Reviews of Shrek

One of funniest animated family films of all time.

Posted : 11 months, 2 weeks ago on 29 November 2008 11:11 (A review of Shrek)

"Shrek, was that you? Man, you should really warn me before you just crack one off. My mouth was open and everything.Believe me, Donkey, if it was me, you would be dead."

Directed by: Andrew Adamson

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

Genre: Animation/Adventure/Comedy/Family/Fantasy/Romance

Running time: 90 minutes



My review:

When a green ogre called Shrek discovers his swamp has been 'swamped' with all sorts of fairytale creatures by the scheming Lord Farquaad, Shrek sets out, with a very loud donkey by his side, to 'persuade' Farquaad to give his swamp back. Instead, a deal is made. Farquaad, who wants to become the King, sends Shrek to rescue Princess Fiona, who is waiting for her one true love. But once they head back with Fiona, it starts to become apparent that not only does Shrek like Fiona, but Fiona is keeping something secret.


This film truly is a feel good film because of its beautiful story and hilarious characters. This film made me feel really good because I love the Shrek character because he is quite a mean ogre on the outside but when you get to know Shrek, he is like a really good friend. His character is really powerful. It has a story that is quite odd but it combines together really well as it goes on and it turns into a family classic. This film had that typical family style that some animated films dont have. For example, it has quite crude humour which makes young kids understand what they mean. Shrek truly has loving characters that arent just for kids but are for adults too. They are all emotional characters aswell as absolutely hilarious ones. I love the scene where Shrek and Donkey confront Lord Farquaad about the swamp. When there was a wrestling tournament, Shrek and Donkey sort of take the mick out of professional wrestlers like Hulk Hogan, Kurt Angle, Rob Van Dam and Chris Masters but obviously in an absolutely hilarious way though of course. This film was quite thrilling as well because of when Shrek and Donkey were in the castle where they had to go and rescue Fiona from the dragon. It was tense how they got in and how they made their escape. In that scene, I thought the scene involving Donkey and the dragon was tense because the dragon is a lot bigger than Donkey. I had a feeling that the dragon was taking Donkey to eat him but it doesnt. I think the dragon falls for Donkey. It can be such an inspiration to thousands of people in this world and I am certainly one of those people.

Mike Myers delivers an absolutely awesome voice acting performance as Shrek. Mikes voice is simply perfect for Shrek because the type of character that Shrek is fits perfectly with Mike Myers Scottish accent. The voice that Mike uses in Shrek is the exact same voice as Fat B*****d in the Austin Powers trilogy. His voice as Shrek is both hilarious and heartwarming too which makes Shrek one of the most friendly and lovely characters that has ever been put to the screen. Eddie Murphys voice as Donkey is absolutely awesome too. Murphy has that sort of croaking and typical American accent which unusually fits absolutely perfectly for Donkey. His acting was superb. Cameron Diaz was good as Princess Fiona. I wish that there was a better actress for the voice of Fiona. She was still good though. I liked John Lithgow too as Lord Farquaad even though there werent that many scenes involving Farquaad. All four speak very differently. Not because of different actors but because they all try different sorts of accents.

When comparing live action films where a character doesnt talk is quite similar to an animated film but they do because they are both other different styles of acting that people can expect awesome performances from.

The directional debut of Andrew Adamson was absolutely outstanding. He directed this film really well. He has done four really good films as director so far. Others like Shrek 2, The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion And The Wardrobe and The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian. The written screenplay in Shrek was absolutely outstanding. It was really clever and all of the lines in the certain scenes were absolutely perfect indeed. This film along with Toy Story and Spirited Away set a whole new level of animation because they are very different and unusual and sometimes teaches us all about things in life.

