If you don't like this, you must be DEAD.

Rating: 9/10 (19 October 2001)

I saw this movie last night, and I have to say it is the BEST animated movie I have EVER seen. The technical aspects of the animation are simply perfect. Disney thinks it has the edge in animation. Well, Dreamworks has been working VERY hard to take that edge away, and I think with Shrek and Antz, it has done that. The characters look life-like without losing any of their fanciful characteristics. The background characters and the scenery are simply fantastic.
Now for the characters. Shrek is simply outstanding. He IS alive. He is NOT that ugly, and in many ways we sympathize with his situation. Picking Mike Myers to be his voice was a perfect. The donkey named Donkey is another great character. He's the main jokester and Edie Murphy makes him come alive. The relationship he develops with the dragon is just TOO funny. Princess Fiona is not like any other animated princess we have ever seen. She quite a bitch in many ways, but we also sympathize with here situation. And, King Farquod is just outstanding. Being voiced by John Lithgow was another perfect decision.
SPOILER!!!!!!!!
This movie has SO many in-jokes, and pokes at Disney that it is hard to know where to begin. All the Disney characters in the movie are in the public domain, anybody can use them. There is Snow White (and the dwarves), Cinderella, the Three Little Pigs, the Three Blind Mice, and countless other Disney characters represented here.
Perhaps the FUNNIEST scene is when Princess Fiona sings in the forest with a blue bird, and sings at such a high pitch, that the bird explodes. Then she cooks up the bird's eggs for breakfast. VERY funny stuff.

Anyway, as you can see, I just LOVED this movie. It is most certainly an adult animated movie, but it can be enjoyed by anybody including little kids. This is mainly because of Shrek himself. He is VERY lovable from the very beginning of the movie.
And a message to Disney. You WILL NEVER do a movie like this. Your rules simply restrict your ability to do movies like this.