Shrek 2 comes by its title honestly.

Not only is it a sequel, but it offers twice the fun, twice the pop references and double the amount of astonishing technical wizardry of its predecessor.

Shrek 2 is one of those rare sequels that doesn't just capture the spirit and magic of the original, but enhances it.

Like Shrek, it is family entertainment in the truest sense of the word, because it has just as much appeal for adults and teenagers as it does for children.

Still, as far as pure entertainment and enchantment go, Shrek 2 fights an uphill battle.

Part of the enormous appeal of Shrek was the novelty of its characters and the hilarious voice work that brought them to life, coupled with the writers' witty skewering of fairy tales and theme parks.

It's not that Mike Myers's Shrek, Eddie Murphy's Donkey and Cameron Diaz's Fiona are less funny or clever this time around, it's just that we know what to expect from them.

Donkey is still a motor-mouthed, intrusive attention seeker who is just as much a genuine annoyance as he is a genuine friend.

Murphy rattles off the jokes and barbs with amazing precision, getting laughs each time Donkey opens his mouth.

Myers still makes Shrek the dour, distrustful pessimist with an inconsistent brogue, and Diaz's upbeat, positive spin makes Fiona the eternal optimist.

Our not-so-jolly green ogre Shrek knows a visit to his new in-laws' palace is going to play out like vintage Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? or slapstick Meet the Parents, and that's the fun of this second instalment.

Even though they knew Fiona was part ogre, King Harold (John Cleese) and Queen Lillian (Julie Andrews) are shocked when they see she has chosen an ogre for her husband.

Queen Lillian tries to adjust, but King Harold sets about trying to put things right by having Fiona marry Prince Charming (Rupert Everett).

He is so determined to get Shrek out of the picture that he hires the assassin Puss-in-Boots (Antonio Banderas) to send Shrek to the big smelly swamp in the sky.

Banderas even manages to upstage Murphy in the scenes they share, and the animation of Puss-in-Boots is just as inspired.

Jennifer Saunders's Fairy Godmother is reminiscent of Robin Williams's Genie from Aladdin, both in her rapid delivery and shape-shifting abilities.

Of the new characters, Andrews and Cleese have the least to work with and there just isn't enough of such minor characters as the Three Blind Mice, Pinocchio and Ginger the gingerbread man.

Making the Kingdom of Far, Far Away a parody of Hollywood supplies writers and animators with so many hysterical visual jokes it is impossible to catch or savour them all in a single viewing.

The numerous film references -- to Mission Impossible, From Here to Eternity, Ghostbusters and Lord of the Rings and even to TV shows like Cops -- work simultaneously on several levels, insuring fun for all.

Technically, Shrek 2 is dazzling, from the detail in the backgrounds to the way the hair works on Prince Charming and the fur on Puss-in-Boots.

Be sure to stay through the final credits for one of the film's best surprises.

(This film is rated G)

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