A pretty good movie with good animation and excellent characters - but it's not quite top 250 material

Rating: 8/10 (10 April 2006)

Don't get me wrong, Shrek is a pretty good movie. But in my opinion, it is overrated. It is in the Top 250, although I do not think that it deserves to be there. Shrek has got good animation and decent characters, but it meanders a bit in the middle and it is outdone by its sequel. Nevertheless, it is a nice romantic tale which involves Shrek, Donkey, Princess Fiona and Lord Farquadd. Shrek is a stereotypical ogre at first glance: ugly and unpleasant, but he is a complex character and is decent deep down - a bit like Nelson Muntz if you ask me. Mike Myers does a good Scottish accent too by the way. Donkey is FUNNY - Eddie Murphy brings out the best in him and acts with a viguor not seen since Beverly Hills Cop. Cameron Diaz plays Fiona like she should - tough and bitchy, yet soft and fragile at the same time. John Lithgow, as always, makes for a strong villain (see Cliffhanger), as he plays Lord Farquadd with the right amount of menace - even if there are constantly clever puns made at his expense, such as: "There are those who think little of him."
This odyssey all starts when Shrek wishes to evict fairy-tale creatures from his land; however, in the process he ends up rescuing a princess. He is unwillingly accompanied by a talking Donkey, who constantly shows off his verbal ability. Like I said, its a good plot and the fairy tale creatures add a bit of life to proceedings, but it meanders a bit. The animation is pretty good - not up to Pixar's standards, but arguably Dreamwork's best. Too bad they have regressed over the years to making unpleasant-looking stuff like Shark Tales.
In the end, Shrek is comfortably above par for an animation film. It is not quite excellent, however, and does not really deserve to be in the Top 250, alongside better movies - like the two Toy Story's for example. It also pales in comparison to it's sequel. Still, see this, then go see Shrek 2 to get the most out of this trilogy - whether you are young or old.
4/5 stars