Shrek

When "Shrek" came out, there was a lot of pressure on DreamWorks Animation. Pixar had gotten a head start on computer animation and in their first match up against DreamWorks' "Antz", Pixar's "A Bug's Life" came out on top. Just as one digital anthill went up against another in 1998, one digital monster with a sidekick would figuratively butt heads with Pixar counterparts in 2001. The success of "Shrek" is obvious to everyone now. Jeffrey Katzenberg was able to get some "edge" that he always desired while at Disney during the "Renaissance". Other important contributors were Steven Spielberg and director Andrew Adamson. The result was a genuine fairytale that was also played out with tongue-in-cheek. The modern day humor was perfectly balanced with serious storytelling. The technology in this film should not be overlooked either.

The film's funny but genuine atmosphere is introduced quite well. The opening narration establishes a sincere mood that is humorously interrupted. This is foreshadowing when you think about it because Shrek rips the prince out of the book and ironically, he will take the prince's place as the rescuer. From the opening narration, there is a hint to the plot twist towards the end of the film. Funny enough, I didn't even pick up on that when I first saw "Shrek". I thought the "enchantment...of a fearful sort" had something to do with being locked in the castle and guarded by the dragon. In Donkey's first moments with Shrek, we see that the old lady was right: Donkey is a chatterbox and then some. We get some great humor here that is pure Eddie Murphy. My favorite is the line about the boulder in Shrek's swamp. Another hilarious moment is when Donkey wants to be picked by Shrek as a guide to Duloc. It is cliché but Murphy makes it very funny. Donkey may be a loud mouth but he is quite an observant character. When Shrek scares off the knights who were chasing Donkey, Donkey can tell right away that Shrek is not what he appears on the outside. That is why he is not frightened by Shrek's roar. Shrek can't understand this at first. Then comes a verbal acknowledgement that Donkey accepts Shrek based on his actions and not on his appearance. It is perhaps the first time that someone has not judged Shrek based on his green skin and he is taken aback. This is probably why he gives in to letting Donkey stay the night. Shrek may be surprised to meet a non-judging outsider but he seems to believe that Donkey doesn't know any better. Ogres really do have layers because Shrek has put a lot of layers up around his inner feelings. He feels he has been classified by society and must live by that persona. Throughout the movie, these layers are penetrated. Shrek continues to tolerate Donkey and this is the first example of Shrek changing. He didn't have to take Donkey on the quest to save the princess. Once Shrek found Lord Farquaad, he could have ditched Donkey. His tolerance of Donkey proves that he is opening up. I love "The Dating Game" reference with the soldiers, especially Thelonious, yelling their suggestions. The subsequent use of the song "Escape" is also funny. When I first saw the movie, I didn't take much notice of the mirror trying to warn Farquaad. I thought the mirror was going to give a warning about the castle during the night or something. Another hilarious gag was the Duloc Information Booth that takes a really funny photo of Shrek and Donkey. Other funny moments in "Shrek" that I wish to mention briefly include Donkey's line to Dragon: "Hey, what're you doin'?" and Shrek's joke of almost putting the boulder over the door of Fiona's cave.

Fiona and Shrek end up having a lot in common even though they are very different on the outside. Both live in isolation and need a rescuer. They are more than what they appear on the outside. They also feel that they have a persona to live up to as determined by others. They both feel that they can't embrace who they really are on the inside. Fiona is set up as a cliche princess speaking in Elizabethan English. Shrek and Fiona must begin as a very unlikely couple so that drama can happen later. We get our first dramatic scene when Shrek finally opens up to Donkey on their way back to Duloc. Another layer is removed here from off of Shrek's heart as he admits that he has no hope of companionship or friends in his mind. He is an ogre and everyone fears ogres automatically. Shrek's greatest desire is to have people accept who he is on the inside but he is ironically not willing to give anyone the chance to know him in the first place. He is hypocritical in that he judges the rest of world to be against him because of his outward nature. This character flaw must be overcome and Fiona helps Shrek to do this because of her unique personality. She becomes a rescuer for Shrek as does Donkey but that will be discussed later. What makes this night scene even more dramatic is that Fiona overhears Shrek's disclosure. She learns that Shrek has feelings just like people do. The filmmakers in this moment did a great job with lighting Fiona because once again, I didn't pick up on anything out of the ordinary when I first saw this movie. Once the group gets close to Duloc, both Shrek and Fiona don't want the fun journey they had to end. It has been something new for both of them and it turned out much different than they had imagined. Shrek and Fiona therefore find an excuse to spend one more night on the road. The filmmakers were able to keep me in out of the loop right until the end when the dust clears and we see Fiona at night for the first time. I thought the preceding shots such as that hand on the railing meant that there was someone else in the mill. When I saw the movie for the second time, I could not believe how blind I was with all the hints. After the plot twist, the resolution for the story was suddenly obvious to me and it was a welcome surprise. The miscommunication between Shrek and Fiona creates a needed story hurdle. As Shrek leaves Fiona, the pain in his eyes as he yells at Donkey is intense. It stems from his heartbreak. Shrek tries to get his life back to normal back in the swamp but nothing will be the same now that he has met Fiona. We get a great montage that shows both Shrek and Fiona's sorrow. Despite their emotional separation, they both regret what happened. However, neither can turn their sorrow into action. They both intend to live their lives as others expect of them. Fiona is determined to have the spell broken so that she can be a true princess and a prideful Shrek returns to his solitary life that he worked hard to reclaim. Thank goodness for Donkey. He comes back because he can't let this falling out happen and wants to talk sense into Shrek. He is also comes back to claim his friendship with Shrek. He knows that deep down, Shrek cares and wants Fiona back. In their heated discussion, Shrek learns about the miscommunication from Donkey and suddenly the ball is in Donkey's court. Before helping Shrek, Donkey wants Shrek to acknowledge their friendship by apologizing for all the bad things he ever said but didn't mean. Shrek first apology isn't enough and there is some great acting here as Shrek peels away a big layer over his heart. We still get some humor during the climax such as when Shrek is persuaded to wait for the right time to burst into the ceremony. He misses the intended moment in the ceremony but still makes a powerful entrance just at the right time. It is symbolic of the whole movie in that it is both a sincere and unconventional. Shrek has been able to be honest with Donkey but he is still unable to explain his feelings for Fiona to Fiona. Shrek first tries another tactic by revealing Farquaad as power mad but that is not enough to convince Fiona to not go through with the wedding. It is when Shrek becomes tongue-tied that she sees Shrek's sincerity. While everyone else laughs at Shrek's feelings, Fiona still wants a verbal confirmation from Shrek. Even though she doesn't get it at this point, the idea of Shrek being in love with her causes her to reflect on her choice she had made that morning to tell Shrek the truth. If Shrek had enough courage to come back, she feels obligated to be courageous herself. For the scene when Shrek finally confesses his love, Mike Myers recorded these lines with his wife. The obvious reference to "Beauty and the Beast" during Fiona's transformation brings smiles to our faces. The wedding and subsequent reception is an awesome conclusion and once again, Eddie Murphy deserves some applause.

