Shrek (2001)
It’s very rare that when a movie comes out it instantly becomes a classic, but Shrek managed to do it. My theory is because it based so much of its humor on popular culture of its time, that the jokes and songs were considered “old school” almost as soon as the audience heard them. Kids who were born after 2001 and rent it now won’t have the same reaction as all of us who went to the theaters to see it. To us, it’s instant nostalgia.
Managing to step on eggshells all around Disney’s classic fairy tales, this movie is a tribute to all those who aren’t the fairest in the land. The hero in the story is a large, smelly, grumpy ogre. The princess may look perfect on the outside but she has a secret on the inside that makes her different from anyone else. And while there are the three little pigs, big bad wolf, Cinderella, Snow White, Pinocchio, Robin Hood, three blind mice, and the gingerbread man, everything you normally think about fairy tales will get turned on its ear. Every time there’s an opportunity to make fun of a happy ending, Shrek takes it. Because beyond the humor, this movie tries to teach children that if you don’t look perfect, if no one likes you, or if you are an outsider in a world of princes and princesses, you still have a chance at your own unique happy ending. If you’re a youngster who thinks the jokes in this movie are so old they might as well be “Dad jokes”, and if you only think of Cameron Diaz as “that retired actress Mom used to like when she was in high school”, you can still get something out of these off-beat cartoons. At the very least, you can make your parents happy when it’s family movie night.
More Eddie Murphy movies here!
Be sure and check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of 2004's Shrek 2 here!
Be sure and check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of 2007's Shrek the Third here!
Be sure and check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of 2010's Shrek Forever After here!
Managing to step on eggshells all around Disney’s classic fairy tales, this movie is a tribute to all those who aren’t the fairest in the land. The hero in the story is a large, smelly, grumpy ogre. The princess may look perfect on the outside but she has a secret on the inside that makes her different from anyone else. And while there are the three little pigs, big bad wolf, Cinderella, Snow White, Pinocchio, Robin Hood, three blind mice, and the gingerbread man, everything you normally think about fairy tales will get turned on its ear. Every time there’s an opportunity to make fun of a happy ending, Shrek takes it. Because beyond the humor, this movie tries to teach children that if you don’t look perfect, if no one likes you, or if you are an outsider in a world of princes and princesses, you still have a chance at your own unique happy ending. If you’re a youngster who thinks the jokes in this movie are so old they might as well be “Dad jokes”, and if you only think of Cameron Diaz as “that retired actress Mom used to like when she was in high school”, you can still get something out of these off-beat cartoons. At the very least, you can make your parents happy when it’s family movie night.
More Eddie Murphy movies here!
Be sure and check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of 2004's Shrek 2 here!
Be sure and check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of 2007's Shrek the Third here!
Be sure and check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of 2010's Shrek Forever After here!