very easy. You just give them the basic idea and they give you everything you need and more."

Vernon observes that having Andrews and Cleese together added another dimension to the royal couple. "It totally fleshed out the king and queen's relationship. The way they talk and react to each other, you really feel that these two have been married for a long time."

Both Andrews and Cleese also relished the chance to work together. "It's much better than working singly," Andrews offers. "When you work alone, you have no idea what the other actor is doing, so it was just heavenly to work with John. The most challenging thing for me about animation is that you are only working with your voice so you wonder if you're over the top. Are you being too animated when you should be being real? It's sometimes hard to thread that needle, but it's fun and rather freeing in a way."

Cleese says, "The lovely thing about doing animation is that it's like radio, which is where I started, all those years ago. It's my favorite medium because you don't have to memorize lines and you don't really have to shave unless you want to. It's all about getting the performance right and trying things to see what's fun, instead of people coming in and saying, 'I'm afraid that light up there isn't quite right.'"

Jennifer Saunders, who is the voice of "Shrek 2's" very atypical Fairy Godmother, couldn't agree more. "Animation is great because you don't have the pressure of what you look like. It's a perfect career move as you get to be an older actress. If you're resisting the odd nip and tuck here and there, animation is the way to go," she laughs.

The Fairy Godmother arrives in the movie as one might expect-floating down in a bubble and breaking into song. But that's not the only bubble she is going to burst. As it turns out, Fiona's Fairy Godmother is Prince Charming's ambitious, meddling mother, who only waves her magic wand to make her own wishes come true.

"The whole thing about 'Shrek' is that it's a parody of other fairy tales, so she couldn't be the nice, happy, sweet Fairy Godmother," Saunders states. "She's a bit of a showbiz celebrity Fairy Godmother. She is simply determined that her son should marry Princess Fiona, but Shrek has gotten in the way of her devious plans. She's quite an arch character, which I like. It feels familiar."

"Jennifer was somebody we really wanted to work with from the beginning," Warner says. "Once we cast her, we started to build the character around what we knew of her, from 'Absolutely Fabulous' mostly. But she took it and ran with it. She's a great ad-libber, incredibly smart and just able to hone in on the character. It was a great experience working with her; she was always able to give us the best and funniest performance."

Despite the fact that Fiona is already married to Shrek, the Fairy Godmother has no intention of allowing such a small detail to ruin her plans for her son to rule the kingdom of Far Far Away. After all, her son, Charming, is every bit the dashing prince of every princess' dreams…even if he does say so himself.

Rupert Everett, who gives voice to Prince Charming, offers, "He believes the dream of Prince Charming. He thinks he's handsome, sexy, athletic, brave-a person who could be refused by no one really. He is all about image and hair products and living in a world where beauty and success are truly only skin deep. He wants to marry Princess Fiona, who is married already, but no matter."

Asbury says, "Charming is a spoiled brat who wants what he wants. He is the height of egotism, but at the same time, he's a mama's boy. Rupert Everett did a great job with his voice. He made him come across as a much funnier character than any of us had first pictured."

"We didn't think we'd need Prince Charming to be particularly funny because he takes himself so seriously," Adamson expounds. "But I hadn't realized what a wonderful comedian Rupert is. He was able to have Charming take himself seriously, but in a very comedic way, which was interesting to see."

The voice cast also includes some fun cameos, including Larry King as an ugly stepsister tending bar at the Poison Apple, and Joan Rivers spoofing herself as she announces the arrival of such fairy-tale luminaries as Sleeping Beauty, Tom Thumb and Thumbelina, and Hansel & Gretel, on the red carpet for the royal ball. Other storybook favorites from "Shrek" are reuniting for the sequel, including the Gingerbread Man, Pinocchio, the Three Little Pigs and the Three Blind Mice.

Although actors usually work individually on an animated film, their performances are entirely collaborative because they could not be completed without the artistry of the animators. "Basically, all animators are actors," Adamson states. "The visual side of the performance comes from the animators, so they are responsible for bridging that gap between the actors' vocal work and what appears on the screen."

Raman Hui, Tim Cheung and James Baxter, the supervising animators on "Shrek 2," studied the footage of the recording sessions to glean inspiration from the voice cast in animating their characters. Some of the animators even took acting classes in order to learn some of the same methods actors use to express emotions in their characters.

Over the past decade, 3D computer animation has gone from being a novelty to becoming the mainstream form of feature film animation. In turn, many traditional animators, including James Baxter, have traded in their pencils for a mouse. Baxter notes, "The main difference is that we are manipulating an already created model, so you don't have the challenge of drawing one individual character from beginning to end. But in terms of performance and acting, we use the same skills as we did in 2D animation. The computer is really just another tool, it just happens not to be a pencil."

Computers also make it possible to increase the cast many thousandfold, and with each new computer-animated film, these virtual "extras" become more sophisticated and more complex. In "Shrek 2," the biggest crowd scene involved almost 6,000 of Far Far Away's subjects who have turned out to greet their returning princess and her husband.

As in "Shrek," a digital dollhouse of men, women and children was rendered in the computer, beginning with generic versions of each. By varying elements such as the physiques, the hair and the clothing, the archetypes could be multiplied into a myriad of different figures. The animators could also choose from a library of actions, called cycles, to assign to different characters, including clapping, waving, walking, and so on.

What sets "Shrek 2's" crowds apart is the development of the dynamic crowd character, or DCC, which has additional controls, allowing them to focus on and react to the action. As most effects are intended to be, the DCC system would be more conspicuous by its absence. A regular cycle would have all the crowd characters looking at the same point in space, which is unnatural. By adding a "look at" control, the animators can make the crowds appear actually to be watching the action from their individual vantage points. The crowds can even be made to split their points of interest, with some looking at Fiona, while the rest are watching Shrek.

Visual effects supervisor Ken Bielenberg explains, "We wanted the crowds to react dynamically to what's going on in the scene. For instance, you could have a character walking along, and as Shrek goes by, he is startled. He needs to react to that-do a double take or turn his body and track along with Shrek. That is the main advantage of the dynamic crowd character."

In addition, the DCC gives the animators control over foot orientation and position, which means they can adjust the characters to the terrain beneath their feet and keep them balanced. The animators can also change the speed of the action cycles or even combine cycles. All of these features add some semblance of individuality to the film's thousands of background characters.

RAISING THE BAR…AGAIN

There is perhaps no artistic arena in which the term "state-of-the-art" is more fleeting than computer animation. Advancements in the field have come so far and so fast, it seems almost impossible to fathom that the first computer-animated feature was released less than 10 years ago. In fact, much of what is seen in "Shrek 2" could not have been achieved with the very same tools that were considered state-of-the-art on "Shrek."

Bielenberg states, "We definitely tried to raise the bar across the board on 'Shrek 2.' We wanted to push the envelope to deliver something entirely new for audiences."

Once again, DreamWorks' Preferred Technology Provider, Hewlett Packard (HP), made it possible to take computer animation to the next level, providing the computing infrastructure for the animation studio. "Shrek 2" employed more than 300 HP workstations, giving the various artists unprecedented interactive control and flexibility in the creation of the movie. A 3000-processor render farm of HP servers was also utilized to address the massive computing requirement of the production.

The two most important technological breakthroughs on "Shrek 2" both had to do with light: the bounce shader, a form of global illumination; and subsurface scattering, which lent a natural translucence to the characters' skin.

