Shrek has hidden messages that will likely sail right over the heads of its target audience. The resettlement of the fairly tale creatures in the villainous Farquaad's (ruthless and cruel Anglo-Saxon) kingdom is an allusion to the resettlement of Jews in ghettos carried out by many European principalities during the Middle Ages (at the time of Martin Luther, I think they were expelled from England, France and Spain but tolerated, with restrictions, in some German city states). The filmmakers seem to be suggesting that just as Farquaad did not appreciate the fairy tale creatures and their magical and unique abilities and may have in fact been afraid of them, so, too, were Europeans afraid of Jews and their foreign culture and thus unjustly persecuted them. Apparently, all for no good reason. Shrek, the ogre, of course, represents how the African would have been received in medieval European society. He is feared and misunderstood as a stupid, grotesque, and violent menace. Of course, we are shown that in his private moments, he is anything but these undesirable qualities and his moral fibre transcends his physical ugliness. The fact that the fair princess Fiona is revealed to really be an ogress is to confirm that well worn cliché that we are all the same inside. In a classic fairy tale, which Shrek is the antithesis of, written by someone like Hans Christian Anderson for instance, Farquaad would be the hero, Shrek the villain, and Fiona would indeed be the fairest maiden in all the land. Click ant man and the wasp movie
A Dream World by DreamWorks
Flagrant-Baronessa
Shrek is a sprawling surge into fairytale archetypes and stereotypes – the ogre, the noble steed, the damsel in distress, the evil lord, a fire-breathing dragon, Pinnochio, the three little pigs, the medieval tournaments and the festering forest swamp – it indulges and loses itself in the fun of these staples and it makes no pretense about it. The creators at DreamWorks Studios brush up on an old fairytale premise of a hero saving the damsel in distress from the dragon's keep with intelligent, deft strokes. The result is a meticulously animated, hilarious, heartwarming fluff of a film.
The film's most prominent weapon in its arsenal is humour that takes the form of biting, comical, and even brilliant satire. Nearly every scene is peppered with pop-culture references, spoofs and homages – as has become DreamWorks' trademark of sorts – yet not quite as many of them as in Shrek II. Although it is an evenly enjoyable experience, a handful of scenes truly jump out and grab you. The brilliant rapport between the Gingerbread Man "Gingie" and the evil Lord Farquaad (voiced by funnyman John Lithgow) makes itself known at the beginning of the film in the interrogation room. The morbid lord has torn off Gingie's legs and is now toying with them: "Run, run, run as fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!", his wicked veneer transforming into a twisted, sadistic smile, to which Gingie boldly exclaims: "Eat me!"
123movies free Shrek, Donkey and Fiona are nevertheless the most thoroughly likable characters and they are given the most screen time in the film. The two former are an unlikely pair: an anti-social, misunderstood green ogre and a clingy, annoying, talking donkey. They reluctantly set out to accomplish a mission for Lord Farquaad – to bring home princess Fiona – but end up with more than they bargained for. It is this genius triumvirate of animated persons that take the front row in DreamWorks' Shrek; they are its goldmine, its heart, its soul and its most blatant source of comedy. It is however easy to see how the film's glorious, meticulous and aesthetically intoxicating setting could overshadow even its protagonist Shrek, yet this aspect is always firmly placed in the backseat of the story. Substance over style, in other words, but rest assured that animated visuals will not get much more striking than this.
I am in fact pressed to find an aspect of the film that was noticeably sub-par. Everything truly is wonderfully created. From the crisp animation to the YMCA/Michael Flatley/Robin Hood spoofs to the rapid-fire pop-culture references to the deadpan deliveries to heartfelt story, all is well-sewn together in the story. Even the mandatory sing-and-dancer number at the end purposely avoids a cheesy approach (unlike Shrek II). I suppose, if anything – it is somewhat heavy on the 'message & moral' side of things and toward the end it often tips over into corny lessons.
Watched this again today - it's still fantastic!
