Monty Python comedy legend John Cleese decided on Shrek 2 because he didn't need to shave for it or learn any lines.
The eccentric star of Harry Potter and the James Bond movies lends his voice to King Harold the father of Fiona who tries to kill Shrek.
He teams up with Julie Andrews as his wife Queen Lillian and is appalled when Fiona, voiced by Cameron Diaz, returns with Scots-sounding ogre Shrek, voiced by Mike Myers.
The parents invite newly-weds Shrek and Fiona (and of course Donkey, voiced by Eddie Murphy) to a dinner to celebrate their wedding, with disastrous results.
The sequel is out in the UKon July 2 but we have some amazing first stills from the movie as a taste of what's to come.
John said: 'I adored the original Shrek. And there's nothing nicer than doing the voice for animation because you don't have to get up early in the morning.
'You don't have to shave.You don't have to put wigs on, have make-up or put any costume on at all and above all, you don't have to remember the lines. They put pieces of paper in front of you. And as it turned out with Shrek 2, the great joy is that these guys really know what they're doing.
'And as you know, there are very few people on this planet who know what they're doing.
'So it's something of a joy to actually work with people who know exactly what they want. And at the same time are very happy to leave a little bit of space for you in case you comeup with something.'
Despite creating some of the funniest characters and best lines in comedy history, from Monty Python to Basil Fawlty, John claimed he added very little to the original script.
He said: 'It was more ways of doing it, more inflections. I had, I think, probably four recording sessions and I probably made about four suggestions.
'Listen, believe me, I make lots of suggestions. There was a movie I was in called Scorched.
'I thought it was a good little plot, but I'm afraid I rewrote the dialogue in every scene heavily because I didn't think the original dialogue worked.
'So, if I'm not keen on something, I will very much ask to rewrite it, but if it's good, then I'm happy.'
Shrek 2 is already causing happy ripples with early viewers claiming it will be a monster of a movie just like the first one.
DreamWorks' Shrek, which was released in 2001, was a huge success, beating Disney at its own game and lampooning some of its favourite characters such as Sleeping Beauty and Pinocchio as well as new films like The Matrix.
It was no wonder it won the first ever best animated film Oscar in 2002 against Monsters, Inc.