Developed at PDI/DreamWorks, the bounce shader is modeled on the way light naturally bounces from one surface to another, ad infinitum. To illustrate, a dark room with only one tiny light source seems to grow more illuminated because the light is bouncing off of the various surfaces in the room. Similarly, the bounce shader is able to take one light and gauge where the bounces would take it. In the past, the visual effects team would have to place virtual lights all over the set to achieve a similar result in the computer, and it still would not look as natural.

Bielenberg explains that, in addition to set lighting, the bounce shader had significant applications for lighting characters. "It is often difficult to get light under a character's chin with a key light coming in from above. The bounce shader figures out how much light is actually reflecting off of the character's chest and fills it in under the chin, giving you a natural, softer feel."

While the bounce shader lit the characters more naturally from without, subsurface scattering gave their skin a natural translucence from within. Bielenberg points out, "Most of us don't realize how much light is penetrating our skin, refracting and re-emerging. It's like when you take a flashlight and put it against the palm of your hand. You can see the light coming through your hand, seeming to make it almost transparent. We've implemented a technique that simulates the translucency our skin has, and that's what we call subsurface scattering. Without that translucence, our characters' skin would look hard and opaque, like plastic or metal."

PDI/DreamWorks' Academy AwardR-winning facial animation system was the breakthrough that allowed "Shrek" to be the first computer-animated film to put human characters in leading roles. The complex layering system enabled the animators to convey complex emotions through facial expressions as never before. Nevertheless, "Shrek 2," with its much larger cast comprised mostly of human characters, required that the facial animation system be brought up a notch…or two.

The basics of the facial animation system did not change from the first movie to the sequel. The character technical directors, supervised by Lucia Modesto and Lawrence D. Cutler, essentially built a head in the computer, beginning with the skull and then layering on muscles and finally skin. The skin is programmed to respond to the manipulations of the muscles beneath in different combinations, enabling the animators to capture the desired expressions.

For "Shrek 2," the technical directors added muscles to the faces-Shrek's face alone had 218 muscles-and also applied what they call "mega controls," which allowed for such complex expressions as clenching the teeth, which subtly alters the entire face. Additionally, the TDs put more anatomical detail on the neck, which before had been little more than a tube beneath the skin, even giving the men an Adam's apple that moves when they swallow.

Rendering realistic hair was another challenge that was made more demanding by the addition of so many human characters. Since all of the characters' hair amounts to virtual wigs, an actual wigmaker came in to show the animation team how wigs are made and the color and shape patterns that go into creating various hairstyles. The animators, in turn, became what Bielenberg calls "virtual hair stylists," learning not only how to style the hair, but also its properties when curly or straight, long or short, wet or dry, etc.

Appropriately dubbed the "wig system," the process of computer animating the hair combines dynamic motion-hair that automatically moves in reaction to the movement of the head and body-and manual control, which the animators generate. The system enables the animators to manipulate individual pieces or large sections of the hair and place them as desired. The lighting and effects departments were ultimately responsible for making the pieces look like strands of hair.

Some characters' hair had specific obstacles to overcome. King Harold, for example, wears a crown, so his hair had to be made to react to the movement of the crown. As a result, when the crown shifts, the king's hair deforms correspondingly. The queen's hair is contained in a snood that presented a different challenge: The hair had a tendency to collide with and poke through the netting. The solution was to have the same system that is deforming the hair deform the netting, so everything moves together nice and neatly.

Animating Puss In Boots was a daunting challenge in and of itself, owing to the fact that he is covered in fur and has more moving parts than any of his human counterparts, including his tail, whiskers, sword, belt, and plumed hat. The number of controls required to animate Puss amounted to approximately four times that of any other character.

In "Shrek 2," as in "Shrek," Donkey's fur was achieved using a program called a geometry shader, which determines how the hair-or in this case, fur-grows. Puss In Boots' longer, fluffier fur-coupled with his wardrobe-required that the process be taken to the next generation.

The geometry shader used to render Puss's fur incorporated new controls and more intricate texture maps, which were needed to render his orange tabby coat. Lighting and effects completed the transformation of Puss In Boots from a computer model to a cat you can almost pet.

The bigger challenge was how to make Puss In Boots' belt, hat and boots interact with his fur. The descriptive-if not so technical-name given the process was the smooshing system. Simply put, the smooshing system looks at the geometry of whatever is colliding with Puss's fur and determines what part of the fur should be smooshed, and how much and in what direction it should be smooshed.

It turns out that computer animated cats don't like getting wet any more than real cats do, and it was no picnic for the animation team either. After Shrek, Donkey and Puss In Boots are caught in a rainstorm, the surfacing department used different geometry shaders to give Puss the wet cat look. They adjusted the way the hairs "grew," changing the direction of his fur to point downward, as if it was weighted down by water, and making it clump together as wet fur is apt to do.

A FAR FAR AWAY LOOK

Proving that you can take the ogre out of the swamp, but you can't take the swamp out of the ogre, "Shrek 2" sends Shrek, Donkey and Princess Fiona on a journey to Far Far Away, which is about as far removed from the swamp as they could imagine.

Andrew Adamson offers, "We knew from the very beginning that we wanted to make Far Far Away the antithesis of everything Shrek. So we asked, 'Okay, what is Shrek?' He is totally not image conscious. He likes to live his own way and do his own thing… And what is the opposite of all that? The answer was easy: Beverly Hills, the epitome of image conscious, status conscious, and wealth conscious-everything that Shrek isn't. We thought it would be fun to put Shrek in an environment that was the complete opposite of his world."

"The Kingdom of Far Far Away is the Beverly Hills, Hollywood, glamour capital of the fairy-tale world," Kelly Asbury adds. "It's where the very richest and the most illustrious fairy-tale celebrities live, like Cinderella, Snow White and Rapunzel. All of their palaces are here. When Shrek, Fiona and Donkey enter this world, they are like tourists coming to Hollywood for the first time. Fiona is just glad to be home, and Donkey is excited; you almost expect him to have a Hawaiian shirt on and a camera around his neck. And then there's Shrek, who is not feeling too good about all this. An ogre belongs in a swamp, not in the land of swimming pools and movie stars. He's an ogre out of mud is one way to say it."

Production designer Guillaume Aretos and art director Steve Pilcher designed Far Far Away in the medieval style that we've all come to expect in a storybook world but, in keeping with the material, with a contemporary sense of humor. "It's an off-kilter fairy-tale world, so it shouldn't look exactly like you'd expect it to look," Pilcher says. "The writers and directors have a contemporary sensibility in their comedy, which we tried to bring to the design. We pushed things as much as we could to create that blend."

The juxtaposition of medieval design and the filmmakers' sense of humor is especially evident on Far Far Away's Romeo Drive. Look closely and you'll spot such fashionable stores as Abercrombie & Witch, Saxxon Fifth Avenue, Versarchery, Pewtery Barn, Armani Armoury, Baskin (XXXI) Robbinhood, Tower of London Records, Old Knavery, Burger Prince and, of course, the ubiquitous Farbucks.

Aretos comments that there are sight gags throughout "Shrek 2," but don't expect to catch them all the first time around. "One of the things we did in the first 'Shrek' and again in this film is to have gags in the background, tons of stuff that you don't necessarily see the first time. People could see it two or three times and they will still catch things that they didn't spot before."

Traditional storybook designs with a modern edge can also be viewed in the Poison Apple, the shady watering hole where the king goes to put a hit on Shrek; and the Fairy Godmother's house, which appears to be a warm and welcoming little cottage…until you pull back and see that the house is merely a front for the huge factory where she concocts all her magic potions.

