Rating: 
Summary: Hilarious, Quality Entertainment
Review: This delightful animated feature is a real visual treat. The animation is great. Each character is well voiced and well designed, with a personality all their own. The whole story basically makes fun of Disney and various classic fairy tale themes, while at the same time teaching kids valuable lessons about what's important. Although it is set in a sort of eleventh century fairy tale/Tolkien world, modern themes and parodies abound in this film. Really, Shrek may indeed be the perfect kids movie, but it is also likely to hook any adults who happen to watch it as well.
Rating:
Summary: I laughed, I cried, I made a wish...
Review: Let me preface this by saying that I loved this movie, but Eddie Murphy as Donkey frequently annoyed me. However, the fact that it deals honestly with issues such as trust, self-esteem, and the meaning of real love without getting trite or condescending is absolutely fantastic. If there's a woman or girl in your life who has self-esteem issues, rent or buy this and watch it with her- fun for the whole family, and a good object lesson as well. Yes, a lot of the humor is adult, but I suspect a lot of children (like those in the theater the night I saw it) won't get it. The good definitely outweighs the bad here.
Rating: 
Summary: Dumbfounded Parent
Review: I found this movie to be extremelly rude. I don't feel that alot of the content is suitable for children. The hidden meanings in this were appalling and adults who make such movies for children should know better. YES, Children do pay attention and in this day and age we parents need all the help we can get. I'm glad at least I do preview movies before showing them to my child and nieces and nephews... The reviews this movie got just leave me dumbfounded. Let me ask, those who reviewed it, Did you actually watch it???
Rating:
Summary: It's Awesome!!!!
Review: I'm not really a fan of these kinds of movies, but this one rocked!!! I only rented it for my nephew, and I think I was more into it than he was. I loved it!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Modern day fairytale with politically correct ideas/humor!!!
Review: Movies are not usually on my want list...but ever since I saw the ads for this one, I've wanted it. Made my husband go right out and buy it. I don't think Hollywood or Disney realize how difficult it is for us deaf people to lipread cartoon characters! Though the animation is far beyond what was seen five years ago, normally it would not be enough to carry the story. What makes it all the more valuable is the original story and the voices and personalities of the characters. It is amazing how much personality the graphic artists can give these computer characters. I know I cannot hear the voices and tones, but I certainly got the humor and recognized the artists behind the voices (through the drawings and through the attitudes of the characters).the story is sweet and poignant, and is essential viewing for children because of the concepts it teaches. However, the humor is way beyond most children. The writing is definitely geared toward adults, though my granddaughter at three was mesmerized for the entire length of the film! My husband and I were laughing so hard...tears were falling. This will definitely be a family favorite. It serves to remind us that it is what inside that counts, not the surface beauty which too often the world puts such importance on. Kudos to everyone involved.
Karen Sadler,
Science Education,
University of Pittsburgh
Rating:
Summary: One of my familiy's favorites
Review: I watched Shrek with my 3 year old sone when it was released in theaters and enjoyed it tremendously. I could not wait to get the tape--it is a masterpiece worth having in your video library even if you do not have kids. The story about the unfriendly ogre in search and defence of his privacy is very cute. Trying to save his swamp-home from the invasion of the fairy tales creatures, Shrek goes on a quest to save a princess. He meets a talking donkey who decides that Shrek would be his friend. The journey is quite funny and the happy ending quite unconventional. There are several things that make this movie superb entertainment:
1. It is movie for kids and adults alike. The fairy tale story line is fun for the kids. The various puns, allegories and jokes are fun for the adults. Do not be misled by the fact that it is animation--it is not a cheesy, all-cute Disney type feature. On the contrary, it makes fun of features like that.
2. The animation is great. The 3D animation is superb--detailed, bright and realistic (as realistic as an ogre can be)
3. The voices of the actors are excellent. Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphie and Cameron Diaz do a great job giving the characters a life of their own. Especially Eddie Murphy.
4. Finally, the sound track is so much fun, I had to get the CD as well.
Rating:
Summary: Best animated movie ever
Review: I like this movie soooo much. Lots of allusions to other movies. A perfect computer-animation...great. The Special Edition is worth every little penny. A must have for every collector.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Movie, but DVD falls short of its promise
Review: I waited for one month in great expectation of the DVD verson of Shrek. There were games and other cool features on this two disk set that I couldn't wait to tear into. Looks like lots of fun, right? Pretty disapointing. The cool games won't run off the DVD player on your TV. You have to have a PC running Windows 98, an internet connection and a DVD rom. We all have internet connection with our computers, and most of us have CD- roms on our computers. But I doubt that all the people who buy this DVD will have computers with DVD players. And while I have one that does, it's a Mac. No good.
