How the film Shrek parodies the traditional Disney fairytale

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PRINCE OFORI- 11AMU                English ‘media’ coursework

                                SHREK

“How the film Shrek parodies the traditional Disney fairytale.”

‘Shrek’, what can I say about Shrek? It is one of the most successful animated films ever screened, if not the most successful. Shrek has cleaned up at the box office and even stole the first ever Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film from Pixar's Monsters Inc. So what makes Shrek so unique and so special from any other animated film?

Firstly, the film consists of both traditional and modern fairytale storylines. In addition the main character is an ogre with a heart of gold; this is not the usual characteristics of an ogre in traditional fairytales. The flatulent swamp-habitant monster is fascinating and intriguing, he adds to the flavour that makes the movie such a success.

The film Shrek was produced by Jeffrey Katzenberg, a producer that worked with Walt Disney in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Little Mermaid and many more hit productions. When Jeffrey Katzenberg was passed over for promotion at Disney, he left to form the company ‘DreamWorks’. He longed and thought hard on how to get his revenge on Disney, his solution was to produce a film, a film that no one had dared or even thought of before him. A “Fractured” approach to Disney's classic traditional fairytale movies, such as ‘Cinderella’ and ‘Snow white’.  

 

The film opens with a close up shot of a fairytale book opening and a voice speaking over the main scene. The voice begins with the famous traditional opening to a fairytale story “Once upon a time”, this is very similar to sleeping beauty, a film which itself was very revolutionary at the time. As the narrator read there was a lovely gentle music playing in the background. This is unexpectedly interrupted by a hand snapping. Then, abruptly, a large green hand rips a page out of the book and snaps it shut. We then hear the toilet flush as Shrek walks out the loo. This immediately signifies that Shrek had used the page that he ripped for personal purposes. I think that this suggests to the audience that the producers of Shrek are trying to put a statement out to the individuals in charge of Disney that fairy tales are worthless and that they have made a new film, which literally flashes traditional story tales down the drains.

The audience then hear modern rap music; this reinforces their audiences understanding that this will definitely not be a conventional fairy tale with a predictable soundtrack. The setting which is partly set in Shrek’s swamp, this is a traditional and expected home for Ogres, but the unexpected part of this swamp is the fact that he has a shower, a dining table, and a cosy fire place with a comfortable armchair. Shrek is seen having a shower, brushing his teeth and doing everyday human activities. This indicates to the viewers that this won’t be a normal everyday fairytale story. This is because they would not expect a giant and frightful ogre to have such a homely swamp.

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The beginning of the film already suggests that Shrek is not the typical perception of what we expect from an ogre because his behaviour is more of a human than an ogre. When the audiences saw Shrek having a shower, it probably would have come as a surprise to most viewers. This is because normally our perceptions of ogres are meant unclean beasts. They are meant to be monsters crashing every little thing that they see, but in Shrek’s case he likes his swamp nice and tidy. The beginning of the film already suggests that there is going to be a lot ...

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Here's what a teacher thought of this essay

This candidate clearly understands the different ways that Shrek parodies traditional fairytales. However, is reads more like an English essay that a Media Studies essay. It lacks subject specific terminology and does not include media theory, such as genre theory or audience theory. It focusses too much on the film's narrative, rather than on the technical codes and conventions.