Shrek is a hard one to review for me. On one hand, the animation isn't very good and the story is basically a mean-spirited Disney parody complete with fart and belch jokes. On the other there are some funny moments and if it were not for those funny moments Shrek would surely be labeled Drek by me and would get a low rating.

My biggest problem with the film (and most of the Dreamwork's films) is that it seems to rely too much on big name celebrities, crude humor, the parody of Disney films and fairy tales (which Enchanted did much better in my opinion. It was a lot funnier and it was not mean spirited) and "entertaining the adults" (aka "HA HA! They said 'ass' in a kid's movie!").

Also, I thought the animation in the film was very sub-par for a big budget CGI film. Especially on the background human characters (who looked like mannequins) and Shrek himself.

In conclusion, I laughed at the film and I didn't go through hell like I did with Horton Hears a Who! (which basically uses the Dreamworks formula... badly...).

However, I cannot label the film as "great" as most of the people I know do.

Shrek is totally stunning.

The animation was some of the best since Dragonheart. There was so much detail put in there, the dirt under the fingernails, The hair and fur and grass, even the dust in the air. And you would think this would be made in 2025 or something.
The one thing I noticed when I watched it again recently was: They did stylize it. The first time I saw it, I thought it looked absolutely real. Then, when I recently saw it, I realized that there were some areas in the film that were made more cartoon-y. It was interesting because I know that I can do some of that stuff myself...
The story is why it lost a star. I think that watching it now, there was little character development for Lord Farquaad. He wasn't the most evil bad guy I have ever seen, and he wasn't that threatening. But most of the story is good, and the humor cracks me up. The story is kind of sweet, and the parodies on Disney are obvious and hilarious.

Merry Christmas, anyway.

Shrek introduced another player to the computer animated film arena. Before Shrek, Pixar has been unstoppable with its Toy Story and A Bugs Life films, but in May 2001 Shrek earned nearly $270 million, a figure that Monsters, Inc was unable to match later that year. While Shrek 2 would be an even more gargantuan hit, the original Shrek was a hit in its own right, and its wake (for good and bad) would have a lasting effects upon animated films for years to come.

Since most people have probably seen this film, I am going to be a bit light on the summary, and stick mostly with my impressions. Shrek had an irreverence about it, especially for the Disney classics, that came just at the right time. In 2001, the second golden age of Disney had waned, and audiences were ready for something fresh. Enter in pop culture references, jabs at Disney classics, and fart jokes a plenty. While perhaps tasteful is not the right word to describe the humor in Shrek, the jokes were genuinely funny. Additionally, this new formula had not yet been milked to death, nor were the pop culture references too overplayed, with a couple exceptions. For the most part, I really like this movie. I love the Gingerbread Man, Donkey is one of Eddie Murphy's better roles (though he did the same shtick as Mushu in 1998's Mulan), even John Lithgow who I detest was good as Farquaad. Mike Myers is good as Shrek, but I wish he didn't rescue his jokes so much. Lots of times I find myself taken out of a film when he quotes himself from So I Married an Axe Murderer banking that no one saw it. I also like all the fairy tale creatures being thrown in the mix, the 3 pigs are so odd, that they always get a chuckle.

Now for the bad. As much as I loved the heroic scene with Shrek fighting Dragon, and Dragon's role in the ending, I find the idea of Donkey and Dragon falling in love to be very lame. I find it so lame in fact that I wish Shrek had just killed the stupid beast. After all, it just doesn’t make sense, nor is it funny to me at all. The other scene in this movie that always makes me cringe is Fiona vs Robin Hood's Merry Men. That Matrix style bullet time shot is such a cliché (and was even in 2001) and rings of the film trying a tad too hard to be cool.

Overall, this was a creative and entertaining film that will be emulated for years, but never quite matched.

I may not be over-the-moon about this film, but it sure is fun!
It's sort of along the line of the Fractured Fairy Tales from the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons. Certainly something that seemed to come out of nowhere, something totally different, and it works. You've got the two most unlikely heroes ever: a grumpy ogre, and an obnoxious (but always lovable) talking donkey. But the chemistry between Mike Myers as Shrek and Eddie Murphy as Donkey is great.
It's a film that doesn't take itself seriously at all. It knows it's goofy, but it revels in that knowledge.

This is a great film, one of Dreamworks best 3d animated films. The animation is great and so is the character design. The story is interesting and chocked full of humor. They couldn't have found a better cast for this film. Every actor fit the role perfectly. The characters were fleshed out and were likeable.
The score is really great, I didn't mind many of the rock/pop songs that were thrown in either, which is rare. I think one of the things I liked the most about this film was the many times it parodied Disney films. It does have some crude humor, but nothing too outrageous.
Overall this is a great movie, one worth owning.

This film thrilled me out of my wits. It's one of the only children's films that I've seen recently that does all of the following:

1) Contain quality animation and character design.
2) Appeal to children while still remaining entertaining and watchable to adults on an intellectual level.
3) Actually end with some decent morals.

The lesson promoted by this movie is counter to virtually everything bad about Disney movies. I love it.

Much as I would like to not like this film (I find the death throes of old-style animation depressing) it's just pretty hard not to warm to it.

