Plenty for kids and adults alike

Rating: Null/10 (18 December 2001)

An ogre lives happily in his swamp before he is invaded by a horde of other fairy tale characters fleeing persecution from the evil Lord Farquaad. In order to clear his swamp of the squatters, Shrek agrees to undergo a quest to rescue a Princess from a dragon and bring her to Farquaad's castle. However on the journey back Shrek and Princess Fiona being to become friends, but can a Princess love an ogre?
This is one of the best animated films that I've ever been able to see. Not only is it really funny but the story is great - it's deep if you want it to be deep, but there's plenty on the surface if you just want that. The whole thing about true love and love finding it's true form is very moving, and the characters are developed to the extent that you fully believe them (despite them being donkeys, ogres and mini-tyrants!). In terms of comedy I expected more - but only because I thought it was a spoof film rather than a well plotted fairy tale. However many bits are really funny, Murphy's Donkey gets the most laughs, but there are plenty of other great scenes that range from adult laughs to people falling down for the kids - the gingerbread man scene being my favourite ("the muffin man?").
Like Toy Story this succeeds by having a great story, great characters and a huge number of jokes for adults that are a) clever, b) funny and c) not forced in the least. This mix makes for a wonderful film. Mike Myers is great as Shrek - he gets very few jokes, I assumed that he would ham it up, but he plays the sensitive role very well and carries the emotional core of the film. Murphy is brilliant as the donkey, gets all the best lines and is the best animated character - it's his role to carry the bulk of the comedy. Lithgow is great as Farquaad and the animation just reflects him perfectly. Diaz is OK as Fiona but at times her vocal abilities aren't good enough to bring the character to life. This is especially evident during Fiona's transformation where the role needed a lot more emotion to win us over.
Overall a wonderful film - there aren't many films that can combine great comedy, strong characters, moving and meaningful story and be original and inventive. To find all these things in a cartoon makes for a great 90 minutes.