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In a land far, far away, the beautiful Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) is locked away in a tower. A cruel enchantment is upon her, causing her to be human during the day and ogre by night, which can only be broken by true love’s first kiss. While many brave knights have tried to rescue her, none have made it past the fire-breathing dragon that guards the castle. But none of this matters to the monstrous green ogre Shrek (Mike Myers), who enjoys dining on slugs, taking mud baths in the isolation of his forest dwelling, scaring villagers, and tossing around the soldiers of evil Lord Farquaad’s (the exaggeratedly inimical voice of John Lithgow) army. Farquaad’s perfect city of Duloc doesn’t have a place for all the absurd fairy tale creatures running about, so he puts a price on the head of all such inhabitants (Geppetto turns in his own little wooden boy for some coins), to dump them in Shrek’s beloved swamp. When the ruthless lord obtains a magic mirror, he’s told that in order to be a true king, he must marry a princess. So he schemes to rescue Fiona so he can rule his kingdom properly callously. In exchange for putting his swamp back in angelic seclusion, Shrek agrees to embark on a quest to deliver the ensorcelled woman from the dragon’s keep. He’s accompanied by a ceaselessly talking donkey (Eddie Murphy) in place of a noble steed. |
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Inevitably, Shrek and Fiona realize that despite their physical differences and social inequalities, they’re perfect for one another (it also helps that Fiona’s alternate appearance is a green beast of the same species as Shrek). It’s a classic plot with a uniquely family-friendly twist – perfect for DreamWorks to establish itself in the computer animation game. Shrek’s character design is decent; his peculiarities are comedically gross, with a bizarrely Irish brogue, and his underdog qualities don’t inhibit his ability to be a believable warrior hero (the action sequences are actually quite impressive). His donkey sidekick is less likeable (thankfully not of the same annoying caliber as Jar Jar Binks), intended to talk incessantly to provide comic relief, but he spiels entirely too much and most of his dialogue is too juvenile to be humorous. Farquaad is also lacking as a villain, rarely posing much of a threat – Shrek (and the kingdom’s) acceptance of Fiona’s greener side is a far greater conundrum. The cleverest aspect is the visual gags related to well-known fairy tales - the Three Blind Mice, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Red Riding Hood’s wolf antagonist, Goldilock’s bears, the Gingerbread Man, the Three Little Pigs, witches, gnomes, fairies, elves, and all sorts of similar inclusions. The film opens with a song by Smash Mouth – as with all the Shrek movies the musical hits of the time are included, even if they don’t particularly pertain to the events onscreen, which appeals to current audiences but also dates the film. Every 15 minutes there’s another musical sequence, either with montage or action/adventure (the music rights probably took up the majority of the budget) or Robin Hood’s merry men enacting music video dance choreography. These segments are unfortunately the most distracting – they would be much more effective with a simple orchestral backing. Nonetheless, Shrek went on to win the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2001 (beating out Pixar’s Monsters, Inc.) and spawned an incredibly successful, multi-film franchise. - Mike Massie
The Shrek Franchise Reviewed Click HERE to read the review of Shrek (2001) Click HERE to read the review of Shrek 2 (2004) Click HERE to read the review of Shrek the Third (2007) Click HERE to read the review of Shrek Forever After (2010) Click HERE to read the review of Puss in Boots (2011)
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