“Shrek 2” was guaranteed when the first film became one of the biggest hits of 2001. The sequel was directed by a trio of filmmakers; Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, and Conrad Vernon. But it was very much Katzenberg steering the ship from the top of DreamWorks. For better or worse, Katzenberg was one of the people chiefly responsible for getting big-name actors to do voices in animated films, such as Robin Williams as Genie in “Aladdin.” Hence, hiring Myers, Murphy, and Diaz for the first film.

When it came time for the core trio to sign on for the sequel, they had a lot of power and managed to negotiate huge paydays in the $10 million range. Beyond that, the surrounding cast for the sequel included Antonio Banderas as the swashbuckling Puss in Boots, Rupert Everett as Prince Charming, and the legendary Julie Andrews as the Queen. Speaking to Indie London shortly after the film’s release, Katzenberg explained that it was the studio’s dream cast.

“I guess we were under the radar when we start these things, they’re so many years in advance. So each of the people here were our dreams. We were actually blessed, because it’s that rare thing, to actually get who you hope for. It doesn’t matter who you are — whether a producer, or director — it’s so rare that their schedule and your ambition, and what they want to do in their career, actually comes together. It sort of happens once in a lifetime.”

The sequel sees Shrek and Fiona living happily together until they have to take a trip to meet Fiona’s human parents who are both human and royalty. They are understandably surprised to see Fiona is not only still an ogre herself, but that she’s decided to marry one. Shrek, feeling guilty, gets conned by the Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders) into taking a potion that turns him into a human. Naturally, things go south and it becomes a big quest to battle the Fairy Godmother before Shrek loses Fiona forever.