Shrek

Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: I saw this one on my birthday. I was laughing so much I fell out of my seat. Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and John Lithgow are wonderful in this movie. The animation is amazing. I have never seen so much humor in one movie before. I would watch it over and over again. People who love this movie should buy the soundtrack. I own this one on DVD. Of course it is my favorite animation film. I hear there will be a Shrek 2 in 2004 with Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz. I can't wait until that comes out. Dreamworks make good movies. like Chicken Run which is also good. I hear this movie took three years. Well that is a good thing because if they did it in 1 or 2 years it would not be that perfect as it is now. I would reccomend this to anyone who likes funny animation movies because it is funny non stop. It will be exciting to see Shrek 2 when it comes out. No matter how old this movie is it will always be funny and awesome when it came out. Allen Quinn

Rating:
Summary: Shrek is good but Pixar films are better
Review: Shrek is a good movie, but it will never compare to the Pixar films. Don't get me wrong, I love this movie. It is lacking in places though. For one thing, the intro is ruined by playing that horrible song All-Star by Smash Mouth. I am so sick of that song. Cameron Diaz was awful as Princess Fiona and didn't seem genuine. Mike Myers didn't seem up to par either. However, John Lithgow and Eddie Murphy were perfect. Anyway, this movie is great. it's funny, it has in-jokes and is perfect for all ages but Toy Story aand all the other Pixar films are better. Pixars characters are lovable and sweet and the actors who voice them make them seem real. But in Shrek the seem phony and not at all lovable.(with the exception of Donkey.)This movie is great. One of the best, but Monsters Inc. should have taken home the Oscar and not this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Fun, laugh-out-loud movie
Review: I enjoyed this - it made me laugh out loud and kept me engaged for the duration. Fun extras on the DVDs as well. Great package overall.

Rating:
Summary: Good movie, *Awesome* DVD...
Review: Let me start out by saying that this DVD is worth buying just for the plethora of extras: the behind-the-scenes sequences, the director commentaries, storyboard pitches, games, outtakes, and so much more. It's hours and hours of entertainment in itself.

As far as the movie goes, I generally enjoy this film. Eddie Murphy is fantastic as Donkey, showing off once again his ability to successfully bring oddball characters to life. Although people have complained about the "one-liner" feel about the movie, Donkey never ceases to make me laugh, no matter how many times I've watched the movie. John Lithgow is terrific as well, perfectly devious as Lord Farquad. My one (very big) complaint is Cameron Diaz's performance as Princess Fiona - during the entire movie, she sounds like she's reading monotonous text, and at the same time trying a little too hard to be excited. Her interpretation of her character comes off like someone in a bad high school play, and the dialog could have been written better for her part. Most of all, I'll never know why she specifically was chosen to be the voice of Fiona, as Diaz's voice really has no special "quality" about it. Where Murphy, Lithgow, and Mike Myers bring life to their characters, Diaz falls flat.

Rating:
Summary: The animation bar stays high
Review: The bar doesn't go up that much, as I think what Pixar does is equally as good. This one's animantion is just as good, but just, different. One problem I've had with all kinds of computer animation is that everything comes out so clean. This animation takes the time to dirty up it's characters a little bit, providing more realism, which I like.

The movie's also terrific in that it does work at both the adult and child levels. The kids will like seeing some of their favorite fantasy characters in another context. While they may have less than pleasant personalities in this movie, I don't think that's going to emotionally scar our nation's youth, and the adults can enjoy the many zingers that get thrown in.

But the familiar characters take a back seat to the brand new creations of this story. Eddie Murphy as the donkey is great, if standard sidekick material. But the animation of the Shrek character is more enjoyable with each viewing. We've had slobs as heroes before, but never has such delightfully rude behavior been so incorporated into a lifestyle. How Shrek brushes his teeth, catches fish for dinner, and provides a candle to light his dinner table are done so well they may become the new way of polite society.

Well, maybe just in the movies. But I think the Shrek character has a lot of potential for a string of movies. I anxiously await the next one.

Rating:
Summary: DAZZLING!
Review: This is one of the most innovative concepts to come out of Hollywood in some time. It's a production that combines animation with subtle adult humor. It parodies fairy tales, martial arts movies & makes fun of traditional constitutions of behavoir. Somehow, it manages to not offend. (Anyone who IS offended by this film needs to look up in the encyclopedia the following phrase: lighten up).

The special effects and animation on this movie are absolutely stunning. They certainly pulled out all the stops. Visually speaking, this work is nothing short of spectacular.

The talent pool displayed is also very impressive. Mike Myers is great as Shrek, Cameron Diaz is wonderful as the frustrated damsel-in-distress (with a twist!). Eddie Murphy is a stupendous choice as the comic-relief donkey (although comic-relief in a movie like this is a bit of an outrageous term).

Here is a family friendly movie complete with some border-line raunchy humor. But don't worry - most children will not be apt to pick up on the latter. Can't think of any type or age of person that would not enjoy this movie. Not too many Hollywood endeavors I can say that about!