Aretos and his team made 3D models of the sets because, as he notes, "When we have to explain the set to the directors so they know where they are going to shoot, it's easier to explain it with a 3D model than on a 2D map."

That same logic applies to the design of all the old and new characters in "Shrek 2," which, in a process that is unique to both "Shrek" films, are designed first in clay sculptures, as opposed to being created on paper. Character designer Tom Hester says, "Sculptures are the easiest way for me to communicate the look of the characters. Sketches are great, but they only give you one angle. With a sculpture, we can really figure out how a character is going to look from every angle. It's also easier for the animators to visualize how a character is going to move."

Adamson remarks, "Tom has been a big part of defining the characters in both movies. He makes people and animals come to life with his sculptures. When you're looking at his clay models, you can practically hear the voices come out of them."

The final design element for the characters was their costumes. Costume designer Isis Mussenden, who also created the costumes for "Shrek," returned to do her second animated feature. She points out that there is very little difference and even a few advantages to designing costumes for animated characters. "On an animated film, we design everything exactly as you would on a live-action film, except we don't actually make the clothing. There are no fittings, which means I never have to hear 'I don't like that skirt' or 'I don't look good in that color.' That doesn't happen in animation," she laughs.

Mussenden kept Shrek in what she calls "the classic Shrek outfit," but reasoned that Fiona, being a woman and a princess, would change her clothes. The lilac dress she wears in the beginning is a complete departure from the familiar green dress in "Shrek." The dress is lighter and softer, and the trim at the bottom is decorated in a vine pattern, which is meant to be more organic, reflecting her new life in the swamp.

For Fiona's return to Far Far Away, the designer created a more formal two-tone version of the original green dress, which Mussenden felt would be more appropriate for a visit to the royal palace. Fiona's final ball gown is a dazzling white sparkly confection because "we wanted her to just beam," the designer states.

Carrying on the theme of mixing old-world fairy-tale style with contemporary fashion, Mussenden had fun with the Fairy Godmother, whose costumes range from the flowing, pastel gown in which she first appears to the red sequined dress she wears for her big number at the ball.

Mussenden not only designed the costumes for the main characters, but created a multitude of wardrobe variations for the extras as well. She also provided the animators with swatches of every conceivable type of fabric used in the costumes, as well as the trims, so they could both see and feel the weight of the cloth and how each draped, moved, wrinkled and reacted to light.

Like almost everything in computer animation, costume design is a true blend of artistry and science. Once Mussenden designed an outfit, she had the pattern made to the scale of the characters. The animation team at PDI/DreamWorks then digitized the flat patterns into the computer and virtually sewed them together to Mussenden's specifications.

One of the challenges of a digital wardrobe is that the clothes need to move and bend with the characters wearing them. The animation team studied the way clothing compresses and wrinkles in relationship to the deformation of the body. They then assembled about a dozen of the most common poses that produce wrinkles, like bending your elbow. By ascertaining where and how you would expect wrinkles to appear, and determining their parameters, the team was able to develop a program that automatically generates wrinkles in the clothes corresponding to the wearer's movements. Mussenden's cloth samples were key to the success of the procedure, as the animators were able to distinguish the wrinkling properties that vary from fabric to fabric. For example, velvet tends to hide creases, while satin accentuates them.

Like the film's design elements, the music of "Shrek 2" is a blend of the classic and contemporary, combining traditional score with old and new songs from several noted recording artists…and even a few legends. Adamson says, "We gave the challenge of integrating the score with songs to Harry Gregson-Williams, who was one of the composers on the first 'Shrek,' and once again he did a great job. We were also lucky enough to have Chris Douridas as our music supervisor, who was able to pull from a lot of different artists."

Gregson-Williams notes, "There are quite a few songs in the movie so the score has to operate on different levels, which is fun to do. The music often has to come out of one kind of song into a very different kind of scene-perhaps a romantic moment between Shrek and Fiona, or a funny scene with Donkey and Puss In Boots. So the score is really the glue that is used to keep the story together because the music is quite varied in this movie."

Gregson-Williams also collaborated with Adamson, Aron Warner and others on the Fairy Godmother song, which is a send-up of those abracadabra songs we've all known since childhood. "It's the quintessential 'I'm your Fairy Godmother, here to solve your problems in a song' song. But it keeps going and going and becomes more and more outrageous, until Fiona can't take it anymore," Adamson laughs. "Even in the recording studio, Jennifer Saunders would be belting out the song in character as the Fairy Godmother, and we would just be in hysterics."

Warner remarks, "We have a very eclectic group of songs that really support the story. They all somewhat represent the voice of Shrek in an honest and pure way, which is how we went about picking the artists we have."

"I've never worked on a movie that was easier to find people who wanted to be involved in it," Douridas states. "A lot of the groundwork was laid with the first film. Any musician who had a kid had seen the movie 100 times, and they knew that if they participated in 'Shrek 2,' they would be that much cooler in their kid's eyes. But everybody we approached wanted to be part of 'Shrek 2.'"

Some of the artists who lent their musical talents to "Shrek 2" include Pete Yorn, who sings "Ever Fallen in Love"; the group eels doing "I Need Some Sleep"; the British duo Frou Frou performing "Holding Out For a Hero"; Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds singing "People Ain't No Good"; and Tom Waits, who is heard as Captain Hook, crooning "Little Drop of Poison." A young artist named Butterfly Boucher did a rendition of "Changes," by the legendary David Bowie. When Bowie heard it, he was so impressed he decided to sing on the track, much to the filmmakers' surprise and delight.

Several of the film's cast members are also heard singing, including Jennifer Saunders, who not only performs "Fairy Godmother Song" but also her character's own version of "Holding Out For a Hero"; and Eddie Murphy and Antonio Banderas, who pair up for Donkey and Puss In Boots' duet on "Livin' La Vida Loca."

The group Counting Crows performs the film's opening song, "Accidentally in Love," which accompanies the montage of Shrek and Fiona on their honeymoon. The group's lead singer, Adam Duritz, who co-wrote the song with bandmates Dan Vickrey, David Immergluck & Matthew Malley, remarks, "They brought me in and told me the song had to be fun and uplifting and happy, and my first thought was, 'Who gave you my number?,' because I pretty much mope. But I really wanted to be part of it because I've got lots of children in my life, and this movie is going to be a real touchstone for them, in the same way other movies were for me growing up."

Duritz reveals that the timing was also right in his personal life. "I was falling in love at the time, so that infected the song. 'Accidentally in Love' is kind of the theme of the movie. The story is about two people who fall in love who weren't necessarily supposed to. That's not the way the story is supposed to go-the ogre and the princess don't fall in love. But love is love, and true love is more powerful than the way the story is supposed to be written."

Douridas agrees that the song is the perfect complement to the story. "I think the song eloquently speaks to the notion that Shrek never expected this to happen. And that's the way the deepest love happens…when you're not looking for it. It's like 'life is what happens when you're busy making other plans.' I think it's just that celebration of love that you never expected."

Aron Warner offers, "I think in the first movie Shrek learns to love himself and in 'Shrek 2,' he learns how to love somebody else. And he has to learn that when you love somebody, sometimes you have to be willing to give up more than you receive."

Adamson concludes, "The heart of the film is about being strong enough to ignore other people's judgment and be able to define your own 'happily ever after.' That's really what I hope people take away from this-a sense of independence and the freedom to create their own happiness…with lots of laughs."

