not bad, but, jeez, settle down, folks

Rating: 7/10 (21 May 2001)

The animation is pretty terrific in Shrek, but the story is fairly straightfoward, marginal stuff. I don't know why critics and audiences trip over themselves to overpraise stuff like this and Chicken Run (which was a smidgen better than Shrek), and God, don't get me started on Spy Kids, Leaving Las Vegas, or L.A. Confidential. I simply have to think that the audience isn't as saturated in film and plot as I might be, and critics are so desperate for anything worthwhile that The English Patient starts looking really, really good.
Okay, so that's getting more personal than I usually like to be, so let's get on to the movie itself. Naw, let's just summarize: if you can grab a matinee and keep your expectations in check (the Emperor wears SOME clothes), this is a decent amusement. That's about it. I burst out laughing once, precisely (a certain scene involving a bird and its nest of eggs), and caught a few grins here and there. Word has been spread that the delight of Shrek is that it constantly does the unexpected; I simply can't agree. That sort of mania happens precisely once (see above); everything else I saw coming before I'd bought my ticket. It does its thing fairly well, but the main attraction here is the rendering process.