On the other hand, there's still a lot to enjoy on the DVD verson. There are two versons of the movie(formatted and widescreen) behind the scenes footage, and other interesting stuff. I really haven't looked at everything yet, and while it's worth the price, it doesn't deliver on the interactive games. Guess I got burned . . . I'll know better next time.
Rating:
Summary: One word: FUN!
Review: I'll come right out and say it: "Shrek" is one of the best movies of the year, a nonstop laugh riot with a morality lesson and extremely likeable characters in tow. In fact, this highly unconventional fairy tale boasts so many winning voices performances and completely riotous humor that it's impossible not to be dazzled by its irresistible charm and tenacious wit. Of course, this is no Disney movie, but it doesn't attempt to be, and that makes it even better. Perhaps the most winning aspect of this delight is its successful ability to turn the clichéd fairy tale into a fresh and inviting premise, where nothing is what we have come to believe it should be. Poking fun at the Disney franchise, the plot surrounds a lonely ogre named Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers), who lives in solitude not so much because he wants to, but because he feels his physical appearance is appalling to others. So it comes as a shock when several Disney characters appear at his door, cast out of their kingdom by the devious Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow). This is where the movie takes everything we know about fantasy and reverses it. Shrek becomes the hero of sorts, the gallant knight in shining armor who journeys to rescue the beautiful Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), who lays sleeping in the tower of a castle guarded by a fire-breathing dragon. Why does he do it? Not for love, but for the deed to his swampland, which he will receive upon delivering the princess to Farquaad's kingdom. And just as Shrek is characterized out of the ordinary, so is Princess Fiona, who becomes a witty, easily irritable kung-fu goddess instead of the clichéd waif of standard fairy tales. This new spin on the damsel in distress is frequently funny, showcased most notably in a scene in which a French Robin Hood attempts to win her heart, only to feel the heel of her boot (add this scene to the list of ongoing "Matrix" spoofs). Her awaiting Lord Farquaad is also not the standard villain: his height leaves much to be desired, providing for various jokes and humor at his expense. These characters are some of the best of their kind, completely animated yet easy to get a feel for. The combined talents of Myers, Murphy, Diaz and Lithgow all combust to make these characters more convincing and humorous than most others of the genre. The computer animation aspect is not new, but has developed over the years since "Toy Story;" here, its purpose is not to instill a sense of realism (we can discern it as fantasy), but to add to the cheeriness and freshness of the already exuberant plot. The layout of the film's script is amazing, a work of comedic art that transcends all comedy genres to become a good-natured laugh riot. The constant ramblings of Eddie Murphy will no doubt please kids and adults alike, while the various spoofs of fairy tales will induce fits of laughter. At one point, Lord Farquaad interrogates the Gingerbread Man by dangling him over a glass of milk, then questions Snow White's magic mirror as to who his bride will be. A few instances of toilet humor make this animated feature somewhat ambitious, but it knows its limits and complies with them. The film's morality lesson about the judgmental society is also one of its strong points. Shrek is seen as monstrous by various characters, though his winning charm and sense of humor provide the age-old lesson that it's what's inside a person that truly counts. The secret behind Princess Fiona also helps to advance this point, and by the film's end, it has succeeded in making that point splendidly. My face bore a great smile during the beginning moments of "Shrek," and remained that way throughout the entire movie. The film is a wondrous spectacle of animation, well-liked characters, and some of the most enlightening humor of any movie this year. It's ability to turn our vision of a fairy tale completely upside down is a rousing success, as is virtually everything else about this enormously entertaining treat.
Rating:
Summary: Great refreshing fun!
Review: What a great, refreshing movie this is! I was so pleasantly surprised with it. I think what I like most about it is that it does not take itself too seriously and pokes fun at other movies in this similar genre (such as Disney movies). It really is a hoot and great entertainment. This film is not really for kids, more like young adults and adults young at heart. I found it much more fun than anything by Disney or Pixar. The DVD presentation is wonderful and the DTS soundtrack is so involving it practically tickles your ears!
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