Shrek (2001)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Directors:

Andrew Adamson
Vicky Jenson

Writers:

William Steig (book)
Ted Elliott (written by) ...

Release Date:

18 May 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Romance

Tagline:

The greatest fairy tale never told.

Plot:

An ogre, in order to regain his swamp, travels along with an annoying donkey in order to bring a princess to a scheming lord, wishing himself King.

Plot Keywords:

Shrek | Lord | Ogre | Princess | Donkey

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 29 wins & 44 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Nov. 9	7:30 AM	MAX
Sat. Nov. 14	7:30 AM	MAX
Fri. Nov. 20	1:30 PM	MAX

Cast

Mike Myers	...	Shrek (voice)
Eddie Murphy	...	Donkey (voice)
Cameron Diaz	...	Princess Fiona (voice)
John Lithgow	...	Lord Farquaad (voice)
Vincent Cassel	...	Monsieur Hood (voice)
Peter Dennis	...	Ogre Hunter (voice)
Clive Pearse	...	Ogre Hunter (voice)
Jim Cummings	...	Captain of Guards (voice)
Bobby Block	...	Baby Bear (voice)
Chris Miller	...	Geppetto / Magic Mirror (voice)
Cody Cameron	...	Pinocchio / Three Pigs (voice)
Kathleen Freeman	...	Old Woman (voice)
Michael Galasso	...	Peter Pan (voice)
Christopher Knights	...	Blind Mouse / Thelonious (voice)
Simon J. Smith	...	Blind Mouse (voice)

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild language and some crude humor.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:U (re-rating) | Portugal:M/4 | Iceland:L | South Korea:All | South Africa:A (theatrical rating) | South Africa:PG (DVD rating) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Brazil:Livre | Chile:TE | Finland:K-7 | France:U | Germany:o.Al. | Hong Kong:I | Ireland:G | Netherlands:MG6 | Peru:PT | Philippines:G | Singapore:G | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:U | USA:PG | Greece:K | Norway:7 | Canada:F (Ontario) | Canada:PG (Alberta/Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (British Columbia/Manitoba/Quebec)

Company:

DreamWorks Animation

Trivia:

The principal actors never met each other. All read their parts separately, with a reader feeding them the lines.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the last two shots of the scene in which Fiona takes out Hood and his men, the swing that the Friar was in is missing from the background.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[Shrek is reading a book in the outside toilet]
Shrek: Once upon a time, there was a lovely princess. But she had an enchantment upon her of a fearful sort which could only be broken by love's first kiss. She was locked away in a castle guarded by a terrible fire-breathing dragon. Many brave knights had attempted to free her from this dreadful prison, but none prevailed. She waited in the dragon's keep, in the highest room of the tallest tower, for her true love, and true love's first kiss.
[tears out a page and laughs]
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 100 Greatest Cartoons (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Escape (The Piña Colada Song)

Left-field fairy tale left us rolling in the aisles

9 OUT OF 10!!!! We went to catch the matinee preview of "Shrek". We were still giggling by the time we got home afterwards. Two hours later, we dragged a friend out and went back for the evening show. Some of the shock value was lost, but we caught a few of the background sight gags we missed the first time, and anticipation of some of the other scenes had us in tears before they even happened. Interesting to see the different audience reactions of different age groups, too. This is a *very* funny movie, but it should be noted that most of the kiddy humour is on the burp/fart and yucky dining habits level - Shrek is rather closely related to Raymond Briggs' Fungus the Bogeyman without the orange mohawk. The dialogue and main action quips are mainly aimed at adults and sophisticated kids. One little voice in the afternoon audience piping up "WHAT's he compensating for?" cracked me up...

Be warned that this movie is a non-stop send-up of all things Disney. If predictability and saccharine is your cup of tea, you may not like it. On the other hand, if you are cynical about theme parks and like the idea of fairytale classics getting the Monty Python treatment, you'll love it. Every time a scene looks familiar, it means it is about to go pear-shaped. And it's not just old classics that get the treatment. I spotted (mis)quotes from films that are just being released, both Disney and non-Disney. You name it, it gets an affectionate pie in the face at some point in "Shrek".

As a fairytale, however offbeat, "Shrek" is tighter plotted and better characterised than most Hollywood dross.The parodic twists, a love story subplot that owes more to Shakespeare's comedies than fairytale formula, and the "ugly is the new beautiful" Message more than make up for the derivativeness due to extensive quotation.

As for the acting, confinement to voice-overs keeps the egos of Myers and Murphy in check, and they do a fantastic job as the big fat green smelly recluse and the obnoxiously manic donkey respectively. Diaz is great as a feisty princess who reminds me of Lloyd Alexander's Eilonwy crossed with Lara Croft. Lithgow's Farquaad is a wonderful Bad Guy, modelled on Olivier's Richard III apart from his Little Problem being different. And the Fairytale Creatures...excellent, all of them. The graphics, of course, are state of the art for at least another 2 weeks. We're talking freckles, skin pores and stubble, pupil dilation, and amazing light-and-shade. They had to tone down the realism of the humanoids to stop them looking creepily android-like.

Highly recommended, except for overly precious schmalz addicts.