Shrek (2001)

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Directed by Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson.

Starring John Lithgow, Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Vincent Cassel.

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In this fully computer-animated fantasy from the creators of Antz, we follow the travails of Shrek (Mike Myers), a green ogre who enjoys a life of solitude. Living in a far away swamp, he is suddenly invaded by a hoard of fairy tale characters, such as the Big Bad Wolf, the Three Little Pigs, and Three Blind Mice, all refugees of their homes who have been shunned by the evil Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow). They want to save their homes from ruin, and enlist the help of Shrek, who is in the same situation. Shrek decides to offer Lord Farquaad a deal; he will rescue the beautiful Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), who is intended to be Farquaad's bride. Accompanying Shrek on his adventure is the faithful but loquacious Donkey (Eddie Murphy), who has a penchant for crooning pop songs. The two must face various obstacles in order to locate the Princess, but they find their world challenged when she reveals a dark secret that will affect the group. Shrek is based on the children's book by William Steig, and features additional voice-work by Vincent Cassel, Cody Cameron, and Kathleen Freeman. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide

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Reviews and discussions

Above-par family friendly flick
by Smooth_J in Smooth_J Blog

liked it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. [What do you think?]
"The Spiderwick Chronicles rises above most family fare in that it boasts a truly interesting and provocative fantasy premise without taking itself too seriously. Yes, there are the customary family issues that set the backdrop for almost every family box-office smash, but this film actually incorporates them into the meaning of the story as a whole. The main character, Jared (played by the always remarkable Freddie Highmore), is much closer with his father who has recently separated from his stressed-out and seemingly depressed mother. And, while most films of this type would take this story line to cliched heights of ridiculous magnitude, Jared's loyalty for his father is instead tested and stressed based on what is actually happening in the main plot of the story, not thrown in to exploit the emotions of the patriarchal audience. And the sub-plot of Arthur Spiderwick (David Strathairn? YES!) and his neglect for his daughter because of his obsessive research in the "fantastic ... " [More]

10 Suggestions for One-Word Pix ...
by SpoutBlog in SpoutBlog on spout.com

hasn't rated it.

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"Until last year’s brilliantly directed Ratatouille, all of Pixar’s animated features could be summed up with one word (toys, bugs, monsters, fish, superheroes, cars). Then the more complex plot synopsis of “rat functions as a culinary Cyrano in a French restaurant’s kitchen” came along and ruined the studio’s tradition of simplistic scenarios. Fortunately, this year Pixar is back on track with Wall-E, a movie that can be summed up as being about, in a word, robots. But in their pipeline they’ve got a couple sequels (Cars 2, Toy Story 3) and a couple multi-word synopses (2009’s Up and 2011’s The Bear and the Bow are, at the least, each described with two words: old man and fairy tale, respectively. Only 2011’s Newt could have been pitched using a single word: newts. So, while Pixar seems like it currently has enough on their hands, I’d like to suggest a few more single-word pitches for animated films in order to get things back to basics: Birds - They’ve given us a movie featuring ... " [More]

10 Awful Matrix “Bullet Time” S ...
by SpoutBlog in SpoutBlog on spout.com

hasn't rated it.

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"When I first saw the trailer for Wanted, I figured it was just another Matrix ripoff. And I’m sure there are many other people who thought the same thing. Of course, some Matrix ripoffs aren’t bad — I absolutely love Kurt Wimmer’s Equilibrium, for example — but most are. Even worse, though, are the parodies of the Matrix’s “bullet time” sequences. Do we really need to see another movie character bend over backwards to avoid a bullet (or milk)? Or another movie character suspended in motion while the camera tracks around him or her? It’s no wonder that until yesterday, I had pretty much dismissed Wanted, because of that Matrix-like bullet time sequence in which Morgan Freeman shoots around a slab of meat to hit an unseen target. Yet as of yesterday, the movie’s Rotten Tomatoes rating was 100% (Anthony Lane’s New Yorker review, posted today, is the first “rotten” one, taking it down to 92%). Now I’m more intrigued. Still, it doesn’t change the fact that that bullet time sequence is t ... " [More]

Shrek
by CaPeach in CaPeach Blog

loved it.

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"Ogre meets girl. Ogre loses girl. Ogre overcomes obstacles and gets what he has coming to him. It's a potpourri of all the popular fairy tales and each one has something to offer. A chuckle a minute, a laugh every few minutes. Happy Hollywood Ending. " [More]

This 'Prince' is a pauper
by usesoap in usesoap Blog

is neutral about it.

