‘Shrek takes great pleasure in lampooning fairytales and nursery rhymes of all sorts, and reserves a few delightful knocks at Disney in the bargain, as well as some well placed innuendos. At some points, some opportunities for some terrific fairytale satire are bypassed for a stronger storyline, but that doesn’t matter because, even then, one can always sit back and enjoy the beautiful computer animation, whose remarkable use here represents yet another dazzling leap forward for technology, and is a much greater improvement on ‘Cinderella’ and other such movies.
One memorable aspect of Disney’s ‘Aladdin’ was that it finally gave Robin Williams a character – The Genie – to best take advantage of his comic talents. ‘Shrek’ does the same for Eddie Murphy, ironically though Murphy’s ideal character turns out to be an ass! All the same, ‘Shrek’ does represent Murphy’s best comic outing in years, which really does make Donkey the true star of this film, and draws in all the families that have loved his previous works. Cameron Diaz is also used to maximum effect, drawing in all her existing fans, and using her previous ‘Charlie’s Angels’ character as a great backbone for Fiona’s strong character.
Throughout the 90 minute film, Donkey manages to be the jovial side-kick and lightens the mood with his continuous humming and singing, which has to hold some of the funniest moments in the animation. You can’t help but laugh when, upon his meeting with Shrek, Donkey bursts into song with the line; ‘But you gotta have friends’. However, the forever enthusiastic side-kick is not always the happy-go-lucky ass throughout the film, but still produces some seriously funny moments. One memorable moment is when Donkey is walking over a high, rickety bridge over some boiling hot lava. “Shrek, I’m looking down” represents one of Donkeys mistakes, and most hilarious moments on the old bridge that is guaranteed to get you all laughing at the expense of poor, little Donkey. This is enhanced with an animated birds-eye view over the crossing to emphasize Donkey’s fear, and to show off the extraordinary images that CGI can produce. Fortunately, over the bridge, Donkey finds love with a girl dragon, which is an unusual concept in itself, yet produces a fantastic comedy moment in the film.
But you can’t have Donkey without Shrek. Separating them is like strawberries without cream, or crackers without cheese – the odd couple are destined to be together, and is upsetting and rather bizarre to see them apart for them few minutes nearing the end of the film. The duo share so many moments together, in good and bad situations that they become like two siblings by the end of the movie. They’re guaranteed to touch the audience’s hearts with their growing love, and their quarrels: ‘Ogres. Are. Like. Onions’, says the angry Shrek, when describing ogres. ‘Oh… you mean they stink!?’, replies an innocent Donkey, oblivious to Shrek’s actual meaning.
The music in ‘Shrek’ ranges from the uplifting, upbeat of Eddie Murphy’s own version of the Monkey’s ‘I’m a Believer’, to ‘True Loves First Kiss’, an instrumental, orchestral, climatic ending. Many of the songs in this CGI masterpiece are either recognisable by most or are bound to become favourites for the kids, for they are uplifting, catchy beats. One song, apart from the fabulous cover of ‘I’m a Believer’, is sure to be a favourite, that is sure to be much-loved is the over played, yet extremely catchy ‘Smash Mouth’ hit, ‘All Star, the most recognised song within the entire movie.
Apart from the use of the great tune of other various, and numerous, artists, DreamWorks know how to make the most of a soundtrack, cleverly using songs in the most suitable of places. An example of this is when the song ‘Hallelujah’ is played. The depressing beat and the repetition of the title reflects the main characters’ moods at being separated from each other and is bound to get anyone’s face looking like an ogre’s. Murphy’s ‘I’m a Believer’ also mirrors the moods of the characters, namely his own, but also emphasises the merry personality of Donkey, for the music is just like him; fun, happy and cheeky. Altogether, the music is something for the children, for most of the soundtrack comprises of the best quality pop song that there have ever been.
The camera angles are also used for maximum comical effect. Take Lord Farquaad as the best example. In the first scene we ever see him, he looks tall, powerful, and perhaps a little bit like our stereotypical Prince, but that’s because of the clever, misleading camera angles. In fact, the ‘all powerful’ leader of Duloc is actually the tiniest little thing in the animation. Although the ‘tall’ shots of Farquaad ooze comic appeal, there is nothing better than the almighty ogre, Shrek, when an arrow gets stuck in his derrière, courtesy of Robin Hood. The look of pain and relief when the arrow is removed in un-missable, and would have comedy coming out of every pore in any ogre’s body. Also, in the scene where Donkey becomes ‘a flying, talking Donkey’, we get to see the full comical effect with, another, birds-eye view, which is a perfect moment to see the chaos unfolding behind Donkey. Some of the angles that the ‘cameras’ have created show astounding views of the animated scenery, and highlights the wonderful CGI animation, of which I have already noted is a great leap forward for technology, and makes the audience, which I hope you will become, remain glued to the screen because of the amazing detail it provides.
Apart from the modern music, amazing imagery and awesome computer animation, this film also portrays how families have matured over time, and how children are much more socially aware nowadays. It is remarkable how our younger generations are able to identify accents with different cultures and relate to their stereotypes. For example, Shrek is Scottish, Donkey and Fiona are American, the three Pigs are Russian and Robin Hood is French, portraying how our children appreciate different cultures.
‘Shrek’ is truly an animated work of art, demonstrating the extraordinary use of modern technology, and produces some of the funniest moments in fairytale history. DreamWorks have really got the gist of equal rights and opportunities and creates some hilarious results while they’re at it and, for once, the company has put Disney to shame. People from young to old, from ogres to fairies shouldn’t feel ashamed walking into this rated ‘U’ film, for this dazzling animation welcomes everyone. What are you waiting for? It’s worth the money!