Shrek is Schlock

Rating: 3/10 (8 April 2005)

Contrary to the known world it seems, I disliked Shrek for the same reasons I love all Pixar films. Shrek 1 & 2, as with all Dreamworks animation, are bent on bombarding the audience with modern pop culture references ad nauseum -- partially because the creators believe such recycling is humorous, but also I suspect because they understand, smartly, that modern audiences desperately sop up pop references as a means of affirming their own image of themselves. They are hipsters, on the pulse of modern culture. You can't put one over on them. They feel smart when they recognize the reference. I find it embarrassing. Wheras Pixar create original characters, stories, settings and music, Dreamworks repetitiously offend by piling on cliché after cliché. I love Mike Meyers, I love Eddie Murphy and John Cleese, etc. etc. But I abhor Shrek. If you are a young child, it makes sense that you feel drawn to something to which you are accustomed. If you are an adult with any semblance of taste, go watch The Incredibles or Finding Nemo and LEARN something about storytelling and character execution. Long live Pixar. Shrek is for the unwashed masses. Good day to you.