Myers gives Shrek a playful edge when he strikes fear into the hearts of shallow mortals, so he s instantly charming. Murphy s Donkey is too stupid to be anything but sincere and selfless, plus he has Eddie s contemporary wit. The Bridget Fonda-looking Princess Fiona is actually voiced by Cameron Diaz, eventually to positive effect. I ve no doubt the producers could ve found a better famous voice than Diaz s demureless tone, but wisely the filmmakers give Fiona some of Cameron s natural tomboyishness. As the Napoleonesque Lord Farquaad, John Lithgow may be the best bit of casting.
Rock alter ego with a sadistic cunning that s juicy fun.
As spectacular as some of the computer animation is, I can t say that any of it is necessarily groundbreaking. Perhaps the one new step is the effort towards photo-realism with the human characters. Many viewers seem to be wowed by the look, but count me among the few that actually find them more creepy than cool. Besides, they ll be outdated in two short months with the infinitely more impressive Final Fantasy . Still, while PDI s images may lack innovation, they boast artistic flare in spades.