Good, but disappointing and overrated

Rating: Null/10 (6 June 2001)

*Shrek* had a high bar to reach. Stellar reviews, good word-of-mouth, and my own anticipation since seeing the first trailer all led to a high degree of wanting it to be really, really *Memento*-good. While I've got *Memento* on my tongue, I can segue by saying that that movie lived up to the hype, while *Shrek* didn't quite make it all the way.
I was very, very worried at the beginning. During the opening credits, they employ more gross humor than I've seen in some entire movies. Burping, farting, bug-eating, implied excrement, whatever they could think of. I was afraid. Where was the wit? The clever fracturing of fairy tales?
The clever fracturing of fairy tales, I discovered, was not as prominent as I had thought and wished. Save for a few scenes at the beginning and the end, and one or the two in the middle, there isn't really that much of it. And most of what there was, I'd already seen in the trailers. The Gingerbread Man, however, should get his own movie. And I really love the Merry Men scene. I expected more of that kind of fun, but there wasn't.
Where does the other humor come from? References to the butt, farting, jokes about how "short" [cough, cough] Lord Farquaad is, some nice Disneyland bits...and the fact that Eddie Murphy is speaking. He talks. A lot. But I like Eddie Murphy. The way he speaks, it's as if he believes that everything that comes out of his mouth is comic gold. Some of it's pretty funny. Some of it's just odd, but it's said amusingly. Some of it's just...hm, okay, he said what was in the script. But there are other really good elements of humor that I won't mention here because one good element of humor is the element of surprise.
Mike Myers is excellent as well. I could hardly tell it was him. He uses a Canadian/Scottish hybrid accent that works very well. I read an article about how he actually begged to re-record his lines in this new accent because he didn't think he'd captured his character right the first time. It set the movie back three months and increased the budget by $4 million. Katzenberg thought it was worth it, and I think so too. Chris Farley was actually slated to play Shrek, and had actually recorded some lines before he died, but hearing Mike Myers' portrayal of him, I can't imagine Chris Farley doing it. I don't think he could have given him the genuine emotion that Shrek has now.
Cameron Diaz. Hm. For the first fifteen minutes Princess Fiona talked, all I could see was Cameron Diaz speaking her lines in the recording room. I couldn't see the *character* saying the lines for some reason. I guess her voice was right for the character, but it took a while to get used to it.
John Lithgow's great, but that goes without saying.
The animation, as expected, is spectacular. It's just so amazing to see these 3-d characters walk around in their 3-d environment.
So, overall...I think the movie could have been a *lot* better. Oh, I forgot to mention the music. I didn't recognize more than half the songs, but I suppose many of you will. Geez, sheesh, I sound like I hated the movie. I really didn't. My problem is I came in with really high expectations that weren't met. There's a lot of great stuff, and it's a very enjoyable movie (Enjoyability is always a plus for me). It does get my blessing and recommendation, but I just warn that you don't get caught up in all the hype. One review I just read ended with, "but it's no *Toy Story 2*." It isn't, but I think it could have been.