ABOUT THE VOICE CAST

MIKE MYERS reprises the voice of everyone's favorite ogre, Shrek, which he first created in the Academy AwardR-winning animated blockbuster of the same name.

A comedy film favorite, Myers has also created a wide array of memorable characters for both film and television. In 1997, he co-wrote, produced and starred in the comedy hit "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery," about a swinging '60s fashion photographer/secret agent who is cryogenically frozen and awakens in the decidedly less swinging '90s. Myers played the dual roles of Austin Powers and his nemesis, Dr. Evil, in the film, which became a box office smash. Two years later, Myers co-wrote, produced and starred in the even more successful sequel, "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me," in which he reprised the roles of Austin Powers and Dr. Evil, and added the Scottish double agent, Fat Bastard, to his repertoire. Myers garnered an American Comedy Award for Funniest Actor in a Movie for his triple performance in the film. In 2002, he co-wrote, produced and starred in the most recent installment of the hit franchise, "Austin Powers in Goldmember," which outgrossed both of its predecessors.

Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Myers began his career right out of high school as a member of Toronto's famed Second City Comedy Troupe. That led to a stint with Chicago's Second City Troupe, where he caught the attention of "Saturday Night Live" producer Lorne Michaels.

In 1989, Myers made his debut as a performer and writer on "Saturday Night Live," and over the next six seasons created some of the show's most unforgettable characters. His work on the show brought him an Emmy Award for Best Writing in a Variety or Music Program, as well as an additional nomination in that category and another nomination for Best Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program. Some of the most popular Myers personas on "Saturday Night Live" included "Coffee Talk" hostess Linda Richman; Dieter, the host of the avant garde "Sprockets"; Simon, the boy in the bathtub; and Wayne Campbell, the host of his own Public Access show, "Wayne's World."

It was the last that brought Myers his first feature film success, when "Wayne's World" came to the big screen, breaking box office records. Myers also co-wrote the screenplay for the film, which went on to gross more than $200 million. He later reprised the role of Wayne Campbell in the hit sequel "Wayne's World 2." Myers' other film credits include the title role in "The Cat in the Hat," based on the Dr. Seuss classic, "So I Married an Axe Murderer," and "54."

EDDIE MURPHY is back as the voice of Donkey, whose non-stop talking nearly drove Shrek to distraction in the award-winning animated hit "Shrek." Murphy won an Annie Award and earned BAFTA and MTV Movie Award nominations for his performance in the first "Shrek."

Murphy is the most commercially successful African-American actor in the history of the motion picture business, and is one of the industry's top-five box-office performers overall. At the tender age of 43, Murphy is on the very short list of actors who have starred in multiple $100 million dollar pictures over the past three decades, from "Beverly Hills Cop" to "Daddy Day Care."

Murphy began his career as a stand-up comedian 25 years ago. In 1980, he joined the cast of "Saturday Night Live" at the age of 19, and has since gone on to establish a successful career on the big screen.

His films have been among the highest grossing comedies in the industry, including "48 Hrs.," "Trading Places," "Dr. Dolittle," "Coming to America" and the "Beverly Hills Cop" franchise. Murphy garnered Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actor in a Comedy for his performances in "Beverly Hills Cop," "Trading Places" and "48 Hrs."

In 1989, Murphy made his directorial debut with "Harlem Nights," a period comedy he also wrote and starred in, opposite Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx. In addition, Murphy starred in and produced the hit comedy "Life," co-starring Martin Lawrence; and starred opposite Steve Martin in the comedy hit "Bowfinger." He was also the voice of Mushu the Dragon in the successful animated epic "Mulan."

In 1996, Murphy portrayed seven different characters in the worldwide box office smash "The Nutty Professor," for which he received another Golden Globe Award nomination. He added a character to play a total of eight roles in the sequel "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps," co-starring Janet Jackson. His more recent hits include "Dr. Dolittle 2.", "Daddy Day Care," and "The Haunted Mansion".

CAMERON DIAZ once again gives voice to Princess Fiona, who found her one true love, and her true self, in the OscarR-winning mega-hit "Shrek."

A four-time Golden Globe nominee, Diaz earned her first nod in 1999 for her performance in the title role of the Farrelly brothers' smash hit comedy "There's Something About Mary." She was also named the Best Actress of the Year by the New York Film Critics Circle, and won an American Comedy Award and an MTV Award for her work in the film. The following year, she was Golden Globe-nominated for her role in Spike Jonze's "Being John Malkovich," for which she also received nominations for a BAFTA Award and an individual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award, as well as a second SAG nomination shared with the cast.

In 2002, Diaz got her third Golden Globe nomination for her work opposite Tom Cruise in Cameron Crowe's "Vanilla Sky." She gained her most recent nod for her role in Martin Scorsese's epic drama "Gangs of New York," opposite Leonardo DiCaprio.

Diaz made her feature film debut in the 1994 Jim Carrey comedy "The Mask." She went on to star in the smash hit romantic comedy "My Best Friend's Wedding," with Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney and Rupert Everett. In 2000, she teamed with Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu as "Charlie's Angels," in the blockbuster hit actioner. She more recently starred in the sequel "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle."

Her other credits include such diverse films as "The Sweetest Thing"; "Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her," with Glenn Close, Holly Hunter and Amy Brenneman; Oliver Stone's "Any Given Sunday," with Al Pacino; Edward Burns' "She's the One"; "Feeling Minnesota," opposite Keanu Reeves; "Head Above Water"; Danny Boyle's "A Life Less Ordinary"; Peter Berg's "Very Bad Things," with Christian Slater; and "Invisible Circus."

Diaz will next be seen in the film "In Her Shoes," in which she stars with Toni Collette for director Curtis Hanson.

JULIE ANDREWS is the voice of Princess Fiona's mother, Queen Lillian, who has her own reasons for accepting her daughter's choice of a husband.

For more than half a century, Andrews has been a beloved and much-honored star of stage, screen and television. She was already a Broadway legend when she made her feature film debut in 1964's "Mary Poppins." Andrews' iconic performance in the title role of the magical nanny brought her an Academy AwardR, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award. The following year, she earned a second OscarR nomination and won another Golden Globe Award for her unforgettable portrayal of Maria Von Trapp in "The Sound of Music." She received her third Academy AwardR nomination and won another Golden Globe Award for her "dual" role in "Victor/Victoria."

Today's film audiences most recently saw Andrews as a queen trying to train her teenaged granddaughter to be a princess in "The Princess Diaries." She will reprise her role in the upcoming sequel, "The Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement." Her motion picture credits also include "The Americanization of Emily," "Hawaii," "Thoroughly Modern Millie," "Star!," "Darling Lili," and "10," to name only a few.

Andrews was born and raised in England, where she first came to fame as a young musical performer on stage and on radio. She was still in her teens when she made her way across the Atlantic and to Broadway, where she made her debut in 1953 in the musical "The Boy Friend." She went on to create the role of Eliza Doolittle in Lerner and Loewe's Broadway musical "My Fair Lady," which became an instant classic and the longest-running musical of its day. Andrews also won a New York Drama Critics Award and garnered a Tony Award nomination for her performance. She received another Tony Award nomination in 1961 when she originated the role of Queen Guinevere in the Lerner and Loewe musical "Camelot." Thirty-five years later, Andrews returned to Broadway to star in the 1996 stage adaptation of "Victor/Victoria."

