Beautiful and funny

Rating: 8/10 (7 February 2005)

My view on animated film is rather divided i would say. I don't have anything against the media although i find the movies are often not very enjoyable. This has changed a bit with Pixars movies, and of course this one.
Shrek is an ogre living in a swamp. Suddenly his wonderfully desolate swamp gets filled with fairy-tale creatures though. It seems that the prince who runs the land has decided to rid it of all fairy-tale creatures. So now they have come to hide in Shreks swamp, disturbing his peace. Shrek goes to the prince to complain, and ends up being sent away on an important mission.
The first thing that strikes me about this movie is how wonderfully animated it is. It's simply stunning! The animation technique here seems to be focused more on realism than the one used in Pixars movies. This gives Shrek a more textured look, almost like you could touch the characters with your hand.
The second thing that strikes me is the wonderful sense of humor. Seldom has an animated movie been done with such exquisite feeling for what's funny and what's not. Also they have managed to make this extremely enjoying both for adults and children. Pixars movies are good but i always felt they were more directed at children, this however contains enough nods to things an adult understands more than a child, which make it fun for the whole family.
In short, i found this movie to be wonderful. The sense of humor, the stylish look, the funny characters, the nods to fairy tales and the world that has been created. All this combined make this one of the most entertaining movies in it's genre. I rate it 8/10.