The main reason as to why Snow White has been particularly targeted as a film to mock is because it was the very first full length animated film and is probably what Walt Disney had invested his pride in and he would therefore be most offended by someone mocking Snow White as a pose to any other Disney film, even though mockeries of other Disney films have been made.
Shrek – the character
Imagine a kinder, gentler version of Mike Myers' Fat Bastard from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. That's Shrek. Myers' Scottish brogue brings out the charm in an ogre emotionally crippled by a severe lack of self-esteem. Shrek restrains himself, but that's because he’s the straight monster to the loud-mouthed Donkey. He has many floors which are obvious; he’s attitude, unfriendly manner and bad habits. He appears confident when in his ‘ogre’ role, there fore sticking to convention , but what becomes apparent through out the film is that he is rather under confident. He’ll shrug off insults and take his verbal punishment, but, revealed at vulnerable moments, he confesses his grief. He seems to accept his physical appearance well, to an extent, and can act confidently in that way. When it comes to his temperament, he, underneath the rough exterior, is a very sensitive and emotional being. He shows caring and kindness towards those who show it to him. While he is not distinctively outgoing, he has quite a bubbly personality; cracking jokes at appropriate times.
He doesn’t have many friends; this is mainly a fault of his own. He doesn’t want friends, and therefore is rude and arrogant to people who encounter him. He thinks, as I have observed, that nobody wants to be his friend and when the proposal of friendship is presented to him, he reacts as if it is a joke. Clearly most of his experiences with people in the past have been ones of violence and loathing. He has then learned to react with counter-violence and abuse. In this way he is sticking to his stereotype as an ogre. He, has an ogre should be, is a ill-tempered brute. In traditional fairytales this would be the extent to which shrek’s character develops. Of course it is apparent that Shrek far exceeds his pigeon-hole. His character is a textured one. There are many things to be discovered about him in the film.
Shrek presents a familiar person-type; a low self-esteemed, vulnerable person who is angry with the world. This brings relevance to today, with many people being able to relate to his character. This is something that fairytales tend not to do. They present an escape from life, which Shrek clearly isn’t.
Lord Farquaad
The next example of satire is a direct mockery of Michael Eisner is the boss of Disney studios. This is made in the rending of Lord Farquaad, which is said to resemble Mr. Eisner beyond coincidence. What is most significant about this however is that the character is the villain, as well as very short. Throughout the film this is picked up on through the script and actions which the characters perform. For example, he has to ask for the table to be lowered so he can speak to the gingerbread man when the gingerbread man is be interrogated. Another example in the script is when Princess Fiona asks Shrek and Donkey what Lord Farquaad is like. Donkey replies, “There are those who think little of him”. This is no mistake, as he clearly puts emphasis on the word “little”. Although this is joke about the height of Lord Farquaad, he is based on Michael Eisner and this makes this joke focus on him as well.
Farquaad would be, from first appearances, the hero of a fairytale traditionally. He’s handsome, clean and a prince; all the ingredients for a conventional male protagonist. He of course is not the hero, and in fact assumes the reverse role.
Linked to Farquaad is another satire of Snow White; the mirror which the evil queen in Snow White possesses. This mirror is easily recognizable by the timeless and universal quote, “mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all”. It is in fact a talking mirror, and in both films the mirror reveals an undesirable answer which results in the plot of greed and jealousy. In Shrek however, the mirror has been updated to satisfy the requirements of a modern day audience in search of comedy. Apart from this, the mirror is an exact replica of the original from Snow White, even down to the very decorations that are engraved on the border and the actual face of the man in the mirror. In Snow White, the mirror reveals that there is a fairer maiden in land of the queen, and in Shrek, the mirror reveals that Lord Farquaad is not an actual king without a queen. The reaction of the king and queen are very similar, which is also a valid resemblance, however insignificant.
Disney’s Snow White, however, wasn’t the only piece of children’s culture to be mocked: fairy tales also played a major part in the comedy. Throughout the film, and even within the plot itself, seamlessly constant references and comparisons are made to well known fairytales, legends and nursery rhymes. In fact, it is almost the entire point of the film. In the characters, plot, setting, script and even the sounds fairy tales are running throughout. The purpose of this is to take conventional fairy tales and change them in the name of comedy to fit a modern audience of almost any age; and it has worked.
The main character, Shrek, is an ogre – a very typical fairy tale creature. The makers of the film Shrek have taken this and given him certain qualities that make him seem more realistic and make him appeal to a modern day audience in a new way. For example, he has a Scottish accent provided by one of this decades greatest comedy superstars, Mike Myers. But perhaps even more important than this is that he is the heroin of the film. As well as this, he also has a very friendly, understanding, complex, kind and caring nature to him. This is no coincidence, and has been very carefully planned. I know this because of the very simple fact that the film is based on a book, which also goes by the name of Shrek.
In this book, however, Shrek almost the opposite of what he is in the film. He is very unfriendly, nasty and has a very inconsiderate nature to him. This is without a doubt proof that the makers of Shrek modified a fairy tale character to suit their film and to satisfy its purpose in teaching some of life’s most important . Next to Shrek, the main character is, arguably, Princess Fiona. Even from when she is introduced by the magic talking mirror, the audience is given an indication that she is almost completely dependant on fairy tale conventions. This is because she is trapped in a tower, waiting to be rescued by a hero on a noble steed, and she is, of course a princess, or as some may say, “a damsel in distress”. This phrase is known through its use in fairy tales and this is what the basic plot of Shrek is derived from, showing us further that the makers of Shrek have an overall objective to involve fairy tales in their film. Princess Fiona’s voice is played by Cameron Diaz, who is if anything, the modern voice of American women, and another example of unconventional princesses, or more specifically fairy tale characters.
An equally important character is the talking donkey, quite simply known as Donkey. We are first introduced to this character when his owner is trying to give him to the king when the king requests all fairy tale creatures to be rounded up. This is when we see almost every fairy tale and nursery rhyme character known to the average child in one place. Because of the fact that the film is computer animated, it makes almost no difference to the “cameras” that these creatures are unreal. Donkey himself has a very contrasting attitude to Shrek. While Donkey is very loud and full of life, Shrek is very quiet and self-contained. Eddie Murphy, who is himself very full of life, voices Donkey and suites him perfectly. The fact that Donkey is not a typical fairy tale creature is almost the only thing, in my opinion, that isn’t based around fairy tales.
The plot itself, as I have already explained, is based around the concept of “a damsel in distress”, but also has various other typical fairy tale plots intertwining with the central idea. For example, Princess Fiona is in a castle which is surrounded by lava and has dragon inside. The conventional thing that a “night in shining amour” such as Shrek would do is slay the dragon. He doesn’t, but the purpose is still there.
Direction
Shrek instantly sets aside any notions that this is a grand Disney-like fairy tale plump with Broadway-style tunes. The first glimpse of Shrek comes when the ogre dashes out of an outhouse, having employed a page torn from a book of fairy tales for hygienic purposes. Other bodily functions - executed with childish delight - soon follow. Shrek also tickles a parent's funny bone, most notably with its song parodies (pity the bluebird that sings a duet with Fiona). Yet the film's strange and twisted ways do not prevent Shrek from being an enchanting paean to the power of love and friendship. Shrek does harbor a less benevolent agenda, one which playfully skewers all things Disney. Producer Jeffrey Katzenberg--who left Disney under bad terms--pokes gentle fun at the company's canon of fairy-tale characters and the sterile environment of its theme parks. Disney execs may not laugh, but everyone else will.
