Shrekkily ever after (Shrek (DVD))

Member Name: chinnyli

Product:	Shrek (DVD)
Date:	15/07/01 (58 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Funny and suitable for most ages

Disadvantages: Typecast characters

I didn't have any intention of going to watch this, but one of my friends strong-armed me into doing so: "All my friends have said it's really good." Which friends? "All of them!" Who? "Oh, you don't know any of them, they're from uni." But it's just a cartoon. "It's not just a cartoon, it's great... oh come on, it'll be my treat!" (Desperate words indeed from a recent ex-student!) I'm not really in the mood for the cinema... "Pleeeeeease!" Oh, what time is it on then?

Anyhow, the film begins with an introduction to Shrek (voiceover by Mike Myers), a large, green, burping, farting ogre that lives alone in a swamp, scaring off intruders and would-be bounty hunters from his land with warning placards, ferocious roars and sarky comments to appropriately terrified humans. "This is where I think you supposed to run away," he whispers to them.

What he doesn't realise, is that Lord Farquaad, the midget sized baddy with a superiority complex who has aspirations to become king of town Duloc, has placed a bounty for every fairy tale creature that is captured and brought into the town. Que a chaotic scene of characters from every Western inspired fairy tale including Pinocchio, seven dwarves (no Sleeping Beauty), three bears (no Goldilocks), various fairies, and a talking donkey being dragged into town tearfully for measly pieces of silvers.

The Donkey (as his name originally is, voiceover by Eddie Murphy) manages to escape and befriends a somewhat reluctant Shrek after he scares the would-be captors away. Shrek "allows" Donkey to stay in his swamp, but being used to solitude, refuses to let him reside inside his house as a guest. However, a few hours later, Shrek annoying discovers that his swamp and house has been deluged by all the fairy tale creatures that had been captured - they have been banished to his swamp.

Furious, Shrek s
ets off with Donkey as his guide to Duloc, in order to "get his swamp back".

Meanwhile, Lord Farquaad finds out from a Magic Mirror that the only way he can become King of Duloc, is to marry a princess. "So where can I find one?" he ponders. He is told Blind Date fashion of three available bachelorettes: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and er, Princess Fiona (voiceover by Cameron Diaz), who lives at the top of a tower in a castle surrounded by fire and brimstone, protected by a ferocious dragon that will make roast meat of anyone that enters the castle.

Not to have to rewrite the other fairy tales, Lord Farquaad obviously goes for Princess Fiona, but instead of setting off on the dangerous quest of rescuing her himself, decides to hold a tournament for a knight that will brave the danger, and bring back the princess for him.

It is this tournament that Shrek gatecrashes, and he ends up being conned into rescuing the princess in return for having his swamp restored to him, but then eventually falls in love with the princess himself.

Sorry, that was a rather long intro to the film. Like most fairy tales (and recent animated films) this is basically another soppy love story, and follows the obvious plotline of boy meets girl, falls in love but encounters obstacles, but at the end, love can conquer all.

Shrek is quite a funny film though, it takes every opportunity possible to slip in a gag, although some might find some of these cheaply made and overly obvious, while the double innuendos of others might bypass the younger 'uns completely. For instance, Shrek crudely comments on Lord Farquaad when seeing the huge fortress of Duloc "looks to me as though he's trying to make up for something he hasn't got! Hahahahaha!" (Donkey looks quizzical.)

The film attempts to bring some sort of depth to its characters, Shrek is an anti-hero and insecure, he finds it is easier to be lonely bec
ause people just see him as a big ugly stupid ogre, so he stubbornly cushions himself against the world by preventing others from getting too close, but it's just so oversimplified. He explains to Donkey that ogres are like onions, "they have layers!"

Princess Fiona is only moderately brought up to date, but at the same time is lumbered with modern stereotypes of female traits - stubborn, hysterical, ungrateful, idealistic (or should that be naïve, note how she simpers about how she'd expected to be rescued and be swept off her feet, think Charlie's Angels when Cameron Diaz's character plaintively comments mid-fight after being cut off mid-mobile conversation with a love interest "do you know how hard it is to find a decent guy?"), and that, ooh-er, an angry and determined woman can be scarier than an ogre. And as a peace offering, she cooks breakfast for Donkey and Shrek?!

I mean, I know this is just a cartoon, but this is the millennium, couldn't she have kickboxed her way out past the dragon or something instead of waiting pathetically to be rescued? Although, I suppose Princess Fiona does manage to spring a few surprises later on.

Donkey is probably the most well rounded character in the film, over-enthusiastic, over persistent, over talkative (Cable Guy style) but well meaning (in a pseudo psycho-analytical way) and loyal, who notes other people's faults but forgives them for it. Even so, he is very obviously the "peacekeeper" in the story, even if he literally steps on everyone's toes.

However, Lord Farquaad is so self-centredly, disappointingly one-dimensional, and fails in being a real baddy - the only thing he can scare is a poor little gingerbread man (awww that couldn't run away, oops revealed too much!) He is so pathetic that he has to get his guards to do all his dirty work for him, and is more a figure of fun.

Parts of the film are also implausib
le (how on earth does the dragon escape?!), but if you can get past these and the characterisation, there are plenty of choice, endearing moments - for instance when Donkey fast-talks himself out of a dire situation, the gingerbread man who is unable to escape from Lord Farquaad, and you should watch out for the rip off scenes out of Charlie's Angels, and apparently The Matrix (I haven't watched this, but my friend assures me there is), to which AOL Time Warner just so happens to own copyrights.

Shrek is a fun film, though nowhere near in the same league as Toy Story 2 for originality. However, I'm sure the kids will love it, (particularly for burping scenes,) and so will adults - there were more adults than children when I went, and they were also the ones to laugh hardest.

Hope I haven't spoilt the storyline for too many people, although if you've read all the other ops in this category, you probably know what the whole film is like by now if you haven't already watched it!

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