All Shrek (Myers), the ogre, wants is to be left alone. His seclusion ends when he saves a talking Donkey (Murphy) from being arrested.... then his swamp is overrun with fairytale characters. They were evicted from their homes and forced to move to the swamp. To get rid of them, Shrek and Donkey go to see Lord Farquaad (Lithgow) to sort out the problem. Farquaad relocated the fairytale characters to make his kingdom perfect, but to officially be the king he needs to get married. His bride to be, Princess Fiona (Diaz) is a prisoner in a tall tower, surrounded by lava, and guarded by a dragon.
Farquaad and Shrek come to an agreement: Shrek will rescue the princess and he will get his land back. But Fiona isn't what they expected: she is capable of defending herself (matrix style) and belches liberally. And Donkey wards of the unwanted advances of a much stronger woman.
This film was so different from everything else when it was first made. Disney had been putting references in films made during the last few (10ish) years, but this was the first time a film really went after Disney (and did so successfully). Disney held the monopoly on entertaining cartoon films for children... affecting how children viewed their world (what little girl doesn't expect her life to be like the Disney princesses and their happily ever after?). Shrek works because they take that idea, and the characters we all grew up watching, and changing little things. With an unconventional hero (an ogre), an unconventional princess, a talking donkey, and fairy tale creatures as castoffs there were so many ways this film could fail, but the combined voice talents, excellent writing, a lot of heart make this film work.
Lightning struck twice for Shrek, with a sequel that was just as good as the original, but the third was a disappointment. With another Shrek film on the way, I can't helpk but hope that they will return to the formula that made this film work... instead of going for the cheap, disgusting humor and pop culture references, take us back to the world weary ogre and his annoyingly endearing sidekick trying to find their way.
Shrek (2001) 90 minutes
Rating: PG for mild language and some crude humor.
Director: Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson
Starring: Mike Myers as Shrek
Eddie Murphy as Donkey
Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona
John Lithgow as Lord Farquaad
It was weird to watch this film again. I LOVE the Broadway musical version ("Shrek the Musical").
Brian D'Arcy James and the fairy tale characters
An awesome cast (Sutton Foster, Christopher Sieber, John Tartaglia, among others I didn't previously know) and a healthy homage to many other Broadway shows (you need to know your musicals to get most of them). I fell in love with the songs through YouTube (even after I decided it was going to be stupid), and even bought the cast recording when it came out. It might not be "high concept" but it is incredible. I'm used to the show, and the songs used, so it was strange to watch the film without these songs or the enlarged parts of the fairytale creatures.
Farquaad and Shrek come to an agreement: Shrek will rescue the princess and he will get his land back. But Fiona isn't what they expected: she is capable of defending herself (matrix style) and belches liberally. And Donkey wards of the unwanted advances of a much stronger woman.
This film was so different from everything else when it was first made. Disney had been putting references in films made during the last few (10ish) years, but this was the first time a film really went after Disney (and did so successfully). Disney held the monopoly on entertaining cartoon films for children... affecting how children viewed their world (what little girl doesn't expect her life to be like the Disney princesses and their happily ever after?). Shrek works because they take that idea, and the characters we all grew up watching, and changing little things. With an unconventional hero (an ogre), an unconventional princess, a talking donkey, and fairy tale creatures as castoffs there were so many ways this film could fail, but the combined voice talents, excellent writing, a lot of heart make this film work.
Lightning struck twice for Shrek, with a sequel that was just as good as the original, but the third was a disappointment. With another Shrek film on the way, I can't helpk but hope that they will return to the formula that made this film work... instead of going for the cheap, disgusting humor and pop culture references, take us back to the world weary ogre and his annoyingly endearing sidekick trying to find their way.
Shrek (2001) 90 minutes
Rating: PG for mild language and some crude humor.
Director: Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson
Starring: Mike Myers as Shrek
Eddie Murphy as Donkey
Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona
John Lithgow as Lord Farquaad
It was weird to watch this film again. I LOVE the Broadway musical version ("Shrek the Musical").
An awesome cast (Sutton Foster, Christopher Sieber, John Tartaglia, among others I didn't previously know) and a healthy homage to many other Broadway shows (you need to know your musicals to get most of them). I fell in love with the songs through YouTube (even after I decided it was going to be stupid), and even bought the cast recording when it came out. It might not be "high concept" but it is incredible. I'm used to the show, and the songs used, so it was strange to watch the film without these songs or the enlarged parts of the fairytale creatures.
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