So what's the big deal about SHREK? (1 Viewer)

[Richard Kim]

I disagree. There was some pretty suggestive stuff that I was surprised they got away with in a kids film. For example:

[about Snow White]

Magic Mirror: She lives with seven men, but she's not easy.

Princess Fiona: Where are you going?

Shrek: I have to save my ass.

Also Lord Farquaad = fuckwad.

 

[DaveF]

That's why I said (mostly) clean. Yet even the two examples you gave are not that smutty. The "She's not easy" is also saying that she's not getting it on with seven men -- it's suggestive yet clean. The "save my ass" jokes were double entendres, and thus perfectly clean statements by Shrek (he was indeed going to save his ass, Donkey).

The Lord Farquaad "joke" is something that never occurred to me or my friends. Even now, I'm not convinced it's supposed to be taken the way you suggest.

Not spotless, but a pretty clean movie.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

I kind of skimmed through the thread, but I'm surprised nobody mentioned the fact that the Princess "blows" a snake.

heh, heh, heh.

 

[Rob Gillespie]

It's funny. Very funny.

And there's a big warning on the back of the box about 'crude humour' for anyone likely to get offended or disturbed by such things.

 

[Sam Hatch]

I'm glad I'm not the only one. I finally caught it at my local revival cine and it left me, my girlfriend and my parents underwhelmed. It was cute and funny, but it wasn't anywhere near the quality of Toy Story 2. The latter was fun, funny, and immaculately scripted.

And that's the problem with Shrek -- the main characters and their antics are fun, but the rest of the story is majorly lacking. What others have mentioned about Fahrquaad bothered me as well. He isn't much of a villain, and his motivations (which are what the story hinges on) aren't developed at all. It's pretty lazy work, but maybe they just decided that Eddie Murphy cracking jokes would distract people from the weak story. Which, judging by the lavish praise heaped upon the film, worked well.

One bit that really stumps me -- Fahrquaad evicts the fairie tale creatures from his kingdom, dumping them in Shrek's swamp. Shrek makes a deal to remove them (whereupon Fahrquaad sports an evil grin, leading us to believe that he will KILL them all) -- Shrek then makes good on the deal, returns home to an EMPTY swamp. Where did the creatures go? Back to the castle? I might have missed them, but probably not. To their deaths? Nope -- they all reappear singing at the end. So why didn't Fahrquaad put them in this alternate storage dimension to begin with????

Maybe if I watch it again it will all make sense. And what's the deal with Hallelujah? I keep hearing that Rufus Wainright recorded a version for the film, yet I'm pretty sure that the John Cale version (which inspired the sublime Jeff Buckley version) is used in the film.

I give up. Time for bed!

 

[felix_suwarno]

i just watched shrek for nth times today.

and i stumbled across this thread.

well, i enjoyed shrek as much as i enjoyed pixar's movies. shrek was really good and i dont think it was strange that it got 200 mil on box office because the movie has dead on perfect combination of things that really entertain people.

- beautiful soundtrack, and i mean it!

- "upside down" story

- likeable characters

- excellent visual and animation

come on, they are a perfect combination! what is not to like? i personally dont want everybody to make a movie that touch my feelings like toy story movies. that way next time i know, everything i watch is dejavu!

 

[DavidAC]

First time I saw Shrek I loved it, it reminded me of The Princess Bride (great movie), a twisted fairy tale. Shrek isnt a kids only movie though kids will enjoy it, Shrek is appeals to adults as well which I didnt think the Toy Story movies did, the Toy Story movies are great but the appeal is more for kids. As for Shrek being overrated I dont think so, its success was genuine and for a reason, and when Shrek 2 comes out it will probably be more successful than the first. IMO I think we need more movies in the spirit of The Princess Bride and Shrek, that would be cool.

 

[MichaelAW]

My wife talked me into blind purchasing Shrek when it was released last year. Bad move. We watched about half of it before turning it off (right after the hackneyed Matrix ripoff) and selling it used. Fortunately, we got our money back, but not our time.

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

I guess I will be in the minority here saying that the thing that bothered me the most about Shrek was the soundtrack. I didn't think any of the songs fit the action or story.

I did enjoy it though, but not as much as Monster's Inc. I eagerly await that DVD.

