Truly inspired.

Rating: Null/10 (20 May 2001)

A long time ago, I saw a movie that was a parody of fairy tales that was both heartwarming and laugh out loud funny, that succeeded in _being_ a fairy tale as well as sending up many of its conventions through a strong sense of wit.
That film was "The Princess Bride", possibly the best fairy tale comedy ever made, and Shrek is quite worthy of following in its footsteps.

One of the things that comedies these days tend to forget is that the characters have to be _likeable_. If they repulse you, then the whole thing will come off as not funny but extremely obnoxious. In TPB, Wesley and Princess Buttercup were _very_ charming. This film features some truly endearing characters, especially the flawed but loveable hero Shrek. Yes he's antisocial, but there's a sweetness and warmth to him, no doubt thanks to the great animation team and Mike Meyers (who, however, put a wee too much "Fat Bastard" into the performance). Cameron Diaz's Princess Fiona shows a lot of depth, as she is remarkably at the same time spunky yet passive, as she shows a surprisingly take-no-crap attitude for someone who's waiting to be rescued by a handsome prince. She also shows surprising vulnerability in a scene that would spoil the film if further discussed.

Then there's the donkey, who in his sidekick role is notably non-annoying and actually quite entertaining, and is played on the mark by Eddie Murphy. The amusing Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow)rounds out the cast of characters.
But the question is, is it funny? Yes, very much so. Ignore the flatulence jokes after the first few times, this movie has a sense of visual wit paralleled by the verbal gymnastics of The Princess Bride. All of the fairy tale references (and the none-too-subtle digs at Disney) were completely spot on, especially memorable moments like the torture of the Gingerbread man, or any of the 100 mile an hour references in the fairy tale character trade-in during the beginning. However, the cream of the crop by far has to be one particular fight sequence involving the princess- Eat your heart out, Carrie-Ann Moss.
Simply put, this film is the most purely entertaining film I've seen in some time. Pay no attention to some of the surprisingly negative user comments here; if you do, you're probably missing out on one of the most enjoyable comedies of the year.