The technological advancements in this show should be mentioned. The design of the main human characters was quite realistic for the year 2001, even though today they seem a little dated. The close up shot of Fiona's face while she and Shrek are outside the windmill during sunset was in the trailer and that was so impressive for me at the time. It seemed so real. Despite this, I stand by what I said when reviewing "Monsters Inc." in that Boo was the most realistic CGI character preceding Gollum. The humans on "Shrek" were realistic but Boo's design and performance was farther back from "the uncanny valley". The use of songs was amazing in this show. "All Star" was in a few movies preceding this but I feel it will always been associated with "Shrek". Other great songs include "I'm On My Way" and "Hallelujah". It was Katzenberg's idea to use "I'm a Believer" and that was an important decision for the film. In a recent Blu-ray release, the filmmakers added musical accompaniment for when Donkey sings "Friends" but I think that took away from the humor of the moment. This film was co-written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio. They had an impressive resume before "Shrek" which included "Aladdin", "The Mask of Zorro" and "The Road to El Dorado" and they continued their hot steak after "Shrek" by writing for the "Pirates of the Caribbean" & "National Treasure" franchises. Elliott and Rossio's only Oscar nomination however came from their work on "Shrek". Chris Farley was originally going to be Shrek and had recorded nearly all of his lines before his death. Mike Myers insisted on his own vision of character and the script was changed to allow for this. Myers had finished his performance and production was well under way when Myers desired to give Shrek a Scottish accent instead. This led to a third recording of Shrek's lines and it was worth it in my opinion. The accent was based on Myers' mother as she read her son bedtime stories. The cost to do this a third time wasn't cheep at all by the way. I was surprised that Eddie Murphy was able to create a character that was different enough from Mushu on "Mulan" but still use the same voice. Cameron Diaz did well and John Lithgow's voice was great for his character. I can't understand why Robin Hood or Thelonious never made it into the sequels. The Robin Hood sequence in "Shrek" reminds me of "Men in Tights". The subsequent fight is pretty funny by the way with the references to Jackie Chan, "Charlie's Angels" (Cameron Diaz was in that movie) and of course, "The Matrix". Thelonious is funny in every scene because you can't see his face and his actions sometimes contradict his mask such as writing "Awwww" on the cue card.

Fans of "The Princess Bride" are also probably fans of "Shrek". I remember seeing this movie for the first time in West Edmonton Mall, the largest mall in the world at that time. The second time I saw the film was in Idaho at an old fashioned drive-in theater and it was the last film I saw at a drive-in. "Shrek" was a big box office hit and was fourth in box office earnings for 2001 behind "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" and "Monsters Inc." in that order. The American Film Institute listed "Shrek" as #8 on its list of the best-animated films of all time. I however feel that #9 on that same list, "Cinderella", is better. Fiona's theme in the musical score became the "When You Wish Upon a Star" for DreamWorks Animation. It terms of the "Monsters Inc." vs. "Shrek" face-off, the former made more money while the latter won the first ever Oscar for Best Animated Film. The success of "Shrek" did include some negative consequences. DreamWorks shut down its 2D animation department and seem to rely on satire/adult humor too much for their own good. They also continued to cast A-list actors in their future films, a tactic which doesn't always work. "Shrek" is full of many Disney references but even though fairytales are being lampooned; the film still followed classic fairytale motifs such as true love’s kiss. The technology exhibited in this film is also noteworthy and there was a good four-way relationship between the characters, the audience, the filmmakers & the story. Thus began the Shrek Franchise that in my opinion should have ended after the second film.

4 Stars