Fractured fairy tale that found an audience

Rating: 9/10 (30 July 2007)

It's actually kind of amazing that this movie and the book it was based off of was actually sitting on a movie studio shelf for some years. If I remember correctly,the idea to make Shrek,a surprise 1990 children's best-seller by William Steig,was considered as far back as 1994,but was shelved for reasons that you usually hear applied to films that end up often being huge successes(i.e. "who wants to see a movie about...?" and "nobody likes such-and-such type of movie"). Finally,when Spielberg-Katzenberg-Guber decided to pick it up(you might know them better as Dreamworks LLC),they assembled screenwriters Ted Elliott,Terry Rossio,Joe Stillson,Roger Schulman,Cody Cameron,CHris Miller and Conrad Vernon,and crafted a movie. With only the moderate(well,for a Spielberg-produced movie moderate)fanfare,Shrek came out in 2001. The rest,as they say,is movie history.
The story is pretty well established and almost ad-rigeur. The travails of gruff-but-likable realistic ogre Shrek(Mike Myers in a modulation of the "Mad Scotsman" character he's used before),Donkey(Eddie Murphy in full,scene-stealing wise-ass mode)and Princess Fiona(CAmeron Diaz,easily lost,here)as they are bound to cross horns with the scheming Prince Fahrquar(John Lithgow),a Napoleon-complex inflicted royal,over the fate of the forest kingdom of Far Far Away LAnd and the swamplands(i.e.Shrek's home)are both something of wistful storytelling and current,quasi-postmodern irony and hipness. Kids and adults alike warmed up to this film and rightly so. The sequels would reach mixed reactions overall--the second would do somewhat better critically and much better financially,the third,which I haven't see yet but plan to,had grossed well but has received a much less favorable reaction from critics and many viewers alike--but would create a cottage franchise for film that isn't done continuing a rolling story(if I'm not mistaken,I believe a fourth Shrek is in the can already!). Here comes a true "duh!" statement of this review,but here goers:this is one unique film that is a true keeper.Perfect example of how sometimes it takes time for a unique story to find an audience.