 

[Ray Chuang]

I myself thoroughly enjoyed Shrek.
I think I know why many people here didn't really enjoy the movie: they didn't get the "joke" of concept of the movie. :rolleyes
The best way to enjoy this movie is to first watch (or have least have good knowledge of) the Disney animated features Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, and Beauty and the Beast and also have visited Disneyland and/or Disney World before seeing Shrek. If you follow my suggestion the parodies in the movie make WAY more sense, and as a result it's way funnier, too.

 

[Josh Lowe]

I didn't like it. I thought it was full of lame "wink wink" inside jokes that were barely above the double digit IQ level of an average Kevin Smith flick. The whole ending musical number with Smashmouth.. ugh.

If you want a cynical fairy tale, I suggest "Into the Woods"

 

[Randall Dorr]

they didn't get the "joke" of concept of the movie.

The references in Shrek aren't that obscure. Films like Pinocchio and Snow White are so ingrained into the fabric of American culture, one need not have actually seen them to understand the joke.

And having seen most Disney films, I can say that I still hate Shrek. It's certainly nothing new. I remember reading "fractured" fairy tales like The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and The Frog Prince Continued in grade school.

Toy Story was great because it had lovable, sympathetic characters. (Not necessary for all films, but a must for any film whose primary target is kids.) All the characters in Shrek are throughly obnoxious. (Could Eddie Murphy please do a film where he isn't doing voice-over, or speaking to animatronic animals or playing twenty-three different charcters?)

I suppose so many detest Shrek for that same reason so many detest Gladiator: It's not really bad, we're just frustrated at the gobs of people who drool over such an average film.

 

[JamieD]

...

 

[Josh Lowe]

Sometimes, I really wish that people could just show a bit more respect for other people and their opinions. In that one statement, you bashed Kevin Smith fans and Shrek fans. I personally liked Shrek. Not great for myself, but a good popcorn flick to see with friends.

So by not having the same opinion as you I am disrespectful? Sorry, but it's MY opinion that Kevin Smith movies are lowbrow and weak. It has nothing to do with you or any Kevin Smith fan. And this is off-topic.

 

[JonZ]

I never understood what everyone saw in this film either. A few humorus moments but very average IMHO.

 

[RobertR]

I enjoyed it the first time I saw it, but I don't feel it has a great rewatchablity factor. TS 1&2 are better in that regard.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Donkey makes the film for me, he's just too funny.

 

[Thomas Newton]

Also, why was Lord Farquaad trying to get rid of all the fairy tale creatures?

I read somewhere that Lord (name whose pronounciation is not really fit for a family show) is supposed to be a takeoff on a certain executive ...

... at a certain company that has made tons of money making animated films based on public domain characters, but that has conveniently benefitted from copyright extensions that keep a famous mouse's early films from being public domain.

If I remember the movie correctly, Lord what's-his-name was interested in enslaving or "getting rid of" (by one means or another -- witness the Gingerbread Man) all of the fairy tale creatures. Be his property, or be gone! (Or perhaps both, if you're the Gingerbread Man.)

Translation into real-world terms (if, indeed, the director and writers meant to make a satirical statement) is left as an exercise for the viewer.

 

[felix_suwarno]

and yeah, farquaad is evil.

"...and that, is a sacrifice i am willing to make."

that IS evil!

 

[Randy Korstick]

I finally saw Shrek last night and I too am puzzled at why all the hype on this film. I am an animated film fan and so I am more leniant with them but I have to go on record as saying I absolutely hated this film and think it is one of the worst animated films I have ever seen. Nothing in this film worked for me. It had a weak story and completely out of place songs. It tried to poke fun at other animated films and animated film cliches but yet it was full of cliches itself. The animation was real hit and miss. The Ogre and animals were all good but the humans all looked like they were straight out of a bad computer game. The animation and humans in Pixars films are alot better. Whats the big deal with the Donkey? I found him completely annoying and anything but funny. He was just a rehash of Eddie Murphy's much funnier dragon from Mulan. There was so much unfunny and embarassing humor in this movie. It appears most of the toliet humor was probably written by Junior High kids. The Matrix scene and the Game show scene were incredibly unimaginative and unfunny. Hmmm. Lets see where have we seen the Game show?... Aladin anyone. I never laughed once in this movie. The humor was as bad as an Ace Ventura movie. I almost feel asleep three times in this movie and that never happens in animated films for me. I'm glad I saw this at a friends house and did not rent or buy this. Please do yourself a favor and rent first if you haven't seen this yet. I still wish I could get the 90 minutes I wasted on this back. Dreamworks should stick to traditional animation and leave Computer animation to Pixar.