Andrews has also been honored for her work on television, beginning in 1957 with her Emmy-nominated performance in the title role of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical "Cinderella." She later won an Emmy Award for her own musical variety series, "The Julie Andrews Hour," and also earned Emmy nominations for "Julie and Carol at Lincoln Center," with her close friend Carol Burnett, her appearance on "The Andy Williams Show," and her performance in the special "The Sound of Julie Andrews." Andrews' more recent television work includes "Eloise at the Plaza" and "Eloise at Christmastime," and she also starred opposite Christopher Plummer in the CBS production of "On Golden Pond."

Andrews received her honours as a Dame of the British Empire by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on New Year's Eve 1999. She was also a 2001 Kennedy Center Honoree.

ANTONIO BANDERAS gives voice to a swashbuckling Puss In Boots, who first challenges Shrek, but then becomes his friend and ally.

Banderas was recently honored with his third Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of the legendary revolutionary Pancho Villa in the HBO movie "And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself." He earned his first Golden Globe nomination for his performance as Ché in the big-screen adaptation of the musical "Evita," opposite Madonna. His second Golden Globe nomination came for his work in the title role of "The Mask of Zorro," with Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones. He will reprise his role in the upcoming sequel, "Zorro 2," which reunites the cast and director Martin Campbell.

In 2002, Banderas made his Broadway debut in the stage revival of "Nine," which brought him a Tony Award nomination. He also won the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League and Theatre World Awards for his performance in the show.

Born in Malaga, Spain, Banderas studied at the School of Dramatic Art in his hometown before beginning his career on the stage in a local theatre company. In 1981, he moved to Madrid, where he became a member of the prestigious National Theatre of Spain. While still a member of the theatre ensemble, he was cast by writer/director Pedro Almodovar in 1982's "Labyrinth of Passion." It was the first of five films Banderas would do with Almodovar, including "Matador," "Law of Desire," "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" and "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!".

Banderas made his American film debut in 1992 as a young Cuban musician in "The Mambo Kings." At the time of his casting, he spoke no English and had to learn all of his lines phonetically. He went on to earn praise in such features as "Philadelphia," "House of the Spirits," "Interview With the Vampire" and "Miami Rhapsody."

In 1995, director Robert Rodriguez cast Banderas in "Desperado," opposite Salma Hayek, which marked the actor's first starring role in an American feature. The next year, Banderas starred in Rodriguez's segment of "Four Rooms." The two have since reunited for the smash hit family adventures "Spy Kids," "Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams" and "Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over," as well as "Once Upon a Time in Mexico," which was the sequel to "Desperado."

In addition, Banderas made a cameo appearance in the acclaimed biopic "Frida," starring Salma Hayek. His other film credits include "Imagining Argentina," "Femme Fatale," "Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever," "Original Sin," "Play It to the Bone," "The 13th Warrior," "Assassins," "Two Much" and "Never Talk to Strangers."

Behind the camera, Banderas made his feature film directorial debut with "Crazy in Alabama," starring Melanie Griffith.

JOHN CLEESE lends his voice to Princess Fiona's father, King Harold, whose plans for his daughter's future did not include marriage to an ogre.

Cleese has long been one of the industry's most innovative and influential comedic talents. Today's audiences have most recently seen him on the big screen as the new Q in the James Bond movie "Die Another Day"-having been promoted from R in "The World is Not Enough"-and as Nearly Headless Nick in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." He has also had a recurring role as Lyle Finster on the NBC television sitcom "Will & Grace." On the big screen, he next stars in the remake of "Around the World in 80 Days," and will be heard in the animated film "Valiant."

Hailing from England, Cleese first gained international fame for his groundbreaking work as a creator, writer and member of the classic "Monty Python's Flying Circus." First aired on the BBC in 1969, the series was an instant hit in Europe and gained an equally loyal following when it landed on American shores in 1972. The show also spawned the feature film comedies "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," "The Life of Brian" and "The Meaning of Life." There have also been subsequent Monty Python videos, CDs and specials.

In 1988, Cleese co-wrote, executive produced and starred in the comedy hit "A Fish Called Wanda," for which he earned OscarR and BAFTA nominations for Best Original Screenplay, and won a BAFTA Award and received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor. He also co-wrote, produced and starred in the sequel "Fierce Creatures." His additional film acting credits include "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle," "The Out-of Towners," "Rat Race," "The Jungle Book," "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein," "Silverado," "Time Bandits" and "The Great Muppet Caper."

For his work on television, Cleese won an Emmy Award for his guest role on the comedy series "Cheers," and received another Emmy nomination for a guest stint on "3rd Rock From the Sun." He also garnered a BAFTA Award for the acclaimed BBC series "Fawlty Towers," which he created and starred in.

RUPERT EVERETT is the voice of Prince Charming, who was intended to be Princess Fiona's intended.

Everett began his career on the stage in his native England and had also appeared in a number of films, but it was not until his starring role in 1997's hit comedy "My Best Friend's Wedding" that he gained worldwide stardom. His scene-stealing performance as Julia Roberts' confidant in that film brought him Golden Globe and BAFTA Award nominations, as well as American Comedy, Blockbuster Entertainment and London Film Critics Awards for Best Supporting Actor. He earned another Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy for his performance in Oliver Parker's 1999 film version of Oscar Wilde's "An Ideal Husband." In 2002, Everett reunited with Parker to star in the big-screen adaptation of another Oscar Wilde play, "The Importance of Being Earnest," also starring Reese Witherspoon, Judi Dench and Colin Firth.

Everett has a number of upcoming films due out in 2004, including "A Different Loyalty," opposite Sharon Stone; Julian Fellowes' "A Way Through the Woods"; and Richard Eyre's "Compleat Female Stage Beauty," produced by Robert De Niro, which will premiere this fall on the closing night of the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival. Everett will also be heard in the animated film "Valiant," to be released in 2005.

Previously, Everett had lent his voice to the animated feature "The Wild Thornberrys Movie." His film credits also include "To Kill a King," "Unconditional Love," "The Next Best Thing," opposite Madonna, "Inspector Gadget," "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "Dunston Checks In" and Robert Altman's "Prêt-à-Porter." In addition, Everett has worked with a number of noted directors on such international releases as Paul Schrader's "The Comfort of Strangers," Pierre-Henry Salfati's "Tolérance," Francesco Rosi's "Chronicle of a Death Foretold," Andrei Konchalovsky's "Duet for One" and Mike Newell's "Dance With a Stranger."

One of Everett's first onscreen starring roles was in 1984's "Another Country," in which he reprised the role of Guy Bennett that he had originated on the London stage. His work in the British theatre also includes "The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore," "The Importance of Being Earnest," "Some Sunny Day," "Mass Appeal," "Don Juan" and "Chinchilla." Earlier in his career, he was a member of the avant-garde Citizens Theatre Company of Glasgow, where he appeared in such plays as "The Vortex," "Heartbreak House," "A Waste of Time," "Private Lives," "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and "The White Devil."

In addition to his acting, Everett is the author of two successful novels, Hello Darling, Are You Working? and The Hairdresser of St. Tropez.

JENNIFER SAUNDERS gives voice to a very different Fairy Godmother, who is more interested in making her own wishes come true.

Saunders is best known to television audiences on both sides of the Atlantic as the co-creator and star of the hugely successful comedy series "Absolutely Fabulous," nicknamed "Ab Fab" by its loyal fans. Saunders won a BAFTA Award for best comedy series, and received three additional BAFTA Award nominations in the same category. She also earned a BAFTA nomination and two British Comedy Award nominations for her acting work on the show. In addition, Saunders was honored with a Writers Guild of Great Britain Award for "Absolutely Fabulous."

