Shrek 3 and Shrek 4: In a recent article over at Reuters about the success of Shrek 2, head animator, Ann Daly, confirmed that 2 more sequels will move forward...

The head of DreamWorks animation, Ann Daly, said that with the success of "Shrek 2," the studio would move ahead, one at a time, with plans for a third and fourth installment.

"It wasn't really advisable to start working on three and four until we knew that we actually had something in two, and certainly this weekend confirmed that we do," she said.

Daly said DreamWorks was in final talks with the principal voice actors to return, including Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz as the newlywed green ogres with horn-shaped ears, Eddie Murphy as the talking Donkey, and Antonio Banderas as the swashbuckling Puss in Boots.

"Shrek 2" also set a new benchmark as the biggest animated debut of all time, topping the $70 million bow of last year's undersea adventure "Finding Nemo," and marks the strongest 2004 opening so far, surpassing the $89.3 million posted by Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" in February.

"Shrek 2" clearly benefited from the wild popularity of DreamWorks' original fairy tale farce, which opened with more than $42 million in May 2001 and went on to gross $267.7 million in domestic theaters alone.

The success of the CGI-animated "Shrek 2" follows the box office disappointments of two recent hand-drawn cartoons released by DreamWorks -- last year's "Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas" and 2002's "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron."

Daly said DreamWorks' animation division is currently focused on two upcoming projects, "Shark Tale," due for an October release, and the new TV series, "Father of the Pride," about lions who perform in Siegfried and Roy's famed Las Vegas act, which debuts this fall on NBC.