Shrek is a 2001 American
computer-animatedComputer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....
fantasy comedy film directed by
Andrew AdamsonAndrew Ralph Adamson, MNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer and screenwriter based mainly in Los Angeles, where he made the blockbuster animation films, Shrek and Shrek 2 for which he received an Academy Award nomination. He was director, executive producer, and scriptwriter for C. S....
and
Vicky JensonVictoria "Vicky" Jenson is an animation director at DreamWorks Animation and Disney, most notable for having co-directed Shrek, the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature....
, featuring the voices of
Mike MyersMichael John "Mike" Myers is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film producer of British parentage...
,
Eddie MurphyEdward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
,
Cameron DiazCameron Michelle Diaz is an American actress and former model. She became famous during the 1990s with roles in the movies The Mask, My Best Friend's Wedding, and There's Something About Mary. Other high-profile credits include the two Charlie's Angels films, voicing the character Princess Fiona...
, and
John LithgowJohn Arthur Lithgow is an American actor, musician, and author. Presently, he is involved with a wide range of media projects, including stage, television, film, and radio...
. Loosely based on
William Steig'sWilliam Steig was a prolific American cartoonist, sculptor and, later in life, an author of popular children's literature...
1990
fairy taleA fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
picture book
Shrek!Shrek! is a picture book written and illustrated in 1990 by William Steig about a young ogre who finds the ogre of his dreams when he leaves home to see the world...
. Shrek stars
Mike MyersMichael John "Mike" Myers is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film producer of British parentage...
as a big, strong, solitude-loving, intimidating
ogreAn ogre is a large, cruel, monstrous, and hideous humanoid monster, featured in mythology, folklore, and fiction. Ogres are often depicted in fairy tales and folklore as feeding on human beings, and have appeared in many classic works of literature...
named
ShrekShrek is a fictional character from the children's book Shrek! and the Shrek films. He is the main protagonist of both the book and the films...
;
Cameron DiazCameron Michelle Diaz is an American actress and former model. She became famous during the 1990s with roles in the movies The Mask, My Best Friend's Wedding, and There's Something About Mary. Other high-profile credits include the two Charlie's Angels films, voicing the character Princess Fiona...
as the beautiful, feisty, but very down-to-earth
Princess FionaPrincess Fiona is the princess and the tritagonist in the films Shrek, Shrek 2, Shrek the Third and Shrek Forever After. Actress Cameron Diaz provides her voice to the character, and Fiona's singing is provided by Renee Sands of Kids Incorporated and Wild Orchid.-Shrek:In Shrek, Lord Farquaad sends...
;
Eddie MurphyEdward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
as the talkative
DonkeyDonkey is a fictional talking donkey from the Shrek series of films and he serves as the deuteragonist of the films, voiced by Eddie Murphy. The character has also featured in the original story Shrek!...
; and
John LithgowJohn Arthur Lithgow is an American actor, musician, and author. Presently, he is involved with a wide range of media projects, including stage, television, film, and radio...
as the villain
Lord FarquaadLord Farquaad is the primary antagonist from the 2001 animated feature film Shrek. He is voiced by John Lithgow.-Shrek:Lord Farquaad is the comically short-in-stature, ruthless ruler of the huge castle of Duloc. Several times in the film it is commented that, in Duloc's towering height, Farquaad...
.
Commercially successful on release in 2001, it helped establish
DreamWorksDreamWorks Pictures, also known as DreamWorks, LLC, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games and television programming...
as a prime competitor to
PixarPixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
in the field of feature film animation, particularly in computer animation. The film's success also prompted
DreamWorks AnimationDreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. is an American animation studio based in Glendale, California that creates animated feature films, television program and online virtual worlds...
to create three sequels:
Shrek 2Shrek 2 is a 2004 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film, produced by DreamWorks Animation and directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon. It is the second installment in the Shrek film series and the sequel to 2001's Shrek...
