Shrek
***1/2
Cinema Releases - June 29, 2001
Rated on a 4-star scale. Certificate U. 90 minutes.
Directed by Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson. Written by Ted Elliot, Terry Rossio,
Joe Stillman, Roger Schulman, Joe Stillman. With the voices of Mike Myers,
Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, John Lithgow.
As "Shrek" begins, an evil tyrant
has ordered that all fairytale characters must be turned into the authorities.
We see soldiers manning a military post where Jepetto is handing in Pinocchio;
nearby someone finds a wolf hiding in his bed, disguised as a
grandmother.
A little later, the wicked lord tortures a gingerbread
man by dipping him in milk. And throughout the movie we see familiar figures
popping up, as when Robin Hood comes into frame performing
Riverdance.
In a way, this is the "Pulp Fiction" of animated
entertainment. Instead of pop culture references, it fuses together fairytale
references for flavour, rhythm and wicked humour, as a wonderful background
to a strong fairytale plot.
The hero of the picture is a big green ogre named
Shrek, voiced by Mike Myers. He manages to avoid hassle from the henchmen
of Lord Farquuad (John Lithgow) by scaring them off with his intimidating
appearance, and ends up agreeing to find the ugly little lord a beautiful
princess, in return for the right to have his home swamp left
alone.
So begins Shrek's journey to rescue the enchanting
Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) from a dragon-guarded cave. He is accompanied
by a talking donkey, which constantly jumps around and hyperactively pesters
him in just the manner you'd expect from a character voiced by Eddie Murphy.
(When the princess expresses shock that the donkey can talk, Shrek responds
"It's getting him to shut up that's the trick.")
The actors involved make for great comic
personalities, and the visuals of the film are similarly beautiful. The dimension
of the animation is similar to that of "Dinosaur", but that film's gaudy
colours and grotesque attempts at photo-realism are absent, leaving a fluid
and vibrant glow.
On top of the fairytale references, the screenplay
features pop culture in-jokes about films like "Taxi Driver", "The Matrix"
and "Babe". The hero's final stand and the fact he is an ogre also teach
young viewers good lessons about principles and tolerance. But none of that
is original to "Shrek" -- movie allusions are commonplace in most lighthearted
contemporary pictures, and respectable family entertainment always embeds
some sort of message. "Shrek" is special because it delivers what the founders
of DreamWorks Pictures originally promised -- alternative yet accessible
entertainment. How many other summer cartoons feature The Proclaimers, Smashmouth
and Joan Jett on the soundtrack?
COPYRIGHT©
2001 Ian Waldron-Mantgani
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