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A modern-day fairy tale rife with cutting edge
humor, Shrek is a computer-animated film for the ages. In the
tradition of Disney (the recipient of a number of clever jibes
throughout the movie), Dreamworks manages to create a film that
adults (and not just parents) will enjoy as much as children. The
comedy is clean, witty, and refreshing. The animation is
mind-blowing, and the characters are as likeable as any ever
created.
The story follows the life of Shrek (voiced by
Mike Myers), a green ogre with a friendly disposition who lives in a
swamp during medieval times. When ever-so-short, midget nobleman
Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow) banishes all local fairy-tale creatures
from his land, they are forced to resettle in Shrek's swamp. Shrek,
who prefers to live in solitude, sets off, accompanied by a
wisecracking mule named Donkey (Eddie Murphy), to find Lord Farquaad
and convince him to leave the fairy-tale characters where they
belong, and leave his leave his swampland alone. Lord Farquaad
agrees to honor Shrek and Donkey's request under one condition. The
odd couple must locate the beautiful Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz)
and bring her back to Duloc so that he can marry her (he chooses her
as his bride over Snow White and Sleeping Beauty because he wants to
become king). Although Princess Fiona is held in a tower guarded by
a fire-breathing dragon, the task is one Shrek and Donkey are more
than capable of taking on…
Shrek is quite simply of one of the best films
of its time. The computer-generated image animation creates a
fantastic setting filled with unique, groundbreaking characters. The
storyline (basically Beauty and the Beast) is timeless, and the
comedy manages to stand on its own in a movie that pushes the
outer-boundaries of excellence. Eddie Murphy is at his best playing
the Donkey, and Mike Myers may also have put in his best cinematic
performance to date. Shrek is one of the few animated films ever
made that should be seen by adults who don't have children (in other
words, those who otherwise wouldn't bother to see an animated film).
So if you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and give Shrek a
try...
About the Author
Britt Gillette is author of The
DVD Report, a blog where you can find more reviews like this one
of the Shrek
(DVD).
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