My wife made an observation after we were done watching 'Shrek.' She asked "Was 'Shrek' the first time computer animation took on more adult themes, jokes, and references?" I thought about that for a moment and then decided the answer was yes. 'Shrek' came to theaters in 2001 right on the heels of 'Toy Story 2,' which was released in 1999. We'd already had two 'Toy Story' films and 'A Bug's Life.' Dreamworks' first foray into computer animation was 'Antz,' which was critically acclaimed, but didn't create a franchise for them. They needed a hit, and 'Shrek' was it. With the computer animated films before 'Shrek,' yes, even 'Toy Story,' films always seemed much more geared toward younger generations. 'Toy Story' 1 and 2 can certainly be enjoyed by adults, but it was 'Shrek' that actually dipped into the adult-based humor before many other people did. I still know parents that won't allow their kids to watch 'Shrek' because of its more adult feel. Shucks, they even use words like "damn" and "ass."
Kudos for 'Shrek' going with the risk of being ostracized because of its more adult nature. It paved the way for CG features to not only be kid-friendly, but parent-friendly too. Nowadays, we quite often see CG features that contain quite a bit more subtle humor that flies right over kid's heads, but lands perfectly with older generations (Example: ' Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs ').
Enough with the history of 'Shrek.' The first 'Shrek' film was hilarious in its own right. An irreverent look into the world of fairy tales and popular folk stories. The world 'Shrek' lives in is populated with everyone from Pinocchio to the Three Blind Mice. This storybook world is one of the reasons why 'Shrek' excels so well. There's an endless number of jokes and gags that can be used with this material, and 'Shrek' emplys them perfectly.
Shrek (Mike Meyers) is an ogre who likes, and prefers, his swamp. That is until Lord Farquaad exciles all the fairy tale creatures to the swamp. In order to get his land back, Shrek must rescue Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) from a dragon-infested castle and bring her back so Lord Farquaad can marry her. He's joined along the way by a talking donkey (Eddie Murphy) and various other storybook characters that all have their chance to shine – the Gingerbread Man's interrogation still makes me laugh like the first time I saw it.
I love the first 'Shrek.' Its pop-culture humor, and its old-school storybook references mesh perfectly together and they're still relevant even today. The movie has heart, but most importantly a funny bone. It's an infinitely rewatchable movie. Dare I say, it's getting close to becoming a modern day animated classic.
Shrek: The Whole Story (Shrek / Shrek 2 / Shrek the Third / Shrek Forever After) [Blu-ray]
0 comments:
Post a Comment