Cleverness + Originality + Hilarity x 2 = SHREK!

Rating: 10/10 (20 May 2001)

I just got back from seeing the movie Shrek and let me tell you, it lives up to it's hype (which is good, 'cause I hate getting pumped for movies and being let down).
The story begins in the swamp of Shrek the Ogre (Mike Meyers), who doesn't want anything to do with anybody-he's extremely solitude. Why? Because he can't stand how whenever people see him, they only see a big, ugly monster and they don't see what he is inside. But soon he meets someone who insists on being buddies with him-Donkey (Eddie Murphy), the talking donkey, who refuses to leave Shrek be. Shrek just wants to get on with his life like normal...without Donkey...but that doesn't exactly work out when suddenly his swamp is littered with all sorts of Fairy Tale creatures, who were banished to there because of an eviction notice from Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow). So Shrek makes a deal with Lord Farquaad that if he'll give him back his land, Shrek will go and get the sleeping Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) from her tower trap to be Lord Farquaad's bride. Shrek and Donkey go on their journey, retrieve Princess Fiona, and therefore begin a trip back to the kingdom that they'll never forget.
This is one of the most original animated movies I've seen in quite some time. They story was very clever and never confused you. It also had a couple of good plot twists that didn't screw up the movie's flow or seem out of place. Good work.
Mike Meyers did a wonderful job voicing Shrek. His accent was believably Scottish and he was able to maintain the accent smoothly. Eddie Murphy is always great when he does voice-overs. Cameron Diaz also did a good job of making smooth transitions between Princess Fiona's many emotions. And John Lithgow had the evil yet funny Lord thing down perfect.
The animation was wonderful. All of the scenery was well done and the characters were drawn well. This is the best computer animated flick since the Toy Story series.
10/10