I decided to see the 11:45AM showing of "Shrek" at my favorite theater, the Regal Westfork on Pines Blvd. On my way there, I realized that I hadn't been to that theater in a really long time. It had been almost three months! The last movie I'd seen there was "Chocolat." Pretty much the only thing that I didn't like about the Regal Westfork theater was this horrendous thing they used to show before every movie. It was this VERY long Pepsi promo that introduced the movie. Some little gap-toothed girl with frighteningly dark eyes walks into a western saloon talking like Jack Palance spewing out the proper movie-watching etiquette (etiquette that is sadly ignored by many moviegoers). This Pepsi promo was way too long, way too dumb, and I hated having to sit through it before every movie. Well, that Pepsi promo wasn't played before "Shrek." PLEASE let that mean that they finally got rid of it!
So anyway, "Shrek" is a really, really good movie. It's the kinda movie that kids will love, but at the same time, the characters seem to be winking at the adults, so adults willl love it, too. There are things in the movie that will fly way over the heads of the kiddies, but the adults will definitely know what's up. DreamWorks and PDI (Pacific Data Images) did this kinda thing before with "Antz," which is a movie I really enjoyed, but I think that "Shrek" is a bit more kid-friendly.
I don't wanna give away any details, but DreamWorks takes a lotta subtle (and not so subtle) jabs at Disney with this film. All of 'em come across as really funny, especially the ones that have to do with the Disney theme parks. I've been to Disney World a buncha times (I absolutely love that place), and some of the points this movie makes really hit home, and I laughed each time. Very funny stuff.
"Shrek" was directed by Andrew Adamson (his directorial debut) and Vicky Jenson (her directorial debut, as well). They did a great job, and they had a really good script to work off of. Typical of animated films, "Shrek" has tons of writers. They even had to create new credits for some of them! I actually saw "Additional Dialogue by," and then three names were listed. There were others, but that's the one I remember. Since there are so many writers involved, rather than bore you with all of 'em (not that I'd know all of them anyway), I'll just tell you the ones who seemed to have the most input, the ones listed under the "Written by" credit. So yeah, "Shrek" was written by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio (together, they helped write "the Road to El Dorado," "The Mask of Zorro," "Small Soldiers," "Godzilla," and "Aladdin") and Joe Stillman (writer for "Beavis and Butt-head"... the movie and the TV series) and Roger S.H. Schulman (one of the writers for the old TV show, "Parker Lewis Can't Lose"). I find that movies tend to be better when there are fewer writers involved, but "Shrek" is most certainly the exception to the rule. The script was fresh, funny, witty, and absolutely original... while at the same time being a complete rip-off of so many other animated films. I know that doesn't make sense, but if you see the movie, you'll know what I mean.
Oh, I should mention that the movie is based on the book by William Steig. I kinda wanna get the book to see how much the movie strayed from it.
As for the voice casting, Mike Myers is the title character. He does it with a Scottish accent, though I'm not sure why. Is "Shrek" supposed to be from Scotland? It doesn't really matter. The accent isn't as thick as the one "Fat Bastard" has in "Austin Powers 2," but it's definitely there. It may seem like I'm being nitpicky, but I'm not at all, I thought Mike Myers did an excellent job with the character. Eddie Murphy played a talking donkey whose name is, simply enough, "Donkey." I like Eddie Murphy a lot, but he was too over the top for me. At first, his voice was very irritating, and the character got on my nerves, but eventually, I got used to it. Cameron Diaz was very good as "Princess Fiona" (I thought it woulda been funny if an evil witch gave her an apple, but that's just me). She made her character completely lovable and believable. Finally, John Lithgow is "Lord Farquaad," and he's very good, though VERY obviously John Lithgow.
Ah, and what about the animation? The animation is astonishing. It's incredible how far computer animation has come in the last few years. There's this one part when "Donkey" jumps on top of a couch, and then he jumps off. The way the couch reacts to his movements is perfect. Can you imagine how computer animation will be ten years from now?
"Shrek"
is a fun, sly movie that had me laughing out loud quite a few times. Since
so many of the jokes have to do with modern pop culture, it may not stand
the test of time, but that's okay. This movie made me laugh while at the
same time impressing me with great animation. I highly recommend "Shrek,"
and you should go see it at the Regal Westfork. You no longer have to deal
with that horrible Pepsi promo, so it's all good.
Scale of 1-10: 9