,
Shrek the ThirdShrek the Third is a 2007 American animated film, and the third film in the Shrek series. It was produced by Jeffrey Katzenberg for DreamWorks Animation, and is distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was released in U.S. theaters on May 18, 2007...
, and
Shrek Forever AfterShrek Forever After, taglined as The Final Chapter, is a 2010 animated fantasy-comedy film, and the fourth and final installment in the Shrek film series, produced by DreamWorks Animation. The film was released by Paramount Pictures in cinemas on May 20, 2010 in Russia, and on May 21 in the United...
. There was also a Christmas special called
Shrek the HallsShrek the Halls is a television special that premiered on the American television network ABC on Wednesday, November 28, 2007. The thirty minute Christmas special included the following: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and Antonio Banderas reprising their roles from the feature films. The...
and a Halloween special called
Scared ShreklessScared Shrekless is a 21-minute Halloween television special, set shortly after the events of Shrek Forever After, that premiered on the American television network NBC on Thursday, October 28, 2010....
. Furthermore, Shrek was made the
mascotThe term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
for the company's animation productions. It was critically acclaimed as an animated film worthy of adult interest, with many adult-oriented jokes and themes but a simple enough plot and humor to appeal to children. It made notable use of popular music; the soundtrack includes music by
Smash MouthSmash Mouth is an American rock band from San Jose, California. The band was formed in 1994, and was originally composed of Steve Harwell, Greg Camp, Paul De Lisle and Kevin Coleman as lead vocals, guitar, bass and drums respectively...
,
EelsEels is an American indie rock band formed by singer/songwriter Mark Oliver Everett, better known as E...
,
Joan JettJoan Jett is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and actress.She is best known for her work with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts including their hit cover "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", which was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 from March 20 to May 1, 1982, as well as for their other popular...
,
The ProclaimersThe Proclaimers are a Scottish band composed of identical twin brothers, Charlie and Craig Reid . They are probably best known for the songs "Letter from America", "I'm On My Way" and "I'm Gonna Be ". The band tours extensively throughout Europe and other continents...
,
Jason WadeJason Michael Wade is the lead vocalist, main songwriter, and guitarist of the American alternative rock band Lifehouse.-Biography:...
, The Baha Men, and
John CaleJohn Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
(covering
Leonard CohenLeonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
).
During June 2008, the
American Film InstituteThe American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
revealed its "
Ten top TenAFI's 10 Top 10 honors the ten greatest American films in ten classic film genres. Presented by the American Film Institute , the lists were unveiled on a television special broadcast by CBS on June 17, 2008....
"; the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community Shrek was acknowledged as the 8th best film in the animated genre, and the only non-Disney·
PixarPixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
film on the top ten. It is also third on Bravo's 100 funniest films. Shrek was also ranked second in a
Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
poll of the "100 Greatest Family Films", losing out on the top spot to
E.T. the Extra-TerrestrialE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Peter Coyote...
.. In 2005, Shrek came 6th in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Cartoons poll behind
The SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
,
Tom and JerryTom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
,
South ParkSouth Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
,
Toy StoryToy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated film released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is Pixar's first feature film as well as the first ever feature film to be made entirely with CGI. The film was directed by John Lasseter and featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen...
and
Family GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
.
Shrek won the first ever
Academy Award for Best Animated FeatureThe Academy Award for Best Animated Feature is one of the annual awards given by the Los Angeles-based professional organization, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. The film was also nominated for six BAFTAs, including the
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting RoleBest Actor in a Supporting Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding supporting performance in a film...
for
Eddie MurphyEdward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
for his voice-over performance as
DonkeyDonkey is a fictional talking donkey from the Shrek series of films and he serves as the deuteragonist of the films, voiced by Eddie Murphy. The character has also featured in the original story Shrek!...
