When DreamWorks reared its ugly head...

Rating: 10/10 (23 June 2016)

You know the Simpsons joke of the blue-haired lawyer representing Disney whenever a public domain's character is impersonated, well this running-gag reflects a general feeling that all the princesses, little pigs or fairies belong to Disney, and no one would dare or care of touching them, not to make the lawyers sharpen their nails anyway.
But once upon a time a studio named DreamWorks, whose works' dream was to kick the the round-ear giant's butt by playing his own game without the same rules. So their movie starts with a book (just like in Uncle Disney's classics) whose first pages tell us about a princess victim of a spell, and waiting for her savior in a high dungeon guarded by a drag nonsense, shouts the reader, tearing the page and leaving the toilet a few seconds later. Well, what he did with the paper might be the extreme way to describe DreamWorks' attitude toward Disney, from us who consider Disney and fairy tales as alter-egos.
But by parodying all its fairy-tale darlings, it's less a thumb nose on Disney that an irreverence setting the tone of the future of Animation. Before "Shrek", movies like "Toy Story", "A Bug's Life" or "Ants" evolved in very cartoon-like universes and only 3D enhanced their originality. Once the novelty was over, films like "Dinosaurs" would feature dazzling and realistic environments. But who remembers "Dinosaurs"? "Shrek" had distinctive characters, and great technology to define their movements, fur, skin or body language, but more than anything, it had a terrific story to tell.
For all these reasons, it was the first Oscar animated feature winner, beating "Monsters, Inc." from pioneer Pixar. Disney paved the way to 3D animation with "Toy Story" in 1995 yet it is its foremost rival that gets the seminal award. Both would be listed in the American Film Institute's Top 1 Animated movies, and "Shrek" at eight position is the only non Disney film. While there's no doubt that Disney had the lion-share of recognition on this field, I'm convinced that the enthusiasm, energy and perfectionism that was put in their later works were boosted by DreamWorks' affront in 2001.
"Shrek" might look like an anti-Disney film, but it's for Disney's own good, an invitation to use, simple stories involving a great deal of fun, friendship and a well-balanced dose of adult-oriented humor, with enough simplicity on the surface to appeal to children. Pixar would later beat DreamWorks on that game but in 2001, "Shrek" was the triumphant story, the hero is an ogre, the sidekick is a donkey), the villain is a Kingdom ruler who's not a king yet for technicality, and the princess is a princess but with more style, character and pep than all the other Disney princesses put together. "Shrek" takes into a very familiar universe, but gives it a sly edge, a saucy and raunchy humor, and still affords the luxury to have a sensibility.
The secret of "Shrek" is to exploit the one thing Disney would never do, making adult humor and mocking its creation. When Shrek and the Donkey discovers the castle of Sir Farquard, they wonder if he's not compensating for something, later this is used again, and makes the gag twice funnier. The Disney bashing is less tricky and has never been as efficient as when Princess Fiona hums a song with a bird, with such high-pitched octaves he poor creature explodes. That alone was funny, but that she uses the birds' three eggs to make a breakfast is just the bit of genius that justifies all the film's reputation.
And indeed, the magic of Shrek is to use familiar situation for different outcomes, whether the dragon in the castle or a Robin Hood gang, the film always finds a way to surprise you, hell, can you even imagine that milk being poured on a glass will mean that a Gingerbread is about to be tortured? "Shrek" is surprise after surprise, and yet manages to get more archetypal when needed to, because it doesn't let the laughs guide the story, but develops a sweet and tender romance between Shrek and Fiona who have more in common than they think.
Indeed, Shrek only terrorizes people to precede their reaction and not be hurt by their feelings. Princess Fiona is no typical either, and the charm of the film is to learn more about these characters as the plot advances. And "Shrek" finds the perfect balance between gags and drama, so that it turns into one of the all-time greatest romances, spanning three more sequels while sequels to fairy tales have never been Disney's strong suits. But you can't have a character like Shrek or Fiona or the Donkey reduced to one simple film, especially considering the time it took to make them grace the silver screen.
The project started in 1994, the same years than "Toy Story", except that it took more time for DreamWorks to get the job done, Shrek's part was recorded with Chris Farley but it would finally be Mike Meyers to take the role and give it a slight Scottish accent. Eddie Murphy was given the role of a lifetime by injecting his zany persona to the most happy-go-lucky, optimistic Donkey ever, and more than honorable mentions to Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona, or John Lithgow as Farquaad. Like in "Toy Story", the choice of voice-actors is part of the marketing and can be sometimes distracting, except when the story is so absorbing. That Donkey's voice is Eddie Murphy's is secondary in relation to his hilarious one-liners.
"Shrek" showed the light to the future of animation, but beyond its influential significance, "Shrek" is a standout animated classic, the only one I can recall, with a twist ending. I still remember, in the theater, I didn't like the ending, until I realized it was the perfect one. How many movies, animated or not, can contradict your feelings, but for perfect reasons?