Shrek Review
by Tim Wick

Shrek! AAAAA! He'll save every one of us!!!

(Think Flash Gordon)

I can't help it, I just keep thinking of that song when I think about the movie. No really good reason, I just do. On to my review.

Although I have often mentioned my love for feature length animated film, being animated does not automatically guarantee that I will like a movie (see my reviews for Titan A.E. and Dinosaur if you disagree). It does provide a guarantee that I will rush to the theatre to see any animated film that shows even the slightest bit of promise. I was one of the only people there on the opening day of The Iron Giant, for instance, and I was lucky.

Well, Shrek is already over the 100 Million mark and I'm just writing my review. Oh, I saw it opening day but then I went on vacation and didn't bring my computer and blah blah blah.

Enough about me, what about the movie?

Talk about a blast! I love this movie. I love everything about this movie. I am counting the days until they have it available on DVD so I can own this movie. I am contemplating eating at <urk> Burger King just to get my hands on all the cool Shrek toys they have.

Sad, you say? Obsessive you say? So be it, but you have to love any film in which a tortured gingerbread man tells the villain to eat him.

Shrek takes the Disney fairy tale (in fact, it takes almost all of them) and gives it a little brush up before it completely destroys the thin layer that separates the fairy tale from the ridiculous. Let's face it, classic Disney schlock is great, but it would only take a nudge of satire for you to realize just how whacked out these characters really are. The makers of Shrek knew this and they went there.

The result is a howlingly funny film that left me searching for opportunities to quote it with my friends. Voiced to near perfection by Mike Myers (Shrek), Eddie Murphy (Donkey), Cameran Diaz (Princess Fiona) and John Lithgow (Lord Farquaad), the makers of this film knew how to cast talent that would genuinely enjoy the whacked out dialogue they would get to deliver. Murphy, for one, stands out as a talking donkey whose primary fault is that he doesn't know when to shut up. One wonders if he actually even knows HOW to shut up.

The movie has tons of movie jokes that only a movie lover like me can truly enjoy. Somebody is going to point out that I derided The Mummy Returns for being derivative (a criticism I would heap even more on the abysmal Dungeons & Dragons which I finally saw this weekend). Derivative is not the same as satirical. That's why I typically enjoy films like Shrek, Charlie's Angels, and Josie and the Pussycats while being annoyed with films like The Mummy Returns and Dungeons and Dragons.

Created by Dreamworks, the film takes special glee poking fun at the house of the mouse Jeffrey Katzenberg defected from to form the newest powerhouse in Hollywood with Spielberg and Geffen. Everything from Disney's annoyingly hummable music to their nearly unearthly clean theme parks is skewered in a way that is both a mild jab and an honest homage. Katzenberg seems to be saying that they do it all so well, but doesn't it drive you NUTS?????

My only minor issue with the film is one annoyingly touching song that I would have fast forwarded through had the film been on video. That it annoyed me enough to remember it is why I bring it up here. It didn't ruin the film, it was merely one bad note in a song where every other note had been perfect.

If you haven't already (and judging by the box office, you probably already have), go see this film. You won't regret the choice.

Shrek

Five Beakers
(out of five)

Shrek Review
by Ishmael Williams

America may have a new fairy tale, and it's name is Shrek. It is possibly one of the best romantic fairy tales since The Princess Bride.

Let's get right to it - I really liked this one.

Like most dairy tales, it has a Princess, an ogre, a Lord of the Manor, a castle, a dragon and a talking donkey.

Wait, they don't all have a talking donkey? No matter, this fairy tale does.

Now, without out giving away too much, someone is evicting all of the fairy tale characters from every fairy tale imaginable. Someone, so okay the trailers tell us it's the ogre (Mike Myers) along with the usual trusty sidekick, his mule (Eddie Murphy), has to rescue a princess (Cameron Diaz). And a lot of the rest of the story is predictable from there.

But sometimes predictable can be fun, and in this movie we see when it done so right and so that it is fun. Never at any time does the story, or anyone associated with the movie, take it too seriously. The character portrayals are solid, but not overblown or over the top. Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy work very well together, with timing and responses that are right on. Cameron Diaz fits well into that mix, and for my money cinematic magic is born.

I was impressed with the animation. Quite often I was almost certain I was seeing live action, as opposed to state-of-the-art 3-D animation. Some of the background colors weren't quite right, which served to remind me I was watching an animated feature. But the overall effect was a show that was visually pleasing. Helping the feel of reality within this animated world was the choice to downplay and rely on "toon" physics. No one falls a kazillion miles to bounce to their feet at the end. I almost wonder why this movies wasn't done with live actors.

Except the donkey, of course. They are so temperamental.

But the true joy to this film is the realization about 10 minutes in that nothing is sacred. The movie is a spoof, and as all good spoofs do, they take a pot shot at everything, from The Matrix through Lord of the Dance and Men in Tights. It would be big fun to count the number of references this movie used. Also, there is a musical moment. But don't expect the Disney version of a main character who bursts into song. Be prepared for something slightly different.

It's a good kid's flick in that it's animated and colorful, and the Murphy character is big fun, playing well to children. For that matter, the Mike Myers character, the ogre, will appeal to the wee ones as well. But this animated feature, as most good features are wont to do, is aimed as much at adults as it is children. If you're too self conscious, grab someone else's child and go. But trust me; you don't need one. Go and enjoy this movie on your own. And have fun.

I give it 4 beakers.

Shrek

Four Beakers
(out of five)

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