MsMovie
I saw this movie when it originally came out at the cinema, and I thought it was one of the best animated movies ever done - a great comedy too.
Anyway, I have not seen Shrek 2 yet, but since my mother has decided she wants to see it too we watched the first Shrek today, as she had never seen that particular film.
It is probably one of the funniest movies I have seen in the last 5 years or so - animated or live action. The humour appeals on so many levels - the kids watching get all the fairy tale jokes and so do the adults, and then there are a lot of one liners, especially from Eddie Murphy's Donkey character and from Mike Myers as Shrek, which only the adults in the audience truly get.
And the story is really good too - there is a moral point in there that all the kids I know really got, and one boy (who is facially disfigured himself), said it was nice to see that even though she an ogre still at the end, Shrek loved her anyway and still thought she was beautiful - if only life was like that all the time! Click 12 strong full movie putlockers
Shrek is a film that both adults and children will want to watch over and over again and it deserves to have made the millions it did for all involved.
I rated this film as a 10 because it is a great movie, if I gave it less that would be saying there was something slightly wrong with it, but really I couldn't fault it.
A great movie experience for all the family!
A Dream World by DreamWorks
Flagrant-Baronessa
Shrek is a sprawling surge into fairytale archetypes and stereotypes – the ogre, the noble steed, the damsel in distress, the evil lord, a fire-breathing dragon, Pinnochio, the three little pigs, the medieval tournaments and the festering forest swamp – it indulges and loses itself in the fun of these staples and it makes no pretense about it. The creators at DreamWorks Studios brush up on an old fairytale premise of a hero saving the damsel in distress from the dragon's keep with intelligent, deft strokes. The result is a meticulously animated, hilarious, heartwarming fluff of a film.
123movies free Shrek, Donkey and Fiona are nevertheless the most thoroughly likable characters and they are given the most screen time in the film. The two former are an unlikely pair: an anti-social, misunderstood green ogre and a clingy, annoying, talking donkey. They reluctantly set out to accomplish a mission for Lord Farquaad – to bring home princess Fiona – but end up with more than they bargained for. It is this genius triumvirate of animated persons that take the front row in DreamWorks' Shrek; they are its goldmine, its heart, its soul and its most blatant source of comedy. It is however easy to see how the film's glorious, meticulous and aesthetically intoxicating setting could overshadow even its protagonist Shrek, yet this aspect is always firmly placed in the backseat of the story. Substance over style, in other words, but rest assured that animated visuals will not get much more striking than this.
I am in fact pressed to find an aspect of the film that was noticeably sub-par. Everything truly is wonderfully created. From the crisp animation to the YMCA/Michael Flatley/Robin Hood spoofs to the rapid-fire pop-culture references to the deadpan deliveries to heartfelt story, all is well-sewn together in the story. Even the mandatory sing-and-dancer number at the end purposely avoids a cheesy approach (unlike Shrek II). I suppose, if anything – it is somewhat heavy on the 'message & moral' side of things and toward the end it often tips over into corny lessons.
Watched this again today - it's still fantastic!
MsMovie
I saw this movie when it originally came out at the cinema, and I thought it was one of the best animated movies ever done - a great comedy too.
Anyway, I have not seen Shrek 2 yet, but since my mother has decided she wants to see it too we watched the first Shrek today, as she had never seen that particular film.
It is probably one of the funniest movies I have seen in the last 5 years or so - animated or live action. The humour appeals on so many levels - the kids watching get all the fairy tale jokes and so do the adults, and then there are a lot of one liners, especially from Eddie Murphy's Donkey character and from Mike Myers as Shrek, which only the adults in the audience truly get.
Shrek is a film that both adults and children will want to watch over and over again and it deserves to have made the millions it did for all involved.
I rated this film as a 10 because it is a great movie, if I gave it less that would be saying there was something slightly wrong with it, but really I couldn't fault it.
A great movie experience for all the family!
Comments
Post a Comment