, and won the
BAFTA Award for Best Adapted ScreenplayThe British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award for Best Adapted Screenplay has been presented to its winners since 1968:-1980s:1983: Heat and Dust – Ruth Prawer Jhabvala*Betrayal – Harold Pinter...
. The film's main (and title) character was awarded his own star on the
Hollywood Walk of FameThe Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
.
Plot
ShrekShrek is a fictional character from the children's book Shrek! and the Shrek films. He is the main protagonist of both the book and the films...
, a grouchy green ogre that has always enjoyed living in peaceful solitude in his swamp, finds his life disrupted when numerous fairytale beings, including
PinocchioThe Adventures of Pinocchio is a novel for children by Italian author Carlo Collodi, written in Florence. The first half was originally a serial between 1881 and 1883, and then later completed as a book for children in February 1883. It is about the mischievous adventures of Pinocchio , an...
, the
Three Little PigsThree Little Pigs is a fairy tale featuring anthropomorphic animals. Printed versions date back to the 1840s, but the story itself is thought to be much older...
, and
DonkeyDonkey is a fictional talking donkey from the Shrek series of films and he serves as the deuteragonist of the films, voiced by Eddie Murphy. The character has also featured in the original story Shrek!...
, are forced into the swamp by order of the obsessive, perfectionistic, fairy-tale despising
Lord FarquaadLord Farquaad is the primary antagonist from the 2001 animated feature film Shrek. He is voiced by John Lithgow.-Shrek:Lord Farquaad is the comically short-in-stature, ruthless ruler of the huge castle of Duloc. Several times in the film it is commented that, in Duloc's towering height, Farquaad...
.
Shrek leaves the swamp to ask Farquaad for the return of his privacy, with Donkey happily tagging along. Meanwhile, Farquaad tortures the Gingerbread Man into revealing the whereabouts of the remaining fairytale creatures until his guards rush in with an object Farquaad has been searching for: the Magic Mirror. The Mirror tells him that Farquaad can only become a real king by marrying a princess (completely disregarding his original question regarding if his kingdom was the fairest of them all). The Mirror gives him three princesses to choose from (in a parody of
The Dating GameThe Dating Game is an ABC television show that first aired on December 20, 1965 and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s through the 1980s...
):
Cinderella"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
,
Snow White"Snow White" is a fairy tale known from many countries in Europe, the best known version being the German one collected by the Brothers Grimm...
, and
Princess FionaPrincess Fiona is the princess and the tritagonist in the films Shrek, Shrek 2, Shrek the Third and Shrek Forever After. Actress Cameron Diaz provides her voice to the character, and Fiona's singing is provided by Renee Sands of Kids Incorporated and Wild Orchid.-Shrek:In Shrek, Lord Farquaad sends...
. Farquaad chooses Fiona and silences the Mirror before he can mention "the little thing that happens at night" (which is later revealed to be a curse).
Shrek and Donkey arrive at Farquaad's palace in Duloc, where they find themselves in the midst of a tournament. The winner will have the "privilege" of attempting to rescue Fiona from a castle surrounded by lava and protected by a fire-breathing dragon so that Farquaad may marry her. Shrek (with some help from Donkey) easily beats the other knights in a fashion that resembles a wrestling match and Farquaad agrees to remove the fairytale creatures from the swamp if Shrek rescues Fiona.
Shrek and Donkey travel to the castle and split up to find Fiona. Donkey encounters the dragon and sweet-talks the beast to save himself before discovering that the dragon is female. Dragon takes a liking to Donkey and carries him to her chambers. When Shrek finds Fiona, she is appalled at his lack of romanticism. As they are leaving, Shrek manages to save Donkey, caught in Dragon's tender clutches, and causing her to become irate, chasing Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey out of the castle. At first, Fiona is thrilled to be rescued but quickly becomes disappointed when Shrek takes his helmet off and she realises that he is an ogre. The three make their return journey to Farquaad's palace, with Shrek and Fiona finding they have more in common with each other along the way, and falling in love. However, at night, Fiona refuses to camp with them, taking shelter in a nearby cave until morning. Shrek and Donkey stay awake and watch the stars while Shrek informs Donkey that he plans to build a wall around his swamp when he returns. When Donkey persists as to why Shrek would do this, Shrek eventually tells him that everyone judges him before they know him; therefore, he is better off alone.
