Shrek

Green With Envy

First things first: Shrek is not a Disney film. Occasionally, Toon Talk will review animated films that are not produced by Disney that are still of interest to our readers.

That said, Shrek is the latest release from DreamWorks SKG's animation division. As every movie fan knows, the SKG stands for (Steven) Spielberg, (Jeffrey) Katzenberg and (David) Geffen. These three entertainment heavyweights teamed up to form their own studio several years ago, with former Disney exec Katzenberg handling the animation arm of the studio. And, again, everyone knows the animosity between Katzenberg and Michael Eisner upon his departure from the Disney company.

Thus we come to Shrek: filled with irreverent pokes at Katzenberg's former Mouse House boss, some say it is his 'revenge' against Eisner. While the movie does have it's share of in-jokes and allusions to the classic Disney animated films (appearances by Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Snow White, et al; the evil lord's castle is run like a certain world famous theme park), it is not a wall-to-wall smear of Disney. None of the jabs are overtly mean-spirited, but they are not quite original either. We've seen these take-offs before, in everything from National Lampoon's Vacation to The Simpsons, and in most cases with better results. And for the record, most of these jokes can be seen in the trailer.

The hero of this fractured fairy tale is Shrek, a reclusive ogre voiced by Mike Myers, in a variation of the Scottish brogue he used for his "Fat Bastard" character from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Shrek is quite comfortable in his swampy home, that is until his serenity is disturbed by the arrival of a wise-cracking talking donkey (Eddie Murphy, channeling Chris Rock) and hordes of dwarfs, fairies and other nursery rhyme folk. Seems that the ruler of the neighboring kingdom, the diminutive despot Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow) has issued a decree baring all magical creatures from his domain. (I guess that would make it the Non-Magic Kingdom.)

In order to rid his swamp of the pesky pixies, Shrek goes to confront Farquaad at his palace, an imposing structure with it's own queue line and turnstiles. After Shrek, WWF-style, defeats his army of soldiers, Farquaad agrees to clear out Shrek's swamp of it's unwanted squatters, but only if the ogre will rescue a certain damsel in distress, Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), from her prison in a nearby castle, guarded by a ferocious fire-breathing dragon.

So Shrek, with the donkey tagging along, sets out to accomplish his mission. After rescuing the fair (yet feisty) maiden, who turns out to have a secret of her own, a variation of Beauty and the Beast plays out as they make their trek back to Lord Farquaad and his plans for marrying Fiona.

In the end, there is still the proverbial happy ending. It's this schizophrenic tone to the film, trying to simultaneously send up the fantasy genre while still embracing it's tenets, that ultimately undermines the film. What Shrek is is an attempt to bring an old fashioned fairy tale into the 21st Century. The question is, do we really need that, especially in this crude-minded form?

To add that 'hip' spin to this version, we are subjected to jarringly inappropriate rock songs on the soundtrack, modern slang like "24/7" sprinkled into the dialogue, and a hero who literally burps and farts his way through the story. (Bodily fluids are the subtext here... earwax, spit, snot, even urine makes an appearance in one truly tasteless example. Welcome to the Tom Green era of movie comedy.)

The film is not totally devoid of it's own brief glimmers of wit and creativity. Funny bits such as Farquaad's interrogation of a hapless Gingerbread Man, the Magic Mirror's Dating Game-style prognostications and an expected but still humorous parody of the ubiquitous musical number (an oddly French Robin Hood introduces his Merry Men through song) do illicit laughs. And the photo-realistic computer animation, provided by DreamWorks' Pacific Data Images, creates a believable storybook landscape, although human characters still haven't been perfected enough to erase that stiff, creepy-fake look.

It's very in fashion lately to take pot-shots at Disney, and has been for some time. The difference here is that it is being done under the watch of a former Disney insider, the man who oversaw The Lion King and then watched it become the highest grossing animated film of all time, only to be unceremoniously shown the door soon after.

By turning the tried-and-true Disney fairy tale formula inside out, Katzenberg is thumbing his nose at the animation establishment for years dominated by Disney. Is it just sour grapes that Katzenberg would suffuse this rather rote storyline with such base humor in a vain attempt to produce his own blockbuster?

Toon Talk Rating: C-
MPAA Rating: PG
Running Time: 90 minutes
In theaters now nationwide.

Toon Talk Trivia:

• Eddie Murphy played another sassy sidekick, the incomparable Mushu, in Disney's Mulan.
• Veteran Disney voice-man Jim Cummings, best known for his current roles as both Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, lends his vocal talents to the ensemble cast of this film.
• John Lithgow was the original actor cast for the role of Hades in Disney's Hercules.

-- Originally posted May 22, 2001