Shrek (***)
review by Jon Waterman

Shrek is an ogre living in a land full of fairy tale creatures. He keeps to himself in solitude, content to know that the rest of the world hates and fears him. It’s just him and his swamp. One day, Lord Farquaad, expels all the talking animals and magical beings, etc from his kingdom and into Shrek’s backyard. The only way for him to get things back to normal is by traveling to a far off castle and rescue a fair princess for Farquaad to marry.

You’d probably guess at first glance that this is a kids movie. But you’d be only half right. It’s not even a family movie. It’s an everyone movie. Adults without kids should feel free to check it out and enjoy it.

The film plays well to all ages and groups, because it’s drawing from universal appeals and shared storybook knowledge to create myriad jokes geared towards particular age groups. There are references in there directed towards older people, but kids will laugh at those jokes, too. Children do so, because either their parents are laughing and they want to act like they get it, or because the characters are acting goofy and silly. This broad reach is extremely tough to come by and a lot of credit is due to the team of writers (4 primary and several additional – too many names to list here) for creating this blend. There’s no real shortage of laughs, but the script tends to lean more towards the wittier side of things. The movie provides a nice mix of comedic elements, which overtake the blah, uneventful story.

The story was too linear for my tastes, and so I would have liked a side-story or two to mix it up. There’s only so much forest path you can stand before you get bored looking at it. There’s only so much of a group of characters you can stand before wanting to see what someone else may be up to. But, even though the storyline was dull, the way it was presented impressed me. I’m not talking about the animation (I will in a second, though. Hold your donkeys). I’m talking about the direction and the emotions conveyed through camerawork. Directors Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson know how to pick angles and use dissolves very effectively. They also brought out the best performances from their actors (Mike Meyers as Shrek, Cameron Diaz as the Princess and Eddie Murphy as Donkey, the tagalong sidekick).

One thing I really hated about their choices was the music. They use contemporary or pop songs throughout. The opening credits play to “All-Star” by Smashmouth. What that has to do with the story, I’ll never know. The film is filled with songs that usually carry the mood, but lyrically don’t live up to the rest of the production’s high standards.

The animation looks ok. The facial expressions come across well, however they work better on the more cartoony things than on the awkward looking humans. The movement isn’t as fluid as I would like, especially when it’s frantic. Anytime a character runs, it’s pretty jerky and looks odd. The scenery somehow manages to integrate itself while at the same time remaining in the background. The whole style is light and aides the storybook feel.

The movie is very entertaining and should be worthwhile viewing for anyone. Those not easily amused with physical humor may not find it too laugh-out-loud funny, but take solace in the drier wittier moments the film also includes. It’s cute, it’s funny, it’s incredibly charming (more so than the prince), and it’ll probably win you over.

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