Why has this movie made a gazillion dollars?

Rating: 6/10 (5 July 2001)

***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** This film follows an unlikely hero, the title character Shrek (voiced by Myers of Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery), an ugly green ogre with an unexplained Scottish accent. He's feared by all men, even the most brave and courageous. The story begins when the ruthless Lord Farquaad (voiced by Lithgow from television's "3rd Rock From the Sun"), a man surprisingly short for his place of power, decides that his kingdom must be perfect. He wishes to be the most entertaining person in the land. Several theme parks and exciting tournaments have helped him earn popularity, but Farquaad is still beaten by the legendary fairy tale creatures, who are still regarded as being more fun. In order to achieve perfection, the short Lord kidnaps and banishes all the mythological beings to a disgusting swampland. This mucky terrtain happens to be Shrek's humble home. As long as the fairy tale creatures are in his swamp, Shrek cannot live in peace. Farquaad also finds himself with a problem. Before he can truly rule this wonderful kingdom, the Lord must marry a princess. The two arrange an agreement. In order to get his homeland back from Farquaad, Shrek must team up with an overly verbose donkey (voiced by Murphy of The Nutty Professor) and rescue the imprisoned Princess Fiona (with the voice of Diaz, Charlie's Angels) from the fire-breathing dragon that protects her holding cell. When Fiona is safely returned and wed to Farquaad, Shrek will get the deed to the swamp. This becomes more difficult when Shrek and Fiona find themselves falling in love.
Generally speaking, the story is a little lame. It's the same old fantasy conventions sloppily mixed together to give the film a basic framework. However, to make Shrek stand apart from these boring children's tales, Dreamworks has added a twist. They utilize these famous conventions simply to poke fun at the generic fairy tale narrative. For example, we've all seen that touching moment where beauty and nature intertwine, and the princess sings a delightful high-pitched tune with a quaint little songbird. Shrek does not forget to include this scene, but it turns fatal when the vocal duel causes the cute bluebird to spontaneously explode into a burst of feathery remains. This odd sense of humor, where the standard fantasy moments are brutally insulted, makes for a large number of fairly humorous occasions.
Thankfully, Dreamworks does not hold anything back, especially when it comes to their animation adversary, Disney, who have survived for years by retelling fairy tales and legends. Shrek includes appearances from several of the most popular Disney icons, like Pinocchio and Snow White. Alongside these comical references are quick stabs at other Disney ventures, like the shops and theme parks. In fact, the inner court of Lord Farquaad's castle is designed to resemble Disneyland's Main Street, complete with annoying theme songs and a cartoonish mascot. In addition to these more obvious allusions, there is a great number of subtle industry insider's humor, fashioned particularly for true film enthusiasts like myself. For example, the tiny stature of Lord Farquaad, the only character to not appear in the original children's book, is a reference to several years back, when the head of Disney and the head of Dreamworks made some similar comments to each other regarding height. Those who are aware of the incident will get the joke. Others will not even realize they missed something. Many other jokes fall under this category, showing that Shrek is really trying to appeal to many different audiences.
Unfortunately, the film has difficulty catering to all audiences at the same time. Shrek wants to be a kids movie, so most of the film is wasted with juvenile toilet humor, leaving the older audiences shafted. It relies on raunchy and disgusting situations to supply most of the laughs. There is an overabundance of burping and flatulence. There are even a couple crotch shots. The jokes are too dirty for younger children, but far too immature for a normal adult audience. I found myself stone-faced throughout many of the unsuccessful attempts, disappointed that the smart comedy was tainted by this form of lowbrow humor.
To make things even worse, the character of Shrek is not even enjoyable. If you couldn't tell from the short plot summary, this green ogre doesn't have an ounce of charm, something this movie desperately needed. His intentions are never noble and he's an utterly disgusting creature. He throws insults left and right, he has no respect for others, and his hygiene is grotesque. Granted, Shrek is a nasty and secluded monster. His total lack of compassion is a result of others judging him by his appearance. But without some sincerity to his character, I found myself unable to identify with his pain or care about his feelings. Since Shrek is not the kind of hero you want to cheer on, there is no way to become attached to the story and immersed in the action. I actually found myself more interested in many of the fairy tale creatures, such as the vulgar and sarcastic Gingerbread Man and the mysteriously clever Three Blind Mice. Any one of these supporting characters would have been a more enjoyable main character than Shrek.

The final result is nothing overly impressive. Dreamworks set out to insult the folks at Disney, and Shrek certainly accomplishes that task. The animation is decent, but not nearly as amazing as the work in Antz, or any one of the Pixar flicks. The soundtrack is awful, including chart-topping hits like Smash Mouth's "All-Star," and other songs that don't really seem to fit the film's tone. The dialogue is used only to advance the characters to the next joke, not as a means of saying anything of importance. The list of this movie's shortcomings could go on for quite a while, which in itself is quite a disappointment. Shrek provides just enough smart material to make the experience enjoyable, but not particularly valuable.