The directors of this particular film (Andrew Adamson/Vicky Jenson) used the fairytale genre in this way as a first. It sold very well in the box office, gaining $484 million in total. There were many films that were inspired by Shrek, such as The Incredibles and Ice Age, which used similar concepts used in Shrek.
After the opening credits, we see many angry humans, which seem to be angry with this Ogre. In a typical fairytale, the human heroes would defeat the ogre, although in this story, we soon see that the human group are frightened of Shrek and run away. Shrek roars at the group whilst the camera shows an extreme close up of Shrek’s teeth and bits of dirt flying off them. Soon enough, he says “This is the part where you are supposed to run away!” showing the link to its fairytale roots.
When the fairytale characters are being rounded up, we hear and see many fairytale characters in chains and being handed into custody. For example, we see first the 7 Dwarfs in a cage, singing “Ho Hi” instead of “Hi Ho”, to show that they are upset about the way they are being treated. Next, we see one of our protagonists, Donkey, with a rope around his mouth being pulled by an old lady.
Donkey is seen having a conversation, so we know he can talk. Next, he reaches the front of the queue and the guard asks the old lady to prove he can talk. Donkey has thought this through though, and stays silent and the guards seize the old lady. Next, a fairy is knocked into Donkey, who suddenly starts flying and talking. The guards become suspicious and attempt to seize Donkey now, who luckily escapes and meets Shrek on his escape, who scares off the guards.
At night, after Donkey irritates Shrek by consistently talking, Shrek and his swap land suddenly gets invaded by fairytale characters, unwanted of course. It happens very fast and we don’t know where all these characters came from, making the audience and Shrek confused, and after this, a crane shot is used to show the sheer amount of people in the vicinity, increasing confusedness. A crane shot is used in many war films also, for example to show the amount of damage that is happening, or in a plaza in many films, to show people going about their lives. Soon enough, Shrek gets angry and asks who will come with hid to Lord Farquaad, the man who issued this. Only Donkey asks to help and our protagonists set off on a quest.
Next, Lord Farquaad is introduced. There are shoulder shots used and odd angles including extreme close ups to show mystery about this character. There is also a marching beat used to make him appear important & powerful, whilst combining the aforementioned threatening music with dark colours. It is funny when it is revealed to the audience that Lord Farquaad is extremely short whilst having so much power.
The film is highly successful and enjoyed by various audiences of different ages. It uses a range of comedic techniques to make the film amusing to a wide audience. I think that the film is great and I recommend it to anyone that wants to watch something amusing.