Born in England, Saunders attended the Central School of Speech and Drama, where she met Dawn French. Later partnered with French, Saunders began her career as comedienne, actress and writer at The Comedy Store in London. There she met fellow comedians Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, Alexei Sayle, Peter Richardson, and Adrian Edmondson, the last of whom would later become her husband. Richardson later opened his own club, The Comic Strip, where the group quickly became regulars.

Soon after, Saunders and the rest of The Comic Strip troupe segued to television, starring in the 1982 series "The Comic Strip presents…" Saunders went on to appear in the series "Girls on Top" and "Happy Families." In 1987, she and Dawn French teamed to write and star in their own show, aptly named "French and Saunders." An instant hit with both critics and audiences, the show brought the writing duo a Writers Guild of Great Britain Award.

It was in an episode of "French and Saunders" that the pair introduced a sketch about a neurotic mother and her uptight daughter. When the BBC asked Saunders to come up with a new series idea, she decided to expand on that sketch, making it even broader and more outrageous, and "Absolutely Fabulous" was born.

Saunders' additional credits include the films "Muppet Treasure Island," "Spice World," "A Midwinter's Tale" and "Fanny and Elvis." She also starred in the series "Let Them Eat Cake," in addition to having guest roles on such shows as "Friends," and "Roseanne," on an episode she also wrote.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

ANDREW ADAMSON (Director/Screenwriter) made his directorial debut on the first "Shrek," which won the first Academy AwardR presented for Best Animated Feature. He is next set to direct the live-action feature "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," based on the classic book by C.S. Lewis. The film will be shot in Adamson's native New Zealand. He is also collaborating with "Shrek" co-writer Joe Stillman on the screenplay for another animated feature for DreamWorks, currently titled "Truckers," which Adamson will also direct. "Truckers" is based on Terry Pratchett's best-selling fantasy trilogy known as The Bromeliad.

Adamson first joined PDI-now PDI/DreamWorks-in 1991 with an extensive background in visual effects. His credits as a visual effects supervisor with PDI/DreamWorks have included the films "Angels in the Outfield" and "Double Dragon." He has also worked on the visual effects for such films as "True Lies," "Heart and Souls" and "Toys."

Adamson also served as a key member of PDI/DreamWorks' commercial division on numerous award-winning spots, including Converse's "Planet Kevin," Dow's "Scrubbing Bubbles Greatest Show," and Miller Genuine Draft's "Juke Box."

Apart from PDI/DreamWorks, Adamson's work as a visual effects supervisor includes the features "Batman Forever," "A Time to Kill" and "Batman & Robin." He saw his visual effects work on the two "Batman" films short-listed for OscarR nominations by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences.

Adamson began his career in computer graphics nearly 20 years ago in Auckland, New Zealand, as a computer animator at The Mouse That Roared. In 1986, he moved on to Design Director/Senior Animator at Video Images Ltd., where he worked on a variety of broadcast logos and television commercials.

KELLY ASBURY (Director) made his directorial debut with the animated adventure "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron," which earned an Academy AwardR nomination for Best Animated Feature. He had earlier served as a story supervisor on DreamWorks' first traditionally animated feature "The Prince of Egypt." He was also a story artist on the animated hits "Shrek" and "Chicken Run."

Asbury began his career at Walt Disney Feature Animation in 1983, where he remained for the next 12 years. While at Disney, he worked as a storyboard artist on such films as "The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast," "Toy Story" and "James and the Giant Peach." He served as an art director on the Roger Rabbit short "Roller Coaster Rabbit," and as an assistant art director on Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas."

In addition to his film work, Asbury has written and illustrated a number of published children's books, including the Halloween-themed titles Witch Dot, Frankensquare and Candy Corn, which hit stores in Fall 2001. He also wrote and illustrated the children's books Where Is Snowy's Nose?, Rusty's Red Vacation, Bonnie's Blue House and Yolanda's Yellow School, and provided the artwork for the books Turkey Time and Thanksgiving Parade. His latest book, Dummy Days: America's Favorite Ventriloquists From Radio and Early TV, is a vintage photo-filled volume targeted for adults, which features commentary from film critic and entertainment historian Leonard Maltin.

CONRAD VERNON (Director) makes his directorial debut with "Shrek 2," in which he also reprises the role of the popular Gingerbread Man. He first did the voice of "Gingy" in "Shrek," on which he also served as a storyboard artist and additional dialogue writer.

Vernon joined DreamWorks in 1996, and worked as a storyboard artist on PDI/DreamWorks' first animated feature, "Antz," as well as the traditionally animated comedy "The Road to El Dorado."

Born in Lubbock, Texas, Vernon began his film career in 1991 on "Cool World" as an animator, effects animator, gag writer, layout artist and character designer. He went on to write and storyboard on Hanna-Barbera's "2 Stupid Dogs" and Nickelodeon's "Rocko's Modern Life."

In 1994, Vernon went to Film Roman where he was a storyboard artist on the popular animated television comedy "The Simpsons." His other animation work includes directing for "Itsy Bitsy Spider," writer and storyboard artist on "The Ren & Stimpy Show," writer and storyboard artist on the television show "Nightmare Ned," and storyboard artist on "Harold and the Purple Crayon."

ARON WARNER (Producer) won an Academy AwardR for Best Animated Feature as a producer of the animated blockbuster "Shrek." The head of PDI/DreamWorks, he joined the company in 1997 to serve as a producer on the computer animated hit "Antz," which marked the first collaboration between PDI and DreamWorks.

Warner had previously held the post of vice president of production at Twentieth Century Fox, where he supervised production on such films as "Independence Day," "The Ice Storm," "The Crucible," "Alien Resurrection," "Volcano," and the number one blockbuster of all time, "Titanic."

A graduate of UCLA Film School, Warner started out as a production coordinator at Empire Pictures, gaining experience on low-budget horror and sci-fi films. He then moved on to a position at Film Finances, a completion bond company, where he worked on more than 50 films.

Warner began his career as a producer on the horror hit "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare." He then served as supervising producer on John Dahl's "Red Rock West," before beginning his relationship with Twentieth Century Fox as the line producer on Rachel Talalay's "Ghost in the Machine." He later executive produced "Tank Girl," also directed by Talalay. In addition, he oversaw production on James Cameron's blockbuster "True Lies."

DAVID LIPMAN (Producer) previously served as the co-executive producer on the first "Shrek." He also produced and wrote the script for the short film at the center of the Universal Studios Theme Park attraction "Shrek 4-D." Lipman joined DreamWorks Animation in 1997, where he served as co-head of production before starting to produce for the studio.

Prior to coming to DreamWorks, Lipman was supervising producer and executive in charge of production at Hanna-Barbera, where he produced 52 half-hour episodes of "The Real Adventures of Johnny Quest." He had previously served as vice president and executive producer for USAnimation, Inc., running the production division for five years. During his tenure, he produced hundreds of television commercials and numerous episodes of "The Ren & Stimpy Show," "Beavis & Butt-Head" and "The Simpsons," along with several multi-media/interactive projects and music videos on USAnimation's proprietary ink-and-paint and compositing software.

Lipman also has an extensive background in 3D CGI, having worked as an executive producer at both Optomystic and Digital Animation Laboratory. He has also worked in live action as an assistant director and a second unit director on several feature films. He holds a BFA in film from the Art Center College of Design and is a member of both the Directors Guild of America and Writers Guild of America.