The first time I saw it, I was half awake on a long-haul flight from LA to Sydney, with screaming tinnitus, and only half paying attention. It was recently screened on TV and I have to say it's really an excellant film. If anything is preventing me giving it four stars, its probably just my resistence to CGI - though this hasn't stopped me giving 4 stars to one or two other CGI only films.

I just don't know what there is to not like about 'Shrek'. Even Eddie Murphy somehow manages not to annoy me unduly as The Donkey. Even more amazingly, Mike Myers, who I usually hate, is terrific as Shrek.

I'm afraid I just don't understand how people can percieve this movie as merely 'a shallow, tasteless parody' of Disney. Man, you must really have loved 'Fritz the Cat' where Mickey Mouse is standing on the roof cheering as fighter planes strafe the race riot. I think 'Shrek' has plenty of heart, and if a couple of the scenes are bit naughty (the bird, for instance), well... good for them, frankly.

I still can't quite say that I like the look of CGI characters in this movie, particularly the Princess, but that's about all I can think of to fault it on.

BTW, regarding the review immediately below, Shrek falls in love with The Princess _before_ he knows she's an ogre. If you take that into account, it simply becomes a standard 'beauty is more than skin deep' parable, as far as I can see. Nothing contradictory or cynical about that.

On the surface, Shrek is a viciously unkind movie, especially if you're fond of Disney. Disney is not what it used to be, and I'm not so loyal to Disney that I can't enjoy a well-crafted comedy that pokes fun of them. But a comedy where the humor relies solely on full body tackle(this isn't a gentle ribbing) parodies is just a little shallow. Comparisons to The Emperor's New Groove are almost certain. But while The Emperor's New Groove poked fun at Disney's conventions, among other delightful cartoon traditions, while remaining broad about what it's making fun of, in Shrek you know the movie is poking fun of Disney, the movies(you even see a Snow White impersonator), and the whole blasted empire. Other times the movie relies on pop culture references and anachronisms that probably won't age as well as many of Disney's jokes or crude bathroom humor that's easily twice as foul as The Lion King's flatulence jokes. At all times it's adult. What kid will understand the gingerbread man joke or the fact that he says "Eat me." or the Matrix joke? And the part with the bird is just more than a little tasteless, not to mention tacked on.

Yet why couldn't I help but laugh hard throughout this movie? Maybe because the characters are so well thought out. Shrek is fleshed out properly enough and has added depth in his longing to find acceptance. His banter with Donkey is delightful, and Donkey himself is funny, if probably not as funny as Mushu in Mulan. And if Shrek is a shallow, tasteless parody, then at least it works, just as Monty Python and the Holy Grail works as a parody even if it has no substance as a film. And for some reason I found the soft, romantic side of the raging fire-breathing dragon to be a treat.

Graphically this movie falls somewhere between Toy Story and Ice Age. Not quite as vibrant and alive as Toy Story. Certainly far more expressive than the characters in Ice Age, which is not to knock on that film's graphical prowess, which was also impressive in its own right.

Ultimately, what knocks this movie's score down from perfect far worse than its pop culture heavy jokes is its huge irony. For all its talk about people having layers and that beauty comes from within, the movie apparently felt the need to craft Fiona as bearing a curse and that the only way Shrek could fall in love with her was if she was also an ogre. Not to mention that the movie unceasingly pokes fun at Farquaad's short stature.

However I do find it amusing that in the movie, Farquaad wants to kick out all fairy tale creatures from his land. And now years later, Disney is kicking out traditional hand drawn animation from its legacy. Maybe in that sense, Shrek isn't so far off base in its ragging on Disney.

Shrek seems to be one of those films that you either love or hate. I'm among those who loved it, though not among the brigade of women who actually moon over the big green ogre anti-hero.

In the town of Dulac, Lord Fahrquat is trying to create the perfect kingdom...which means he needs to become a King...which means he needs to rescue a princess and marry her. Averse to personal risk, Fahrquat assigns the task to Shrek, a bitter, misunderstood ogre who has come to protest Lord Fahrquat's relocating all of Dulac's unwanted population of fairy-tale creatures onto Shrek's land.

Shrek is a parody-lover's dream come true, especially if you have any bad feeling against Disney. Near-Disney fairy-tale characters appear regularly, and uncountable Disney scenes, situations, and quotations are lampooned mercilessly throughout the film. The Disney in-jokes provide a great deal of the humor of this film. Most of the rest is provided by Donkey, an irritatingly mouthy character who never stops chattering.

However, below the laughs is a good, solid story, with emotional depth, warmth, and interesting plot twists. The characters are likeable as well...Shrek, callous and bitter form a life of rejection...Fiona, with her own problems and unrealistic expectations...even the annoying Donkey has moments of depth. The CGI animation is occasionally marionette-like, with the characters seeming to have little weight. Apart from that, it's enjoyable enough to look at.

There are two soundtrack CDs which have been released for this film: one with the background songs, and one with the score. Haven't heard the first, but the score CD is excellent, and includes the Welcome To Dulac song, the Robin Hood song, and the princess's duet with the bird.