Rating:
Summary: Shrek is my new favorite
Review: I just read some of the other reviews, and have only a short note to add.. We bought Shrek for our grandkids for Christmas.. it was played the entire week after Christmas almost non stop.. and I enjoyed listening and seeing it each time.. unlike some of the others that kids will play over and over, this one made me smile, laugh and almost cry over and over and over.. I Love It and recommend it highly!

Rating:
Summary: A hilariously great movie entertaining for everyone
Review: Summary:

Hilariously funny and enjoyable movie with great music, great DVD features.

Review:

Great story with a solid script with good cohesion, flow and development; great acting voices (Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, John Lithgow), great animation, design and implementation, great direction and great movie. Great DVD features that are extensive and generous! And, a wonderful Filmakers' Commentary.

My kids loved the movie, got some of the good jokes, love the story, and enjoy playing the DVD Special Features including games, a Kareoki video and others.

Mike Meyers shows himself to be a gifted comedian with lots of wonderfully creative ideas and a moral to tell in the end.

Storyline

A charming ogre (Myers) is coerced into rescuing a feisty Princess Fiona (Diaz) with an overly talkative donkey (Murphy) in order to get his swamp back from the overcompensating (read that "short") Lord Farquaad (Lithgow). Princess Fiona is obsessed with having "loves first kiss" with her "true love", and of course, cannot wait to be with her great Lord Farquaad whom she supposes is her true love.

Moral:

There may be much more to people than meets the eye!

Rating:
Summary: A different fairy tale
Review: If you think all fairytales should feature a tender-hearted, beautiful heroine and a handsome prince, both almost perfect and even their imperfections attractive to us (like Ariel's stubborness, for example) than this movie is not for you. Our hero is an ogre who shuns people and eats eyes. Our heroine is a princess who is well-trained in the martial arts and hasn't got any voice.

Many facts in this movie will offend the tender-hearted -- I'll admit that one scene was too much even for me, when Fiona's singing kills a bluebird whose eggs she cooks afterwards ... ugh, that was TOO much. Also, it ridiculizes many other cartoons with its backwards humor, or movies like the Matrix. All these facts sum up to a little bit -- or more -- kitsch.

The ever present funny character - in this case the talkative donkey with Eddie Murphy's voice - is another cartoon cliche, but somehow it is not as annoying as others -- see Mushu in Mulan, also voiced by Eddie Murphy, now *that* was an annoying character.

Still, the movie IS funny and very, very enjoyable. And the basic meaning of the story, that is that you do not have to be physically perfect in order to find true love, is a very, very welcome change and very, very true. It warmed my heart.

Rating:
Summary: Joyous, deliciously subversive fun
Review: Michael Eisner is the man who rules the Walt Disney Company. For many years, Jeffrey Katzenberg was his second-in-command. Katzenberg's most notable achievement was the revival of Disney's stagnant animated movie division. Under his guidance, the studio made commercially and artistically successful movies like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King. Several years ago, the two executives had a falling out, and Katzenberg exited Disney. He soon co-founded Dreamworks Studio with Steven Spielburg and David Geffen. That enterprise has been highly successful. Katzenberg is openly out to unseat Disney as the undisputed king of animation. Dreamworks had moderate success with The Prince of Egypt and The Road to El Dorado. Antz and Chicken Run were hits. Now comes Shrek, which is the highest grossing movie of 2001 so far. Since Mr. K's departure, Disney has had its share of hits [Tarzan] and misses Pocahantas]. This all goes to prove that the American competitive spirit is alive and well in Hollywood. Not only has the consumer benefited, so has the industry as a whole.

Shrek is one of the merriest and most mischievous animated movies ever made. It operates on two levels. Kids will see it as one thing, parent and older viewers as another. All age groups will have a great time. You might call it a revisionist fairy tale, one that manages to be smart, funny and thoroughly modern without once drifting into cynicism.

Shrek [voice of Mike Myers] is an ogre, a big, tall, lumbering creature who has ears that look like trumpets. One day the short, pompous, egotistical Lord Farquaad [John Lithgow] decides to kick all the fairy tale creatures [Snow White, Pinocchio, the Three Little Pigs, etc.] out of his kingdom. They take refuge on Shrek's swampy property, and he gets really mad. He's been alone for so long that he takes his privacy very seriously. Accompanied by a loud, obnoxious, yet somehow lovable donkey [Eddie Murphy] he can't get rid of, Shrek goes to confront Farquaad. The lord tells him that if he will rescue Princess Fiona [Cameron Diaz], whom he has decided to marry, he will rescind his banishment of the fairy tale folks and give Shrek his privacy back. Off Shrek goes to a dragon-guarded castle to retrieve Fiona, who is no ordinary fairy tale princess. But, then, this is no ordinary movie.

The actors' voice talents are all quite good, but the one who is absolutely perfect is Eddie Murphy as the donkey. This animal could easily have gotten on our nerves, but Murphy makes him so funny that we are too busy laughing at him to get upset.

For the first time this year, there is an Oscar category for best animated movie. It will be a battle between Shrek and Disney's Monsters Inc.Here's to competition!