JOHN H. WILLIAMS (Producer) served as a producer on the Academy AwardR-winning animated comedy "Shrek," and was the person responsible for optioning the original book by William Steig upon which the first movie was based. He more recently produced the Jackie Chan action comedy "The Tuxedo," and the cable movie "The Junction Boys" about legendary football coach Bear Bryant. Williams is currently producing the animated films "Valiant," starring "Shrek 2's" Rupert Everett and John Cleese, as well as Ben Kingsley, Ewan McGregor and Tim Curry; and "Happily N'Ever After," starring Sarah Michelle Geller and Freddie Prinze, Jr.

Williams is president of Vanguard Films, which he started in 1981 following a three-year stint at PBS. Vanguard's first production was the Steppenwolf Theater's New York premiere of "True West," starring John Malkovich and Gary Sinise. The company subsequently produced "The Grapes of Wrath," with Gary Sinise, and Clifford Odets' "Rocket to the Moon," pairing John Malkovich and Judy Davis. Other Vanguard stage credits include A.R. Gurney's "The Dining Room"; G.B. Shaw's "Heartbreak House," with Rex Harrison and Amy Irving; "The Rise and Rise of Daniel Rocket," starring Tom Hulce under the direction of Emile Ardolino; "Balloon Farm," with Mara Wilson, Rip Torn and Laurie Metcalf; and an off-Broadway New Orleans Rhythm & Blues musical entitled "Staggerlee."

Past feature films produced under the Vanguard banner include "Seven Years in Tibet," starring Brad Pitt, "Sarafina," and the Erroll Morris feature documentary "The Thin Blue Line," with American Playhouse and Channel Four/U.K. The company has also produced documentaries on John F. Kennedy, Aretha Franklin, George Gershwin, and the History Of The Blues, as well as live performance concert films with Spalding Gray, Culture Club and The Thompson Twins. In addition, Vanguard has also produced commercials through a joint venture production company with Virgin Records called Virgin Image.

JEFFREY KATZENBERG (Executive Producer) is a principal partner in DreamWorks SKG, the studio he co-founded with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen in October 1994.

Katzenberg previously served as a producer on "Shrek," which won the first Academy AwardR ever presented for Best Animated Feature, as well as Best Animated Film Awards from a number of critics organizations, including the Broadcast Film Critics and the Los Angeles Film Critics. The film also earned Golden Globe and Producers Guild Award nominations and is the third-highest-grossing animated feature of all time. Katzenberg more recently produced the traditionally animated "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron," which earned an OscarR nomination for Best Animated Feature.

Katzenberg had earlier served as an executive producer on DreamWorks' clay-animated hit "Chicken Run," which was named the best-reviewed movie of 2000, in addition to winning awards for Best Animated Feature from several critics groups. He was also an executive producer on the traditionally animated films "The Prince of Egypt" and "The Road to El Dorado," and was a producer on "Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas."

JOE STILLMAN (Screenwriter) co-wrote the screenplay for the first "Shrek," for which he earned an Academy AwardR nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, in addition to winning both Annie and BAFTA Awards. He had earlier co-written the DreamWorks direct-to-video animated feature "Joseph: King of Dreams," and the animated comedy feature "Beavis & Butthead Do America."

For television, Stillman co-produced the animated series "King of the Hill," on which he also served as a writer and executive story editor. He has received two Emmy nominations for his work on that show. His additional television credits include co-executive producer on the USA Network series "The War Next Door," and he also ran the story department for Nickelodeon's "The Adventures of Pete and Pete."

J. DAVID STEM & DAVID N. WEISS (Screenwriters) co-wrote the screenplays for the animated hits "The Rugrats Movie" and "Rugrats in Paris." Stem and Weiss also received an Emmy nomination for their work as co-producers and head writers of the "Rugrats" television series. They also wrote the acclaimed holiday perennial "Rugrats Chanukah Special." In addition, the writing team were co-writers "Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius," which earned an Academy AwardR nomination for Best Animated Feature, and co-wrote the live-action adventure film "Clockstoppers."

Stem and Weiss are currently writing "Daddy Day Camp," the sequel to the Eddie Murphy hit "Daddy Day Care," and an as-yet-untitled family film. Their upcoming films also include the family feature "Are We There Yet," starring Ice Cube.

For television, the writing duo served as executive story editors on the hit CBS sitcom "Cybill" and as co-producers on The WB's "Mission Hill."

Stem attended USC's Graduate School of Journalism and wrote for TV Guide and Newsday. He also built an ADDY Award-winning career in advertising as a writer and director.

Weiss received his graduate degree from the USC School of Cinema/Television. Prior to teaming with Stem, he wrote and directed several award-winning shorts and penned the screenplay for the popular "All Dogs Go To Heaven." He also won an Emmy for his writing work on "Dennis Miller Live."

HARRY GREGSON-WILLIAMS (Composer) has created the scores for a long list of both animated and live-action films. On the live-action side, he most recently composed the scores for the current release "Man on Fire," for director Tony Scott, and the upcoming "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason," starring Renée Zellweger. Gregson-Williams' live-action credits also include "Veronica Guerin," "Phone Booth," "Spy Game," "Enemy of the State," "The Match," "The Borrowers," "The Replacement Killers," "Deceiver" and "Smilla's Sense of Snow."

Gregson-Williams previously won an Annie Award for the score for the original "Shrek," which he co-composed with John Powell. He also earned Annie nominations for the scores for "Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas" and "Antz," the latter also in partnership with Powell. In addition, Gregson-Williams co-composed the scores for "The Tigger Movie" and the clay-animated hit "Chicken Run."

Born in England to a musical family, Gregson-Williams earned a scholarship from the music school of St. John's College in Cambridge at the age of seven. By age 13, he had been a soloist on over a dozen records, and then earned a coveted spot at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He started his film career as an orchestrator and arranger for composer Stanley Myers, and went on to compose his first scores for Nicolas Roeg's "Full Body Massage" and "Hotel Paradise."

Gregson-Williams' early credits also include a series of shorts for the BBC, the independent "White Angel," and "The Whole Wide World," for director Dan Ireland. His collaborations with other leading composers have resulted in Gregson-Williams providing additional music for such films as "The Rock," "Broken Arrow," "The Fan," "Muppet Treasure Island," "Armageddon" and "The Prince of Egypt."

CHRIS DOURIDAS (Music Supervisor) has served as a music supervisor and consultant for such major motion pictures as "The Girl Next Door," "Under the Tuscan Sun," "One Hour Photo," "Down With Love," "American Beauty," which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Soundtrack Album, the "Austin Powers" movies, "As Good As It Gets," "187," "Grosse Pointe Blank." "Grace of My Heart" and "Heat." He is currently working on DreamWorks' upcoming animated film "Over the Hedge."

Throughout most of the 1990s, Douridas held the post of music director at KCRW-FM in Santa Monica, where he hosted the popular daily new music program Morning Becomes Eclectic (1990-1998). He was the first to play demos from then-unsigned artists Beck, Gillian Welch, and eels, among many others.

During his time at KCRW, Geffen Records enlisted Douridas to identify and recruit new artists. As an A&R consultant, he brought the bands Remy Zero and That Dog to the label. Two years later, he became an A&R executive at DreamWorks Records, where he brought in such act as eels and Propellerheads, among others. While at DreamWorks and KCRW, he hosted the debut season of Sessions at West 54th, a critically acclaimed weekly PBS music performance and interview program, which bowed in the summer of 1997, and is still in syndication.

