SHREK
Starring: Mike Myers as voice of Shrek
Directed by: Andrew Adamson & Victoria Jenson
Distributed by: Dreamworks SKG

Date: 6/4/01
By: Rice

    With the oncoming juggernaut of a CG film in Final Fantasy, Shrek more than holds its own. As a matter of fact, Square's offering has a tough act to follow. While its trailer does show off stunning computer renderings, it lacks the life and warmth of Shrek, and reeks of a cliche'd storyline that may be praised in video games, but doesn't hold up to the standards of the silverscreen.

    I'll stop before I run my mouth off on how overrated I think Final Fantasy will be. =P Shrek is a computer animated feature along the veins of Toy Story and A Bug's Life... except it ain't by Disney / Pixar. At this movie's helm is DreamWorks and its CGI counterpart PDI, the guys who did Antz. Believe me when I say Pixar ain't got nothing on PDI, because Shrek's graphics are jaw droppingly stunning. The character models are detailed down to the core, and their animations are silky smooth. Yet at the same time it manages to retain its light hearted cartoon feel. Two thumbs up from me in that department.

Shrek is a technological miracle.

    The main protagonist is a giant green ogre by the name of (surprise!) Shrek, voiced in the Fat Bastard Scottish accent by Mike Myers. About five minutes into the film, you become aware of the fact that this is one of those rare flicks that will appeal to both youngsters and intelligent, educated adults. Shrek's adventures are chronicled in a fairy tale like environment, but has a mocking undercurrent for us jaded grown-ups.

    His prerequisited sidekick is an ass (word used more than once in the movie; pun intended, I believe) very creatively named Donkey. Eddie Murphy's the voice behind that character, which steals every scene it's in. To round out the star studded cast are Cameron Diaz and John Lithgow as Princess Fiona and Prince Farquaad, respectively. The voice overs were all done fabulously, integrating with their CG driven characters. So well, as a matter of fact, that I never once during the movie thought about who voiced who.

The Gingerbread Man! ... minus legs. Heh!

    I can't stress how clever and fun the script for Shrek was. Albeit on the short side (can't be more than an hour and a half), I had a blast thanks to a ton of sly and witty one-liners alluding to either Disney or fairy tales in a mocking, but not quite condenscending, manner. For examples, Snow White was referred to as a woman who "lives with seven men, but she's not easy!" The Gingerbread Man scene is an absolute riot, and there's even a nod to the insanely popular WWF wrestling phenomenon to boot. I can go on and on, but I'd much rather you watch it yourself, because reading about it does it no justice.

    Scratch open all the silliness, however, and you'll find a nice, heartwarming story about an outcast who learns the importance of friendship, romance, and not judging a book by its cover. Shrek has a perfect balance between those two elements, with the latter not being overly annoyingly mushy at the end either. It keeps an edge throughout, even while teaching children the fundamental lessons of life. In addition, we the viewers aren't deluged with shallow characters that serve as nothing more than cameos. From Shrek to Fiona to Donkey, we're able to sympathize and understand their plights and joys. That's something I can't say for 75% of the movies out there, and that alone would've made this gem a favorite in my book.

A shot of the gang... happily ever after.

Grade: A
-- Silly, yet intelligent, and absolutely stunning computer generated graphics make Shrek the must see film of this summer so far.

Babe-o-meter: C
-- Princess Fiona was modelled to be rather voluptuous in certain scenes. More than I can say for her voice, Cameron Diaz, who's (with all due respect) just a pretty face.