Techtite's DVD Reviews!

Shrek

Coming to Video November 2nd.

A Techtite Review

The Film: There are people who go to Disney World, among all the rides based on Peter Pan,  Snow White, and even the Pirates of the Caribbean, only to tell people their favorite ride is the Rockin' Roller Coaster. If you're that type of person, you're really going to love Shrek. Even if your favorite ride is more like Spash Mountain, you'll still have fun, thanks to all the in-jokes based on fairy tales...and, of course, the company that distributed the most of them. It may be a little too close to home for some of the heartier fairy-tale-fans, though a parody of this type would have to be.

The first thing you'll notice about this film, though, isn't its fairy tale parodies; it's the exceptional computer animation itself. Such visuals even exceed most modern, 1990's Disney fare, offering one, glaring question; why hasn't Disney (or its Toy-Story-making affiliate, Pixar), ever made a Computer-animated fairy tale? To see classic characters like Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, or even modern classics like Beauty & the Beast, within the anything-goes world of complete CGI animation, would be nothing short of a pixie-dust dream come true. Furthermore, while I loved Toy Story 2, and was impressed by Dinosaur, the lifelike-yet-fanciful visions of Shrek exceed anything shown by those films as well. Shrek is the most perfect blend of life-like reality and whimsical fantasy that I've ever seen in a CGI film. Sure, to be fair, it took a long, long time to make the film at all (to give you an idea; the lead voice was originally to be the late Chris Farley), though it's still more than worth the wait.

The story of Shrek involves the title character; a green ogre (voiced my Mike Meyers) who enjoys his solitude in the swamp just outside of fairy tale land. In truth, he's not half as mean as he wants to think he is, and is only cynical to others because he thinks they'll be mean to him sooner or later. He soon finds out how wrong he is, thanks to a talking donkey (Eddie Murphy, in a voice role he plays to hilarious perfection), who decides to be Shrek's new best friend, regardless of Shrek's protests. This donkey is just the first of dozens of fairy tale folk, who begin to invade Shrek's once-tranquil abode. They've all been banished by an evil tyrant named Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow), who vainly wants the land of fairy tales all to himself. Shrek sets out on a quest, with the talking donkey in tow, to see if he can set things right again.

He soon makes a reluctant deal with Farquaad, who must marry a true princess before he can be a real king. He looked at the likely candidates of fair maidens (including Snow White, of whom his magic mirror described as "living with seven men...though she's not easy!"), and chooses the mysterious Princess Fiona. She's trapped in a dragon tower on a dark mountain nearby, and if Shrek can save her, so Farquaad can marry her, he'll give Shrek his swamp back. As you might expect, this is no easy quest, especially when Fiona (perfectly voiced by the kick-punching star of Charlie's Angels, Cameron Diaz), is not your average princess. So unique is she, even Shrek soon finds himself to be smitten with her...though could she ever truly love a green ogre? The answer is predictable, though also enjoyable, in this fairy-tale parody.

Some of the staunchest Disney fans, however, might not like all the jabs made at fairy tales' expense. I myself found it a bit over the top, when Fiona finds the nest of a singing blue bird (that exploded from over-singing!), looks at the three eggs, and decides merely to use them for breakfast. However, even an avid Disney fan can't deny the humor elsewhere, like the moment when Shrek looks at the snakelike, roped entranceway of Farquaad's castle (just like a Disney ride), only to smash his way through the ropes, right down the center. Likewise for jokes elsewhere, including a brief cameo of Tinkerbell's pixie dust, as well as a PG-rated parody of the "It's a Small World" singing dolls. Such scenes all lead to more than a few hearty laughs. Even the slightly dark humor of Farquaad torturing a gingerbread man to talk --by dipping him slowly in milk-- is worth a chuckle or two.

By the time the final song is sung (a well chosen 1960's tune by the Monkees, "I'm a Believer"), the film left me with a rating balancing precariously between "thumbs up" (Large Crater) or "Thumbs WAY up" (Deep Impact). On the one hand, the visuals are spectacular and the story is cute, yet then again, it still doesn't seem to have as much of a flair as, say, Chicken Run last year. Nor does its parody of conservative fairy tale ideals seem as inspired as The Princess Bride. However, I give it it Techtite.com's highest possible rating for one reason; I really wish Disney would do more CGI fairy tales like this one. Dreamworks already upstaged Disney's CGI department a few years back, when Antz seemed more inspired than A Bug's Life (though both were, indeed, very well done). When looking at pictures like this, as well as the upcoming Final Fantasy, Disney seems to be a bit dragging lately. As much as I liked Emperor's New Groove, it's modern, Cartoon-Network animation style just doesn't compare to films like Shrek. It's time Disney started giving its pixie dust the multi-million-dollar FX treatment it deserves.

The DVD: This is another two-disc deal, though I'm a lot more happy with this collection of bonus features than I was with Planet of the Apes; maybe it's just because I liked the film more (a lot more). I think I began to realize they included everything other than the kitchen sink, when I saw the option to view gameplay hints for the X-box video game based on the film. Yes, these two discs include everything they can (though you'll still have to buy that X-box game separately...sorry).

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