A kids movie no less, well I think I have undersold this movie with the end of the previous review, as this is more than just a kids movie. I went to this at the cinema as an adult ok I was with a woman who wanted to see it but I was still a grown adult going to watch this. And we both laughed out loud at different points within this movie so I had better stop there and get on with some basic information. First up the critics didn’t agree with IMDb giving Shrek a 7.8 out of 10 but to ruin any chance of getting on the scoreboard Rotten Tomatoes liked it more than me with an 88% score. Released in 2001 this animated movie cost $60m to make which included an extra $5m because Mike Myers changed his mind and decided to play Shrek with a Scottish accent. The box-office was very kind as it returned $484.4m which is fantastic. It also spawned a series of movies to follow, enough merchandise to re-sink the Titanic. It stars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and John Lithgow and meant that the first three will be ever present for all the follow up movies. Shall we get to the plot now?
Shrek is an ogre he lives in the swamp because no one will bother him there. He doesn’t want to meet people he just wants quiet solitude of his swamp. Lord Farquaad of Duloc has decided to exile a load of fairy tale character from his land and dumped them in an unneeded area of land. A swamp in fact, I am sure you can work out who’s swamp. He is busy torturing the gingerbread man when he is interrupted by his guards with the mirror of Snow White. The mirror points out that he is not even a real king and needs to marry a princess to become one. He decided to pursue a Princess Fiona who is lives in captivity by a dragon. He is not prepared to do the slaying and rescuing himself he decided to find a champion to do it for him and sets up a tournament. Meanwhile Shrek has decided to go to Lord Farquaad and complain to force him to remove the fairy tale characters from his swamp. He is talked into being joined on his journey by a very talkative donkey. He arrived at Duloc with the tournament in full swing. His presence causes a panic and a fight ensues which he wins. The Lord declares Shrek the winner and promises to clear his swamp of people for the safe return of Princess Fiona from the dragon. If that doesn’t set up the movie for you nothing will.
This is labelled a kid’s movie but its one of those movies that is funny on so many different levels that it just works. I remember losing it when the snake was turned into a balloon. Once gone the rest of the movie was a giggle throughout. John Lithgow plays the voice of Lord Farquaad to perfection and there are layers of jokes in there. This was a full on fast paced hour and a half of quality animated movie. If you haven’t seen it you have missed out. Even if you have to borrow a child to do so its worth it! Go and enjoy it.
OK moving onto the 88th movie on the list and it’s a return to a franchise that’s already appeared on this list. It’s a kids movie but one that is loved by adults as well…
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