The next night, Fiona takes shelter in a nearby windmill. When Donkey hears strange noises coming from the windmill, he finds Fiona has turned into an ogress. Fiona explains she was cursed as a child and turns into an ogress every night, which is why she was locked away in the castle, and that only a kiss from her true love will return her to her "love's true form". Shrek, about to confess his feelings for Fiona, overhears part of their conversation, and is heartbroken as he misinterprets her disgust at her transformation into an "ugly beast" as being disgusted with him. Fiona makes Donkey promise not to tell Shrek about the spell, vowing to do it herself, but when the next morning comes, Shrek has brought Lord Farquaad to Fiona. The two return to the castle, while a hurt Shrek returns to the now-vacated swamp.
Shrek finds that, despite his privacy, he is miserable and misses Fiona. Donkey comes to the swamp, angry at Shrek, and Shrek reveals that he overheard their conversation. Donkey keeps his promise to Fiona and tells Shrek that she was talking about someone else. He then tells him that Fiona will be getting married shortly, urging Shrek into action to gain Fiona's true love. They are able to travel to Duloc quickly, thanks to Dragon, who had escaped her confines and followed Donkey. They interrupt the wedding before Farquaad can kiss Fiona, but not before the sun sets, which causes Fiona to turn into an ogress in front of everyone. While her transformation causes Shrek to fully understand what he overheard at the windmill, Farquaad, disgusted over the change, orders Shrek killed and Fiona imprisoned, but Shrek whistles for Dragon, who bursts in and devours Farquaad. Shrek and Fiona admit their love for each other and share a kiss; Fiona is bathed in light as her curse is broken, but is surprised to find that she has remained an ogress. Shrek calms her by assuring her that she is still beautiful. The two of them get married in the swamp and depart on their honeymoon while the rest celebrate by singing "
I'm a Believer"I'm a Believer" is a song composed by Neil Diamond and recorded by The Monkees in 1966 with the lead vocals by Micky Dolenz. The single, produced by Jeff Barry, hit the number one spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week ending December 31, 1966 and remained there for seven weeks,...
".
Cast
- Mike Myers
Michael John "Mike" Myers is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film producer of British parentage...
as ShrekShrek is a fictional character from the children's book Shrek! and the Shrek films. He is the main protagonist of both the book and the films...
- Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
as DonkeyDonkey is a fictional talking donkey from the Shrek series of films and he serves as the deuteragonist of the films, voiced by Eddie Murphy. The character has also featured in the original story Shrek!...
- Cameron Diaz
Cameron Michelle Diaz is an American actress and former model. She became famous during the 1990s with roles in the movies The Mask, My Best Friend's Wedding, and There's Something About Mary. Other high-profile credits include the two Charlie's Angels films, voicing the character Princess Fiona...
as Princess FionaPrincess Fiona is the princess and the tritagonist in the films Shrek, Shrek 2, Shrek the Third and Shrek Forever After. Actress Cameron Diaz provides her voice to the character, and Fiona's singing is provided by Renee Sands of Kids Incorporated and Wild Orchid.-Shrek:In Shrek, Lord Farquaad sends...
- John Lithgow
John Arthur Lithgow is an American actor, musician, and author. Presently, he is involved with a wide range of media projects, including stage, television, film, and radio...
as Lord FarquaadLord Farquaad is the primary antagonist from the 2001 animated feature film Shrek. He is voiced by John Lithgow.-Shrek:Lord Farquaad is the comically short-in-stature, ruthless ruler of the huge castle of Duloc. Several times in the film it is commented that, in Duloc's towering height, Farquaad...
