Shrek

(The Dreamworks-uary logo is shown, before showing clips from *Shrek*. The song "I'm a Believer" by Smash Mouth plays in the background throughout)

Doug (vo): All right, guys. Get the hate mail ready. I mean, really. Get them ready. Get your fingers on the keyboards. Here we go...I don't like *Shrek*.

*[An inevitable clip from* Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back *plays briefly]*

Luke Skywalker: NOOOOOO!

Doug (vo): You heard right. I don't like *Shrek*. Do I hate it? No. Do I think there's some funny moments? Absolutely. But I thought the movie I was gonna get was gonna be a lot funnier, a lot darker, and a lot more creative, which is not to say this film doesn't have any of those elements. It does, it has...bits of those elements. But for what I thought I could get and for what I did get, I just think it's really lacking. So, how can I be such an uneducated, cold-hearted bastard? I'll tell you after the story.

## Story

Doug (vo): Shrek, voiced by Mike Myers, is an ogre who lives in the swamp. He enjoys scaring the villagers and being just an all-around disgusting creature. That is, until one day, a bunch of fairy tale characters are suddenly thrown into his swamp. The reason is the ruler of the land (Lord Farquaad), played by John Lithgow, doesn't enjoy them anymore and wants them out of his sight. When Shrek goes to complain, the ruler sees an opportunity. You see, he's looking for a bride, and the prettiest one he can find is Fiona, voiced by Cameron Diaz, who's a princess locked in a tower. He convinces Shrek that if he goes and saves her, he'll get rid of all the enchanted elements in his swamp. Shrek agrees and is accompanied by a donkey (Donkey), voiced by Eddie Murphy. So the journey is on to fight off dragons, Robin Hood, and rescue the fair maiden, who, turns out, may have a few secrets of her own.

## Review

Doug (vo): Okay, so what don't I like about this film that has since nowadays become like the ultimate staple in movies to show your kids? Yeah, like, I guess people really show this to their kids. I'm a little disturbed by that, but... *(The DVD cover for the* Garbage Pail Kids Movie *is shown)* ...eh, there could be worse. So, what's my main problem with *Shrek*? I can tell you in one word: boring! Most of it is just listening to Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy talk, and...I just don't think it's funny! Everyone was going on and on about Eddie Murphy in this movie, I was getting really excited to see him and just--

*[One scene is shown, showing Shrek and Donkey arriving at Shrek's house, with Donkey running in and sitting on a chair]*

Donkey: This is gonna be fun! We can stay up late, swapping manly stories, and in the morning, I'm making waffles.

Doug (vo): Waffles, really? Th-that's your big clincher? I'm not even sure I get it. Is it 'cause he's a donkey and has hooves, and can't...make...waffles? What's the joke?! There's a scene where Shrek's trying to talk about how complex he is by comparing to an onion and--

*[The aforementioned scene is shown]*

Donkey: You know what else everybody likes? Parfaits. Have you ever met a person, you say, "Hey, let's get some parfaits", they say, "Hell, no. I don't like no parfaits." Parfaits are delicious.

Shrek: No! You dense, irritating, miniature beast of burden! Ogres are like onions! End of story! Bye-bye! *(whispers)* See you later.

Doug (vo): Ugh, I'm s...I j...I don't find it funny! There's a scene where they're crossing the bridge and--

*[That scene is shown, showing Shrek attempting to get a frightened Donkey to cross the rope bridge]*

Donkey: Don't do that!

Shrek: Oh, I'm sorry. Do what? Oh, this? *(swings the rope bridge)*

Donkey: Yes! That!

Shrek: Yes? Yes, do it. Okay. *(continues to swing the bridge as Donkey screams)*

Doug (vo): I'm sorry! I'm trying! I mean, I really want to like this movie, but every time I see it, I just fall asleep!

*[Several more of the film's funny scenes are shown]*

Doug (vo): Now don't get me wrong. The scenes that are funny are really, really funny. Like, for example, I like the scene where the Mirror's talking like a dating show host. The Gingerbread Man, in general, is pretty funny. That sort of weird theme park that's sort of a slam at Disney World, I got some laughs out of that. I just wish it was doing more humor like this, the satire humor.

*[The film's main characters are shown]*

Doug (vo): It was anything that had to focus on the characters that I wasn't really getting into. I just didn't find the characters that interesting or that funny or even designed that uniquely. I surprisingly don't have a problem with the dark stuff either. Maybe that's because I never really saw these as kids' films, I sort of saw them as older children and adults, and, yeah, like I said, I think it's a little weird that people show their little kids this.

*[One scene about to mentioned is shown]*

Doug (vo): But I'm fine with the darker humor. Where she sings and blows up the bird, that had me laughing on the floor. And then, what are they gonna do with the eggs? Is she gonna raise them--? No, she cooks them! That's fucking great! More of that, please! More of that!

*[Several of the film's sad scenes start showing]*

Doug (vo): But, no! What do we get? We get the princess and Shrek misunderstanding, and they go and mope and dope and...oh! This is just as bad as the "liar revealed" bit! Why are you supposed to feel bad here? You know exactly what's gonna happen! They're gonna realize they were idiots and get back together! Oh, God, oh, and the stupid, dumbass pop song, just...AAAH! I know, I know, I'm probably being too harsh on it, but it just feels like there's a really smart inventive crew behind this. And I wanted to see more of those jokes instead of these...really not-that-imaginative characters.

*[Some of the film's final scenes are shown]*

Doug (vo): But now, I will say this about the characters' story. The moral at the end, while done to death, is executed great. I thought this was the fairy tale ending that a lot of other Disney fairy tales should have had. It adds a unique twist, but still makes them really happy, and it really serves the moral of what they're talking about. In that sense, I actually think the movie is great to show to kids. I think it gets across the message much stronger. But, *(sighs)* I still got to sit through onion talk and bridge talk and fighting the dragon...

*[One of the film's side characters, the Dragon, is shown]*

Doug (vo): Oh, yeah, there's a female dragon, like, that...th...that apparently got a big laugh, I guess. Female dragon, huh? Okay, her getting together with the donkey is pretty funny, but...th...yeah...that's a lot of build-up for just that one joke.

## Final thought

Doug (vo): I guess, in the end, I don't really hate the film, because there is some genuinely funny stuff and I think there is some very unique ways of delivering its story and its message. I guess I was more just shocked at how much people were taking to it like this was a brand new way of looking at film, and...I don't know, I've seen this stuff in *Simpsons*, I've seen Disney sort of do it, and it-it just didn't seem that new or avant-garde to me. And on top of that, I guess I didn't see it as funny as everyone else did either. But, clearly, I'm missing something, because people fell in love with this film. People still love it, they still watch it a million times, and it's like this "big, wonderful classic". But I guess it's just not my flick. *(beat)* Now, *Shrek 2*, on the other hand...we'll get to that awesomeness later.

*[The final scene of the movie, showing Shrek and Fiona departing for their honeymoon, is shown]*