Disney through a nicely twisted looking glass

Rating: 9/10 (24 June 2001)

Forget Bambi, forget Disney, forget almost every other recent new wave animation film that you've seen (except, possibly, Toy Story). Forget? Yes, because Shrek will give you a reminder of nearly all of them, and 'The Matrix' along the way, but with a cunning and subtle twist. This is real off-the-wall stuff.
Here we have a masterful telling of a fairy story with a difference, full of charm, hilarity, sendups, a dragon (you can not have a fairy story without a dragon), a Princess, a hero, talking animals, and, did I mention the dragon. Shrek has all this, but it also has more. The characterisations are superb and it is tightly plotted with a sharp script, and excellent voice choices; Eddie Murphy (The Donkey)is superb, but Mike Myers (Shrek) is even better. Brilliant takes on the traditional Disneyesque animation and characters, and a barrel-load of laughs, a truck-load even.
The plot sound conventional; hero on a quest to rescue Princess from dragon blah blah. But this is a fairy story as Wayne's World might have produced it, and although rated 'U', kids stuff it ain't. Oh, there is plenty in here for the under 10's, but it is the adults who are going to enjoy this even more. They are the ones who are going to get the in-jokes and references, and keep alert because there are stacks of 'em.
In a nutshell, Lord Farquaad (Lithgow in wonderful form), the evil ruler, has banned all fairy tale creatures and sent them into exile so his Kingdom would be perfect. Unfortunately, he sent them to the swamp, Shrek's swamp, where he likes to be alone. In an effort to get his swamp back, Shrek visits Lord F. and ends of being tricked into a quest to rescue the feisty Princess Fiona(Diaz) because Farquaad need to marry a real princess to be a real King. So the quest begins, and Shrek, by this time saddled with the talking Donkey sets off.
Along the way they run into the aforementioned dragon, a French Robin Hood with his riverdancing Merry Men and so many visual treats we don't have time to repeat, before delivering the Princess to Farquaad, and getting his swamp back. BUT.... in the meantime, he has fallen in love with the Princess. But is she all she seems? Well... nope!
Does the 'hero' get his reward? Ah, that would be telling. Suffice to say that things did not turn out as our family thought they would! Yes, it is a 'message' film, but then, fairy stories always were. But it is not 'preachy'.
Incidently, along the way there were some useful fishing tips as well....
Shrek will make you laugh, maybe cry, and laugh some more and the music is suitably off-beat (another swing at the saccharine Disney?) with the best rendition of The Monkees, 'I'm a Believer', we've ever heard. Where does that fit in? Wait and see the film.
Go and see Shrek? You'd be mad not to.