Enjoyable but flawed (Shrek (DVD))

Member Name: ben_83

Product:	Shrek (DVD)
Date:	25/06/01 (31 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: John Lithgow is excellent and Eddie Murphy is energetic, the graphics look good at times

Disadvantages: Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz are disappointing, the humour is too lavatorial, the ending is slightly too suger-coated

A few years ago if you wanted to see an animated film in the school holidays your only choice was the latest Disney offering. Recently, this has changed with Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks making a concerted effort to cut into Disney's stranglehold on the cartoon market. 'Shrek' is their latest effort and shows that the company is just as capable as their rival of producing good quality children's films.

Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers) is a big, ugly ogre who lives in a swamp. All the people from the nearby village are scared of him and keep their distance and, as a result, he is a loner. However, one day a talking donkey (voiced by Eddie Murphy) who escaped from the authorities when they were clamping down on fairytale creatures dares to try and make friends with him. Shrek grudgingly lets him stay in his swamp but regrets it when a load of other fairytale creatures who escaped want to stay as well. In a bid to get them off his land, Shrek and Donkey visit the leader of the land Lord Farquaad (voiced by John Lithgow) to ask him to get help them. He says he will but only if the pair rescue the woman he wants to marry, Princess Fiona (voiced by Cameron Diaz), who is trapped in a tower guarded by a dragon.

Kids will absolutely love this film. The humour is thoroughly lavatorial (reflecting an unfortunate trend in modern Hollywood comedies), the characters are unusual and, despite what the story may sound like, it takes regular jibes at Disney and fairytale conventions. However, a more discerning grown-up audience may be a little more critical.

The main draw voice-acting wise that 'Shrek' has is Eddie Murphy and he is good, if you like Eddie Murphy that is. As ever, he does his 'black dude with an attitude' thing which is very funny if you ignore the fact that he's been doing that ever since he started acting. Personally, even though he has his moments, I found him a little grating. Better was John Lithgow
(Dick from 'Third Rock From The Sun' for those of you who don't know) who delivers a fantastically over-the-top performance as Farquaad the evil tyrant. His voice is very well suited to animated films and I'm surprised he hasn't done more. As a huge fan of Mike Myers's work, it pains me to say that I was disappointed with him in this film. He puts on a Scottish accent which is not at all convincing and leads me again to ask why film makers are intent on casting actors for roles their accents don't fit. Also disappointing is Cameron Diaz whose voice is wholly unremarkable and the only thing she adds to the film is another famous name in the credits.

The script has its moments. There is the odd genuinely funny bit such as the scene where Farquaad is torturing the gingerbread man or the parts where the fairytale characters (particularly the seven dwarfs) feature. However, you feel that, on the whole, there is too much bodily function humour and this is simply not funny to anyone over the age of thirteen. If I want to laugh at a fart I am perfectly capable of producing one myself but sharp, witty one-liners are something a little harder to come by. On top of this, the ending eschews the cynical feeling of the rest of the film and everything finishes 'happy ever after'. Whether this is just another subtle sideswipe at the genre of fairytale or just bad writing I can't quite work out.

I'm hesitating to comment on how good the computer graphics look because I'm afraid, as with so many videogames, that this might overshadow the other (more important) aspects of the film. What I will say is that they are not as stunning as everyone seems to think. Sure, a close shot of one of the characters' faces gives the animators a chance to show that they can put stubble on Farquaad's chin or moving hairs on Donkey's head but when the 'camera' is pulled out more there is little distinction between this
and, say 'A Bug's Life' or 'Antz'. Also, it seems as if, in their rush to make the dirt on Skrek's teeth look as realistic as possible, the animators forgot to implement anything more than rudimentary lip-sync. We are talking kung-fu movie bad and this is totally unacceptable in a film that prides itself on its visuals when the technology for realistic lip-sync exists and is being used to good effect in the videogame industry (see forthcoming SCEE release 'The Getaway' for a good example).

On a more positive note, the soundtrack to 'Shrek' fits the movie well, especially in the title sequence where Shrek is doing his morning routine to Smashmouth's 'All Star'. Also good is Eddie Murphy's rendition of The Monkees's 'I'm A Believer'.

Overall, 'Shrek' is a perfectly enjoyable but ultimately flawed movie. It certainly has its moments but is let down by some poor voice acting and lip-sync. Worth seeing but by no means as good as DreamWorks's best, 'Antz'.

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