The chemistry between Shrek and Donkey is just absolutely hilarious. When they first meet each other, Shrek doesnt want anything to do with Donkey but Donkey just wants a friend. Shrek finds Donkey extremely annoying (and so do the audience but in a funny way obviously). It turns from a bad relationship up until they both meet Fiona. They both become best friends. Shrek and Fionas relationship is obviously a forbidden love relationship but when a shocking secret is revealed that all changes. Fiona despises Shrek at the start but when she starts to learn about people judging Shrek before knowing him because he is ugly she starts to become really good friends and starts to become a deep and personal relationship. I really liked Shrek and Lord Farquaads relationship because they never actually confront face-to-face. It is really funny because Shrek is over 6 foot tall and Farquaad is only like 4 foot at least. We dont see them stand in front or next to each other at all but that would be even funnier.

The twists were when Shreks house in the forest was sort of demolished by fairy tale creatures who were sent by Lord Farquaad. Shreks quest with Donkey to find Farquaad was the main twist that leads no only leads Shrek to getting his swamp bac but also to meet and fall in love with Princess Fiona too.

There was some violent scenes involving Shrek in the wrestling ring and when they are at the castle. It is sort of typical of animation to have that sort of violence. This had not so much bad language but it was crude language which was brilliant! The sound was superb in this film. There are some animated films that have awesome sound but there are some that dont. The ones that mostly do have awesome sound are PIXAR and DreamWorks. I really liked the cinematography which is absolutely awesome for an animated film.

This film made history by becoming the first winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Picture by beating Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius and Monsters, Inc.. It was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay but lost to A Beautiful Mind. Shrek was nominated for Best Picture (Musical/Comedy) but lost to Moulin Rouge!.

This film is my favourite Andrew Adamson film. For me, he has not done one bad film yet. This one is the best of the trilogy. The second one is awesome too but the third one is crap. I was extremely disappointed in Shrek The Third because of its lame story. This film didnt disappoint me at all. This film has become one of my favourite animated films of all time. It is one of the most pleasureable, inspiring and most delightful family films of all time. Shrek is a masterpiece of animation and deserves its rightful place there.

0 comments, Reply to this entry

Crud.

Posted : 2 years, 1 month ago on 18 September 2007 03:35 (A review of Shrek)

Apart from a few jokes that I smiled at, this was all crud. Yep, crud. I guess that pretty much sums it up that I hate Shrek!

0 comments, Reply to this entry

"Ogres are like onions." -Instant classi

Posted : 2 years, 2 months ago on 14 August 2007 02:39 (A review of Shrek)

We have all heard the happy bedtime stories with princesses and fairies and beautiful creatures great and small, but Shrek breaks the mold by showing how things would really be like.

The main character is Shrek, a rude and crude Ogre, who simply wants to live alone in peace, until he meets his soon to be friend, Donkey, a talking donkey. The two instantly become friends, at least in Donkey's eyes, and become inseparable. Then one night, Shrek discovers that hundreds of "fairy tale creatures" have moved into his swamp in order to escape the evil Lord Farquaad's decree against all magical beings. Shrek sets out to find Farquaad and get his swamp back, only to be sent on yet another journey to rescue one spunky Princess Fiona. But soon, Shrek begins to fall in love with the feisty princess. It's a love story completely in it's own league.

______________________________________

Shrek is instantly a classic. The main character, Shrek, is a very gruff, mean looking character, but does have a soft spot, though he argues differently. Mike Meyers portrays this character Donkey, the supporting role, is the comic relief for the movie, and an excellent job at it. Eddi Murphy brings the entire movie to life with this character. Fiona is voiced by Cameron Diaz, who also does a fantastic job.

The plot is very original. It's nothing like any fairy tale you've heard before. The romance adds a nice twist, making you wonder if the good guy might actually get the girl in the end.

The dialog is very good; funny too. Unfortunately, there are far too many "ass" jokes with Donkey than I'd prefer there to be. Still, it's one of the funniest movies I can think of.

The music is fantastic, one of the best sountracks I own. Smashmouth does two numbers which are amazing. Very good.

The animation is good, period.


Overall, this movie is one of the best CGI movies out there right now. Instantly a classic. Highly recommended.

0 comments, Reply to this entry