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 Once
upon a time, there was a magical place called Hollywood where fairy
tales came to life and superficial people made millions of dollars
in the process. Most of the time, these tales of make-believe weren't
worth the celluloid that they were printed on, but every once in a
while, a movie would come along that justified the rest of the stinkers.
Such is the case with the computer animated Shrek, and thanks
to a funny, clever, and smart screenplay, the film easily fits the
bill as the best animated movie to hit the big screen since Toy
Story.
A long time
ago in a swamp far, far away, there lived a mean old ogre named
Shrek. All he wanted was to be left alone in his miserable existence,
but when the inhabitants of fairy tales' greatest hits are banished
to his doorstep by the evil Lord Farquaad, he throws a fit. In order
to get his privacy back, Shrek makes a deal with Farquaad to rescue
the beautiful Princess Fiona from the clutches of a fire-breathing
dragon. With the help of a wise-cracking donkey, Shrek sets out
on his mission, never knowing that his encounter with the Princess
will change his life forever.
By seamlessly
blending elements of pop-culture with history's most popular fairy
tales, Shrek finds itself in the rare position of being enormously
entertaining for both kids and adults. The movie has fun lampooning
everything from "Three Little Pigs" to Babe, and DreamWorks
head honcho Jeffrey Katzenberg, who co-produced the pic, even takes
some jabs at his former Disney boss by portraying Lord Farquaad's
kingdom as a medieval version of the Disneyland theme park (complete
with a palace that's more akin to the Vehicle Assembly Building
at NASA's Cape Canaveral).
As for bringing
these CGI characters to life, you couldn't have asked for a better
cast. Mike Myers seems to be relishing his mean-spirited take on
Shrek, complete with his now-famous domineering Scottish accent
(after all, if it isn't Scottish, it's crap!). Eddie Murphy is the
perfect sidekick and steals the show as the ever-faithful donkey,
even though his timely comic references are a throwback to his similar
voiceover work from Mulan. Finally, Cameron Diaz gives a
sexy, yet vulnerable turn to her role as the lovelorn princess with
a secret, while John Lithgow is deliciously evil as the vertically-challenged
Lord Farquaad.
In the end,
Shrek is fast, funny, and furious, and in many ways, it's
the perfect modern fairy tale. Not only does it point out the importance
of opening your heart, cherishing strong friendships, and finding
the beauty from within, but it's also a fairy tale for the people
who made it. After decades of maintaining an iron grip on the animated
market, the evil empire of Disney is finally being given a run for
its money by the underdogs over at DreamWorks. As long as they can
continue to deliver strong films in the animated field, then DreamWorks,
as well as moviegoers everywhere, will live happily ever after.
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