Good 3D animation bogged down with sub-par music and characters.

Rating: 4/10 (23 May 2002)

What a mess of a film. Dubbed as "The Greatest Fairytale never told", Shrek attempts to be everything to all people, and falis miserably. Mike Myers plays the lead character, a crude, oafish ogre, who is usurped from his house by literally every fairy tale character in creation, who were usurped from their land by an evil John Lithgow. Myers sets out on a quest to reclaim his house, aided by an obnoxious, loud-mothed Eddy Murphy.
The main problem with this film is that, like many modern comedies, it's not funny. Most of the jokes fall flat, or are dependant upon pop-culture for context. Murphy is loud more than witty, and Myers' character offen resorts to crude humour to get cheap laughs. The only real funny moments come from Lithgow. Secondly, the music in this movie ranges from forgettable (in the case of the more symphonic pieces) to ugly (the pop songs laced throughout). The soundtrack seems designed to sell more copies of Smashmouth albums than to aid the film. Finally, plot and character development are almost non-existant, seeming forced along by the attempted humor.