Into the Woods with Dream Works

Rating: Null/10 (18 March 2002)

So if your swamp were invaded by hundreds of fairy tale refugees and a talking jackass, you'd probably turn into an ogre, right? If Moulin Rouge! can entertain us with time-shifted tunes and glitter, we shouldn't balk at a princess-matrix babe and reptilian balloon art. If you decide to see Shrek, prepare to be amused on one level and referentially challenged on another.

So Shrek's (Mike Myers) an ogre with a traditional lifestyle -ear wax candlelight dinners, cheap-joke flatulence, targeted by the villagers - until Lord Fahrquar (John Lithgow) decides to resettle all fairy tale characters. Shrek's swamp becomes a refugee camp for the mythologically obsolete and he's not amused. In turn, Fahrquar needs a queen and is auditioning prospects. Magic mirror brings the usual suspects to consider and Fahrquar chooses - surprise! - Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) and the dragon. This collides with Shrek's mission to return his blissful swamp to the reptilians. But the real snake turns out to be Fahrquar and his soldiers provide WWF-grade entertainment to the "Disney world" of Walt's dreams. Shrek's real adventure begins here. Eddie Murphy is the metaphorical ass (a pain in, Sancho Panza, etc) who gets most of the good lines and the big babes. John Lithgow never stood taller, Mike Myers never looked so good and Cameron Diaz is a force to be reckoned with. And you should expect messages throughout including the superficiality of prejudging only by looks, the importance of friends and more. I haven't seen a cartoon so loaded with spoofs on the movie industry since Aladdin. Eddie Murphy approaches Robin Williams's nuttiness without the manic delivery but you may need a scorecard to identify all of the players. Computer animation is going through another predictable life crisis with Shrek. Can we look more real while maintaining cartoon-cuteness characters or shall we dumb it down and keep the audience entertained. DreamWorks has given the techies good reason to stay current or completely lose their edge. Take a kid and enjoy yourself.