Let's just begin by saying that Shrek really isn't for kids. Really. If you had a notion of loading up your minivan with your kids and your neighbor's kids and heading on down to the Gigaplex, just...go see something else. Wait for Atlantis. Just don't go to Shrek. Your kids will not get any of the jokes and will wrinkle their noses and ponder the meanings of the jokes OUT LOUD, thank you very much, and just annoy the hell out of the grown-ups in the audience.

When I say that the kids won't get the jokes, I mean that they have no Disney-hating experience, for the most part. They have yet to shell out roughly half the GNP of Cuba on tickets to the theme parks or find themselves forced to buy overpriced mouse idols. The producers of Shrek hate Disney with a passion. They must, for the well-placed and hilarious barbs that pop up throughout.

Even the marketing seems like some kind of sly joke; not just at Disney but at over-hyped star-studded animated movies like Titan A.E. that seem to exist because Matt Damon didn't have anything else going on but didn't want to fly off to Italy or whatever. The posters are just small pictures of the animated characters, beside which scream the names of the stars. "Myers! Diaz! Murphy!".

Shrek (voiced by Myers) is a big green ogre with a Scottish accent. He's kind of a loner. He lives at the edge of a swamp by himself. That is, until the evil Lord Farquaad evicts Pinnochio, the three little pigs, and dozens of other fairy tale characters from their home. They camp out on his doorstep, like refugees. Shrek has to make a deal with the short, pasty Farquaad. He must rescue a princess from a tower guarded by a dragon and deliver her to him in exchange for his swamp.

The character of the princess is another nice little jab at Disney. She is no cute, doe-eyed bimbo. Fiona (Diaz)is a strong, smart, high-maintenance woman. I love what they do with this character; Diaz does a really good job with her and the character is so well-written, right up until the last five minutes. To say any more would be to totally ruin the ending, but suffice it to say I just really wanted more out of the conclusion.

Eddie Murphy is also quite funny as The Donkey. Just when you think he hasn't been funny since 1985, he goes and pulls this one off.

Shrek can't really be compared to anything that's been done in the animated film genre before, because the whole point is to skewer the animated film genre. It's relentlessly clever; you could see it several times and still not catch all the little references and jokes. It's almost too clever for its own good. It has the good sense to be relatively short though; some comedies with the same style tend to beat you over the head until you're rolling your eyes, thinking "I get it! Enough!".

Shrek is really well worth the price of admission, especially considering what it's up against. There isn't anything out now half as well-written and funny as this film.




Recommended:
Yes

Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older