If there is one form of comedy that has been consistently successful over the years it is the parody. Mel Brooks benefited hugely from his numerous parody films (Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, High Anxiety, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, etc.) and the Marx Brothers made their name satirizing real world situations and people. Shrek is not only a great original story but also one of the best parodies in the history of film. A lot of people think of Shrek as just a children’s film with some humor thrown in for the parents, but failing to look past that is to miss the real genius of this film. From start to finish, this movie is a full-on, uncompromising, unapologetic parody of all things Disney. This sentiment most likely comes from hard feelings left over by DreamWorks studio head Geoffrey Katzenberg’s ugly breakup with the Disney Company, his former employer. There are quite a few subtle jokes, like the scene where Princess Fiona sings to a bird in the woods, in a strikingly Sleeping Beauty-like fashion, and sings a note that is just too high for the bird to handle. Another great jab at Disney comes in the form of the evil Prince’s castle/village Dulock, which bears a striking resemblance to the facades and decorations of Disney World, singing mechanical children and all. But what Shrek hits harder than anything else is the traditional, Disney-esque belief that a happy ending can only come when a beautiful princess marries a handsome prince and the two ride away in their white, horse-drawn carriage to live in a huge castle. Shrek shows us that it doesn’t matter what the two people look like as long as they love each other for who they really are. It’s such an obvious idea, but one that we don’t really see very often in traditional children’s films (in Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame, the disfigured hero is basically shoved aside while a pretty boy becomes the hero and gets the girl, and we are supposed to be happy about it!). I have heard it said that if the new Best Animated Film category had not been created this year for the Oscars, Shrek would have won Best Picture, and deservedly so. This is the most original, thought provoking, funniest animated film I have ever seen and is arguably the best film of 2001. Arguably…