Year: 2001
Director(s): Adam Adamson & Vicky Jenson
Country: US
Language: English
We might not be able to comprehend it now, but back in 2001 many people thought Mike Meyers was funny. He was still riding high from the instantly quotable Austin Powers franchise, having enough star power to put butts in theater seats. Of course Meyers wasn't the first choice to voice the jolly green ogre; the late Chris Farley had his fair chance, but unfortunately he died. Despite this setback, Dreamworks was still able to pull off a wonderfully memorable film.
An ogre (Mike Meyers), in order to regain his swamp, travels along with an annoying donkey (Eddie Murpy) in order to bring a princess to a scheming lord (Cameron Diaz), wishing himself King (John Lithgow).
Shrek is a blatant spoof of the wholesome Disney flicks that we have been force-fed as kids for decades. It begins with classic Disney characters being sold to slavery, the main characters are incredibly ugly yet content with their ugliness and the hero of the film is the exact opposite of "prince charming". Not surprisingly Dreamworks was founded by a man who was fired from Disney; Jeffery Katzenberg. While he helped with memorable 90's hits like Alladin, he felt he was unappreciated and thus needed Shrek to vent.
Unlike most modern Disney flicks, Shrek will appeal to all ages, mainly because there are a lot of adult "in" jokes that children just won't get. The most apparent is the fact that the villain's name sounds a lot like "fuckwad". It's unfortunate that the film isn't able to stand on its own; there is a staggering amount of pop culture references that require the viewer to have at least seen one Disney film in order to get it. The animation is beautiful; it is quite a technical achievement to make each character look so fleshed out.
In conclusion, while I wouldn't recommend seeing any of the horrid sequels, Shrek itself has unique moments despite being entrenched in pop culture. Few movie characters are content with being themselves, even less heroes are fat rather than muscular he-men. I found myself laughing a lot when I watched it in 2001, and I still find it somewhat amusing now. 3/5
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