Review: Shrek, The Greatest Fairy Tale Ever Told
- May 7, 2018
- 2 min read
An unorthodox hero in a very standard fairy tale. What could possibly go wrong?
Shrek (Mike Myers) is an ogre, happily living alone in his swamp. That is until he finds his home overtaken by all manner of fairytale creatures. Blind mice, 7 dwarves, cross dressing wolves, you name it. And Shrek wants him gone. In an effort to rid his swamp of these magical beings, Shrek confronts the local royalty, Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow), and they come to an agreement. If Shrek can bring Farquaad the Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), he will remove the creatures. And so, accompanied by a talking donkey, affectionately named...Donkey (Eddie Murphy), Shrek departs on a journey of self discovery, although that’s not exactly what he’s after.
Shrek is, in a word, brilliant. The jokes, the character, the cruel and unrelenting mockery of Disney Princess films. It’s unwavering in its opinion, that fairy tales are a bunch of nonsense that have no application whatsoever, despite the fact that by the time the film comes to an end it is that which it protests, with a twist. There’s a love story between a dragon and a donkey so you know, it’s not exactly conventional. The characters are pretty damn great, with Shrek being totally unaware of the story he’s in, hamfistedly beating his way across fairytale landscapes, quite literally dragging Princess Fiona most of the way. But the real standout, by no small measure (pun intended) is Lord Farquaad. Despite his somewhat diminutive size, his screen presence more than makes up for it. Lithgow delivers his lines with such bombast that it results in some truly glorious moments.
The best part of the film however, is the incredible amount of references. Men In Tights, The Matrix, Jurassic Park, Gladiator, Babe and more. They come thick and fast, and you likely won’t pick up on all of them on the first viewing. Some are blatant, others are a little more subtle, and it’s a lot of fun to spot them. But it’s not all jokes and nods. There’s actually some solid story telling, some surprising characterization and some unexpected emotional beats
I’m not a fan of the standard Disney fairytale. They’re wishy-washy nonsense, more interested in poorly retelling interesting stories as saccharin love stories. Shrek however, Shrek is different. Shrek has a personality that many films these days lack. And for that alone, it’s worth checking out. Has a kicking soundtrack as well, and that never hurts.
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