Shrek (2001)

This is the part . . . where you run

At first, you might think this is just a satire of Disney-fied animated fairy tales or worse, find it in the children's section. But this computer-animated film about an ogre (voice of Mike Myers) was voted one of the ten best movies for grownups by Modern Maturity magazine.

It seems the local despot (John Lithgow of Raising Cain and Harry & The Hendersons) has outlawed all fairy tale characters. They're rounded up and dumped in the local swamp. Shrek, the ogre, already lives there and the soldiers are afraid to include him in the deportation order anyway. But Shrek likes his solitude, so he marches off to complain, followed by an annoying talking donkey (Eddie Murphy of Vampire In Brooklyn and Trading Places).

After defeating a bunch of knights who showed up for a joust, Lithgow names Shrek the champion and orders him to rescue a princess being held hostage in an abandoned castle by a fire-breathing dragon that has killed every would-be rescuer so far. In return, the fairy tale deportations order will be rescinded and Shrek will get an official deed to his swamp. The princess is rescued, but has a secret of her own, and the dragon ends up having Lithgow for dinner (literally). There's even a scene spoofing former Monstervision movie Robin Hood: Men In Tights by Mel Brooks of Spaceballs fame. Try to guess who the voice of the princess is...

"Shrek" Was named one of "TV Guide's 50 DVD's You Must Have" in the November 30, 2002 issue, along with the "other" award-winning animated film of 2001, Monsters, Inc (the DVD includes a comprehensive tour of Monsteropolis that theater audiences didn't see)

Shrek is available on video and on DVD, as well as an all-star soundtrack album

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Quotes & Trivia (Courtesy of the Internet Movie Database)

Shrek sneaks up on a mob about to storm his swamp
Villager 1: Do you know what that thing could do?
Villager 2: It'll grind your bones for its bread.
Shrek: Well, actually, that would be a giant. Now ogres, oh, they're much worse. They'll make a suit from your freshly peeled skin. They'll shave your liver, squeeze the jelly from your eyes... Actually, it's quite good on toast.

Shrek: You can't tell me you're afraid of heights?
Donkey: No, I'm just uncomfortable about being on a rickety bridge, over a BOILING LAKE OF LAVA.

Shrek bursts into Fionas and Farquads wedding
Lord Farquad: Now really, it's rude enough being alive when no one wants you, but showing up uninvited to a wedding?

3 Shrek trailers

Trivia about Shrek:
* Chris Farley was originally cast as Shrek and even recorded the dialogue. However, after his death, the role was given to fellow Saturday Night Live performer, Mike Myers.

* Donkey was modeled after Pericles (aka "Perry"), a real life miniature donkey who lives in Barron Park, Palo Alto, California. The people from Pacific Data Images/DreamWorks did an online search for a donkey to study, and found one right in their neighborhood.

* Mike Myers actually read opposite his wife Robin when recording his lines for the climactic love scene at the end of the movie.

* There are 36 unique locations in Shrek - more than any other computer-animated film.

* Computer animation production started on the project on 31 October 1996 and took more than four and a half years to complete.

* The principal actors never met each other. All read their parts separately, with a reader feeding them the lines.

* In the intro, Shrek brushes his teeth and looks at himself in the mirror, which then breaks. The same thing happens in Mike Myers' 007 spoof Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999).

* The line "That'll do, Donkey... that'll do" is a reference to a similar line in Babe (1995).

* In the scene where the princess is fighting with Robin Hood's men the action freezes she jumps up, camera whirls around for a moment and then the action continues. An obvious reference to The Matrix (1999).

* When Princess Fiona is transforming near the end of the movie, she floats and shoots bolts of light out of her fingers and heels. This bears a striking resemblance to the Beast's transformation in Beauty and the Beast (1990).

* In Yiddish, "Shrek" means monster (from the German for "terror" or "fright").

* A fairy godmother named Dama Fortuna was originally included in the movie, but was cut out in the beginning of the movie's production. However, if there is a Shrek sequel in the future, Dama Fortuna will be included.

* The filmmakers stated that Princess Fiona's martial arts were inspired by Jackie Chan, but also, late in the production, by Wo ho cang long (2000 - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon).

* This film was the first winner for the inaugural "Best Animated Feature Film" category of the Acadamy Awards 2002.

* In the fire scene outside of Shrek's house you see the Papa bear Comforting the Baby bear... later, in Farquad's castle as he is watching the picture of Fiona on the mirror you see the Mama bear as a rug skinned and laying on the floor.

* When the masked executioner is singing: this is a reference to a "Stacker 2" commercial that World Wrestling Federation character Kane (who also wears a mask) appears in, singing karaoke.

* In the scene where Lord Farquaad is in his bed watching the clip of Princess Fiona in the mirror, there is a painting on the wall behind him. It bears a striking resemblance to Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" painting, but with Farquaad in the center, standing on the shell where Venus would have been.

* Although he's supposed to a hooved animal, Donkey's movements are instead based on those of a dog, except in the chase scene early in the film, during which Donkey's movements are based on those of a rabbit.

* The executives and animators who founded DreamWorks had quit Disney in disgust to start their own company. The ogre was created as a charicature of Disney CEO Michael Eisner.

* While there are many referances to other movies and TV-series, Shrek itself is spoofed in "Ice Age" (2002) and "Finding Nemo" (2003)

* Live-action DreamWorks movies have included Star Trek spoof "Galaxy Quest" (1999, with computer-animated monsters & space ships), and remakes of The Time Machine (2002), The Stepford Wives (2004) and War Of The Worlds (2006)

* Sequels: theater trailers & clips for Shrek 2...for Shrek the 3rd...and the original Shrek courtesy Movies.Yahoo.com

* Shrek 3 was seen in some theaters at the same time as the latest Pirates Of The Caribbean sequel

Monster movie description above © Bill Laidlaw. All Rights Reserved.

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