Shrek

Shrek is a 2001 computer-animated film adaptation of William Steig's 1990 fairy tale picture book of the same name. It was directed by New Zealander Andrew Adamson and animated by DreamWorks Animation SKG in May 18, 2001.
==Profile==
*Title: Shrek
*Release date(s): May 18, 2001 (USA)
*Running time: 90 minutes
*Language: English
*Budget: $60 million
*Total Worldwide Box Office Gross: $484,409,218
*Following by: Chicken Run (2000)
*Followed by: Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)
==Plot==
Shrek, a green ogre who loves the solitude of his swamp, finds his life interrupted when countless fairytale creatures are exiled there by the fairytale-hating and vertically-challenged Lord Farquaad of Duloc. An angered Shrek decides to ask Farquaad to exile them elsewhere. He brings along a talking Donkey, who is the only fairytale creature willing to guide him to Duloc.
Meanwhile, Farquaad tortures the Gingerbread Man for the location of the remaining fairytale creatures. His guards rush in with something he has been searching for: the Magic Mirror. He asks the Mirror if his kingdom is the fairest of them all but is told that he is not even a king, as he isn't descended from royalty. To be one, he must marry a princess, so Farquaad resolves to marry Princess Fiona, who is locked in a castle tower guarded by a dragon. Unwilling to perform the task himself, he organizes a tournament wherein the winner gets the "privilege" of rescuing Fiona for him. Shrek and Donkey arrive during the tournament, and ignorantly defeat Farquaad's knights. Farquaad proclaims them the champions, and compels them under threat of death to rescue Fiona, promising to move the fairytale creatures from Shrek's swamp if he succeeds.
Shrek and Donkey travel to the castle to find Fiona. They are noticed by Dragon, who corners Donkey. In desperation, he sweet-talks the beast, learning that it is female. Dragon falls in love with Donkey and carries him to her chambers. Meanwhile, Shrek finds Fiona, who is appalled at his lack of romanticism and surprised he had not slain Dragon. They leave after rescuing Donkey, and Fiona is thrilled to be rescued but is quickly disappointed when Shrek reveals he is an ogre. Despite her demands that Farquaad come get her in person, Shrek forcibly carries her as he ventures back to Duloc with Donkey. The three encounter Robin Hood on their way back, where it is revealed that Fiona is an expert martial artist. Shrek and Fiona find they have a lot in common and begin to fall in love.
When the trio is almost at Duloc, Fiona takes shelter in a windmill for the evening. Donkey hears strange noises from within and investigates, finding Fiona transformed into an ogre. She explains that she was cursed during childhood to transform every night, and that only her true love's kiss will change her to "love's true form". Meanwhile, Shrek is about to confess his feelings to Fiona and overhears part of their conversation. He is heartbroken when he mistakes her comment about being an "ugly beast" as disgust toward him. At Donkey's suggestion, Fiona vows to tell Shrek about her curse, but dawn breaks and she turns back into a human. She finds that Shrek has brought Lord Farquaad to the windmill. Confused by Shrek's sudden disposition towards her, Fiona accepts Farquaad's marriage proposal and requests they be married before nightfall. The couple return to Duloc, while a hurt and angry Shrek abandons Donkey and returns to his now-vacated swamp.
An angered Donkey arrives at the swamp, where Shrek reveals that he overheard Donkey and Fiona's conversation. Donkey tells Shrek that she was talking about someone else, and urges Shrek to go after Fiona before she is married. They travel to Duloc quickly by riding Dragon, who had escaped her confines and followed Donkey.
Shrek interrupts the wedding before Farquaad can kiss Fiona. He tells her that Farquaad is not her true love and is only marrying her to become king. The sun sets, which turns Fiona into an ogre in front of everyone, causing a surprised Shrek to fully understand what he overheard. Outraged, Farquaad orders Shrek executed and Fiona detained. Dragon bursts in alongside Donkey and devours Farquaad. Shrek and Fiona profess their love and share a kiss; Fiona's curse is lifted but she is surprised to see that she is still an ogre and not beautiful. Shrek reassures her that she is. They marry in the swamp and leave on their honeymoon.
==Voice Actors==
*Mike Myers as Shrek/Blind Mice #2
*Eddie Murphy as Donkey
*Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona
*John Lithgow as Lord Farquaad
*Vincent Cassel as Robin Hood
*Peter Dennis and Clive Pearse as Ogre Hunters
*Jim Cummings as Captain of the Guards
*Bobby Block as Baby Bear
*Chris Miller as Geppetto/Magic Mirror
*Cody Cameron as Pinocchio/Three Little Pigs
*Kathleen Freeman as Old Woman
*Michael Galasso as Peter Pan
*Christopher Knights as Blind Mice #1/Thelonious
*Simon J. Smith as Blind Mice #3
*Conrad Vernon as Gingy
*Jacquie Barnbrook as Wrestling Fan
*Guillaume Aretos, John Bisom, Matthew Gonder, Calvin Remsberg and Jean-Paul Vignon as Merry Men
*Van Bettin as Bishop
==Trivia==
*Robin Williams was originally going to have a role in the film, but dropped out when he found out that one of the producers, Jeffery Katzenburg, was producing the film, he dropped out. The reason why is because Williams recently worked with Katzenburg on Aladdin and had disputes with each other.
*There are many Disney references in this movie.
*Chris Farley was originally cast as Shrek and even recorded almost 100% of the dialog. But after he died from his drug overdose, his fellow Saturday Night Live member, Mike Myers, took the role and demanded the screenplay re-written after looking at it.
*Fairy Godmother was going to be in here but was cut, but was put in Shrek 2.
*Computer animation for the movie began in late 1996 and took four and a half years to complete. In fact, it took so long that the crew began production on Shrek 2.
*Donkey was modeled after a real donkey from California.
*The opening song, "All Star", by Smash Mouth was just a test song until the team found a different song. But the test audiences loved the song so much the team let it stay and even let Smash Mouth sing the ending song.
*There is another Mike Myers movie, Austin Powers: the Spy Who Shagged Me, which also uses the song "I'm a Believer."
*This is the first DreamWorks Animation film to be released in May.
==Parodies==
*Shrek/Thomas
*Shrek/TUGS
*Shrek/The Simpsons
*Shrek/Dr. Seuss
*Shrek/Family Guy
*Shrek/Spongebob
*Shrek/Toy Story
*Shrek/Rugrats
*Shrek/Horrid Henry
*Shrek/Shark Tale
==External Links==
*IMDb Profile
*Shrek: The Official Site