Review 54: Shrek

Shrek is a hilariously, heartfelt animated film.

Based on the children's book Shrek by William Steig, When a green ogre called Shrek (Mike Myers) discovers his swamp has been 'swamped' with all sorts of fairytale creatures by the scheming Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow), Shrek sets out, with a fast-talking but loyal donkey named Donkey (Eddie Murphy) by his side, to 'persuade' Farquaad to give his swamp back. Instead, a deal is made. Farquaad, who wants to become the King, sends Shrek to rescue Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), who is waiting for her one true love. But once they head back with Fiona, it starts to become apparent that not only does Shrek like Fiona, but Fiona is keeping something secret.

The plot is a beautiful work of art, it sweetly parodies fairy tales, provides a moral message to children (don't judge a book by it's cover) and gives viewers a fast paced thrill ride.
Shrek also features humor and pop culture references to entertain adults, you just have to be clever to spot them.

As mentioned above, the moral of Shrek is "Don't Judge a Book by it's Cover". For as long as he can remember, Shrek has been ostracised and hunted by the magical world because, as he eloquently puts "They judge me before they even know me". As a result, he's developed this belief that he's better off cut off from the rest of society.

Also the story is so richly detailed-as Shrek and Donkey escort Fiona to Farquaad Shrek grows to like her and really loves her were as Farquaad only wants marry her so he can be King, its essentially a Beauty and the Beast story and a story about finding true love and

as the story progresses we worry about and wonder weather their relationship we work out.

The animation is brilliant, director Andrew Adamson's animation direction is beautiful, the the humor is excellent, the pop-culture references are ingenius, the score by Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell is catchy, the production design is breathtaking, the character design is well crafted, the are some great action set pieces, the scenery is beautiful, the editing is sharp, the sound effects are great, the sound mixing is innovative and the ending was wonderful.

The voice cast is splendid, Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz play their roles effortlessly.

John Lithgow makes for a superb villain voicing Lord Farquaad

Shrek is classic animated film, it practically established DreamWorks Animation as a prime competitor to Pixar in the field of feature film animation, particularly in computer animation. It is a childhood favorite of mine and the Toy Story of DreamWorks, 5/5.

The Anonymous Critic