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"Perhaps my review may be dismissed automatically by the fact that I have not revisited Narnia myself since reading them as a child, and even then, the C. S. Lewis books had none of the mental shelf life of “The Lord of the Rings” tomes or Jack London’s excursions into the wild. I approached “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” from a merely cinematic perspective. And, despite its battles and bluster, it’s rather a bore. That’s not to say it does not try to get medieval on your a** -- various armor-clanging clashes punctuate the numerous slow spots of exposition in the picture, vying for credibility in the rather noisy summer blockbuster period. In this installment, the Pevensie siblings – Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy – have busied themselves in the U.K. for a year since their last Narnian vacation, and a return trip to the kingdom reveals a few hundred years have passed in the mystical land. The kingdom is in ruin, under ... " [More]

Trade Roughage 1/24/08
by SpoutBlog in SpoutBlog on spout.com

hasn't rated it.

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"With the fate of Heath Ledger’s final projects up in the air, Variety takes a look at some past films that were effected by the sudden deaths of their respective stars. Would Shrek have been as popular with Chris Farley as the voice of the titular ogre? Would Interview With the Vampire be better with River Phoenix? Should Jane Harlow’s final film, Saratoga, have been scrapped? WGA reps and studio execs enter a second day of informal talks today, which should be more exciting that it feels to me. Maybe it’s because I just read this detail of how badly the writer’s strike is effecting the economy, and now my head hurts. After confirming that Tony Gilroy had directed him to a second Oscar nomination, Tom Wilkinson has decided to reunite with the Michael Clayton director for the pharmaceutical company drama Duplicity. He is joined by Billy Bob Thornton and joins Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida are now considered a “husband-and-wife team” for writing an origin ... " [More]

"Enchanted" and other fractured ...
by indieabby88 in I Love Childrens Movies

liked it.

"I just got back from seeing "Enchanted" at the theater, and I have to say, I really really liked it. The folks who made this movie made sure to do their homework on all the classic Disney fairy tale movies, and produced something akin to a collage of "Snow White," "Cinderella" and "Splash." There were jabs and inside humor aplenty, but the story itself also managed to be sweet and enjoyable on its own merit. This is the fairy-tale movie for the millennial generation. Sarcastic, but not cynical, sweet, but not saccharine (at least not as far as I was concerned. Guys, feel free to disagree).Anyway, watching "Enchanted" brought to mind all the other fairy tale parodies, updates and mashups that have been made over the years. We've got "Shrek" and its two sequels, "The Princess Bride" and lesser-known movies like "A Simple Wish" (one of my childhood favorites, though I'm afraid its quality hasn' ... " [More]

Drugs + Elephant = Good Film
by lopezdash in The Movie Blog

liked it.

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"Free Jimmy represents more than Norway's first serious foray into computer animation; Free Jimmy is a worthwhile addition to a landscape already saturated with animated feature films. The off-color comedic crime caper is the story of Jimmy the elephant's journey through escape, recovery, and ultimate redemption, as told through intersecting character and storyline development. Free Jimmy's story-telling power comes from its remarkable ability to transcend the national cultural barriers that are typically the cause of a foreign film's critical and commercial failure in the United States (does anyone even remember Perfect Blue?). Director Christopher Nielsen overcomes this by using actors whose real lives offer real parallels to the character's they give voice to--like Woody Harrelson, who also lends his voice talents to Grass. Nielsen's characters are broadly specific, providing just enough personal context to introduce universal characteristics and behav ... " [More]

Re: Top 5 Everybody Seems To Lo ...
by Risselada in Top 5

disliked it.

"1. Shrek - Yeah this and all those other family oriented, 3-D CGI Dreamworks/Pixar kind of deals. I actually haven't seen most of these types of movies in their entirety. Gave up after the first generation of them, but they only seem to be the same crap. Maybe I'm hardhearted, but this stuff just isn't funny to me. The movies are the most annoying of all the huge corporate francises. I have to see these characters in every kind of sick ad for products I would have never even wanted to hear about in the first place. The messages they deliver are trite platitudes. And most of them are just big music videos for annoying bands like Smashmouth doing remakes of The Monkees. Uuuugh. And it's all this politically correct new-age shit. Let's not speak of that anymore.2. Crash / Million Dollar Baby - two recent Oscar winners both written by that hack Paul Haggis. These movies are manipulative in the worst way. I call these movies where I can feel the writer ... " [More]

Re: Dreaded Sequels
by Jymkata in The Futon

liked it.

"I am with you on the whole list except for #1 - I really enjoy the idea of updating Bond to compete with the more successful Jason Bourne and Ethan Hunt franchises. Bond is supposed to be suave, but it got to be a joke with the Roger Moore and the post-Goldeneye Pierce Brosnan films' cheesiness. Bond had to be a badass to get his 007 certification and this last film was really well done (still not as good as The Bourne Supremacy though). Looking back at the revered series I personally only like a handful of the films and I only think two are top notch in writing and directing for action thrillers- Goldfinger and On Her Majesty's Secret Service. I think this last one is the sign of better things to come. You are right about the Indiana Jones series ending perfectly - I just don't know how they can satisfy their audience with a fourth. I agree with you on the Terminator series too - that would be a great concept for the continuing of the series. I was so underwhelmed wit ... " [More]

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Tags: fairytale , ogre , donkey , Loved-It , CGI
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