A former VP of Creative Programming at AOL Music, he created, produced and hosted the popular Sessions@AOL program, interviewing and recording live perfomances with hundreds of artists, including Paul McCartney, U2, OutKast, Fleetwood Mac, Ray Charles, Josh Groban, Coldplay, Peter Gabriel, Madonna and Nelly.

Now a creative programming consultant for Steve Jobs on Apple's iTunes Music Store, Douridas created the recently launched iTunes Essentials, an ongoing series of downloadable music playlists for the iPod culture. As part of his work with iTunes, Douridas is launching the upcoming live performance and interview series, iTunes Originals this summer.

In addition, Douridas continues to discover unsigned artists through a new nationally syndicated weekly radio program called newground, heard on the Radio@AOL network, Radio@iTunes, and KCRW-FM in Los Angeles. He also does voiceover work, and was recently heard in the Nissan Shift TV commercial campaign.

MICHAEL ANDREWS (Editor) has been working in the entertainment industry for the past 15 years. A graduate of the UCLA Film School, he has worked as an editor on the animated television series "Spawn," "Duckman," "The Ren & Stimpy Show" and "Rugrats."

Andrews came to DreamWorks in 1998 to work as an editor on the direct-to-video animated epic "Joseph: King of Dreams." He also served as a second editor on "Shrek."

SIM EVAN-JONES (Editor) previously served as the editor on "Shrek," and was also the associate editor on the traditionally animated musical "The Prince of Egypt." He joined DreamWorks in 1995 after working at Steven Spielberg's Amblimation studio in London. His credits there included the posts of assistant editor on "An American Tail" and co-editor on "We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story" and "Balto."

Originally from Great Britain, Evan-Jones received a degree in Film and Communication from the University of London, Goldsmiths College.

GUILLAUME ARETOS (Production Designer) served as an art director on "Shrek," for which he won an Annie Award for Outstanding Production Design. He also worked on PDI/DreamWorks' first computer animated feature film, "Antz." In addition, Aretos has designed numerous mythical beasts for animatronix developer Edge Innovation that can be seen in such projects as "Deep Blue Sea" and "Dinotopia."

Aretos' career in entertainment spans three decades, and includes both writing and acting for television. In the late 1980s in his native France, Aretos was well known for his work as an actor on the television show "L'homme à Tout Faire," the French version of "Three's Company."

Apart from his film and television work, Aretos' paintings and drawings have been widely exhibited in France, at galleries including the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Paris and the Musée d'Art Moderne Albert Chanot. In addition, his illustrated books, including Le Livre Secret des Fournis (The Secret Lives of Ants), have been published in France and Korea. He has also contributed to the magazines Ciel et Espace, Science et Nature and Metal Hurlan (Heavy Metal)t.

KEN BIELENBERG (Visual Effects Supervisor) has been with PDI/DreamWorks since 1990. He previously served as the visual effects supervisor on "Shrek" and "Antz," both of which were BAFTA-nominated for Best Visual Effects.

His credits at PDI/DreamWorks also include acting as the lead technical director on the 3D animated segment of The Simpsons' 1995 Halloween Special, the feature film "Angels in the Outfield," and countless commercials, including spots for Matchlight, Lego and the Clio Award-winning "Penguins" spot for Halls. In addition, he contributed to the effects work in the feature films "Eraser" and "Heart and Souls."

Educated at the Rochester Institute of Technology, Bielenberg combined the study of film and animation to complement his BS in computer science.

PHILIPPE GLUCKMAN (Co-Visual Effects Supervisor) is currently serving as the visual effects supervisor for DreamWorks' upcoming computer-animated comedy "Madagascar." He had earlier been a sequence supervisor for "Shrek," after having held the post of co-visual effects supervisor on "Antz."

Gluckman joined PDI/DreamWorks in 1994, beginning as a senior animator/technical director. He worked on such projects as "Batman and Robin," "Batman Forever," "Marvin the Martian, and numerous commercials.

Before coming to PDI/DreamWorks, Gluckman worked as senior animator at Ex Machina in Paris on projects ranging from commercials to theme park rides.

Gluckman began his career as a traditional 2D animator, as a partner with Storyboard and as an assistant animator at Cartoon Farm, both located in Paris. He studied at the Ecole Nationale D'Arts Appliques, Paris.

RAMAN HUI (Supervising Animator) was the supervising animator on the original "Shrek," as well as on the short film at the center of the Universal Theme Park attraction "Shrek 4-D." He had earlier served as lead character designer and supervising animator on PDI/DreamWorks' first feature, "Antz." Since joining PDI/DreamWorks, Hui has worked on an array of 3D characters, including a CG Mickey Mouse for Jim Henson's "Muppetvision," the first CG Pillsbury Doughboy and a Martian who interacts with a live-action earthling for Hanna-Barbera's television special "The Last Halloween."

Hui also directed, wrote and produced the celebrated PDI/DreamWorks short film "Sleepy Guy," which received awards at the London Animation Festival and the US International Film & Video Festival, and won first place at Imagina in 1995. His in-house short "Fat Cat on a Diet" screened at many festivals and conferences, including the London Effects and Animation Festival (LEAF), Anima Mundi and the Chicago International Children's Film Festival.

Hui began his animation career in Hong Kong at Quantum Studio where he worked as a cel animator. Moving to Canada, he studied computer animation at Sheridan College before going to work for a Toronto animation facility, creating hand-drawn animation for commercials.

TIM CHEUNG (Supervising Animator) was previously a directing animator on the first "Shrek." Earlier he had served as an animator on "Antz," which marked the first computer-animated release from PDI/DreamWorks.

Cheung joined the PDI/DreamWorks animation team in 1995, after receiving his Masters of Fine Arts in Computer Graphics from Pratt Institute and his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Taylor University.

While with PDI/DreamWorks, Cheung has also written and directed the award-winning short "Gabola The Great." He also created a short film called "Rolling Stone."

JAMES BAXTER (Supervising Animator) was the senior supervising animator for the title character of the OscarR-nominated "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron," and for the lead character of Tulio in "The Road to El Dorado." He was also an animator on the central character of Moses in "The Prince of Egypt."

Baxter had previously served as a supervising animator on such memorable characters as Belle in "Beauty and the Beast," Rafiki in "The Lion King," and Quasimodo in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." His animation work also includes the films "The Rescuers Down Under" and "The Little Mermaid."

Born in England, Baxter attended West Surrey College of Art and Design. He began his career at Walt Disney Studios London as an in-between artist and animator on Roger and Jessica Rabbit for "Who Framed Roger Rabbit."

ISIS MUSSENDEN (Costume Designer) has designed the costumes for a long list of live-action features, in addition to both "Shrek" and "Shrek 2."

Her latest film credits include the recent release "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights" and the upcoming romantic comedy "Breakin' All the Rules," starring Jamie Foxx. She is currently working on the film "Glory Days," and will next design the costumes for Andrew Adamson's live-action feature "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," based on the book by C.S. Lewis.

Mussenden has also designed the costumes for such diverse films as "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back," "Thirteen Days," "American Psycho," "The Astronaut's Wife," "Some Girl," "Dante's Peak," "Daylight," "Albino Alligator," "White Man's Burden," "Ghost in the Machine," "Bodies, Rest & Motion," "Matinee" and "The Waterdance." She has also worked on a number of longform television projects, including "A Private Matter," "Memphis," "Storm and Sorrow" and "Taken Away."

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