- Conrad Vernon
Conrad Vernon IV is an American director, writer, and voice actor, best known for his work on the DreamWorks animated films Shrek 2 and Monsters vs...
as Gingerbread Man
- Chris Miller
Chris Miller is an American animator, director, screenwriter, storyboard artist, and voice actor. He studied animation at the California Institute of Arts, and joined Dreamworks SKG in 1998 as a storyboard artist for the studio's first animated comedy, Antz...
as Geppetto/ Magic Mirror
- Cody Cameron
Cody Cameron is an American voice actor, writer, animator, director, artist, and screenwriter, best known for voicing Pinocchio, the Three Little Pigs, and an Ogre Baby in the Shrek series.-Career:...
as Pinocchio / The Three Little Pigs
- Christopher Knights
Christopher Knights is an English voice actor, editor and camera operator best known for providing the voice of Private the Penguin in Madagascar , also, he worked on several DreamWorks films Shrek, Shrek 2, Shrek the Third and Shrek 4-D...
and Simon J. SmithSimon J. Smith is a British voice actor, director, animator, camera operator and layout artist for DreamWorks Animation and PDI. Smith came to PDI/Dream Works in 1997 as Head of Layout for the company’s feature film division...
as Three Blind Mice and Thelonius
- Aron Warner
Aron J. Warner is an actor and producer. He won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature as a producer of the animated blockbuster Shrek, in which he also voices Big Bad Wolf.- Life and career :...
as Big Bad Wolf
- Jim Cummings
James Jonah "Jim" Cummings is an American voice actor who has appeared in almost 100 roles. He has appeared in classic animated movies such as Aladdin and The Lion King, as well as taking on roles in more current films, such as Bee Movie, Princess and the Frog, and Winnie the Pooh.-Personal...
as Captain of the Guards
- Vincent Cassel
Vincent Cassel is a Cesar award winning French actor probably best known to English-speaking audiences through his performances in the Ocean's Trilogy of films and Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan.-Personal life:...
as Monsieur Hood (a FrenchThe French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
rendition of Robin HoodRobin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
)
- Kathleen Freeman
Kathleen Freeman was an American film, television, and stage actress. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, she portrayed tart maids, secretaries, teachers, busybodies, nurses, and battle-axe neighbors, almost invariably to comic effect.-Early life:Freeman was born in Chicago, Illinois...
as Old Woman (DonkeyDonkey is a fictional talking donkey from the Shrek series of films and he serves as the deuteragonist of the films, voiced by Eddie Murphy. The character has also featured in the original story Shrek!...
's ex-owner)
- Andrew Adamson
Andrew Ralph Adamson, MNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer and screenwriter based mainly in Los Angeles, where he made the blockbuster animation films, Shrek and Shrek 2 for which he received an Academy Award nomination. He was director, executive producer, and scriptwriter for C. S....
as Duloc Mascot (a man dressed in a suit that looks like Lord Farquaad)
- Bobby Block and Elisa Gabrielli
Elisa Gabrielli is an American actress, voice artist, and comedienne, who voiced the character of Sarena Sanchez in W.I.T.C.H., as well as "Pepper" Potts in the animated movie The Invincible Iron Man, among other roles. Gabrielli also played the part of Miss Linley in The Brady Bunch Movie...
as Three Bears
- Frank Welker
Franklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
as Dragon (uncredited)
- Michael Galasso as Peter Pan
Cinderella, Snow White, Pied Piper, and several other characters are not speaking roles and are thus uncredited
Production
Robin WilliamsRobin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
, who had worked for Jeffrey Katzenberg before on Aladdin and had a bitter falling out with him and
The Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
over marketing agreements, has hinted in an interview that he refused a role in Shrek, because it would mean working for Katzenberg again. He would not state which role he had refused.
Chris FarleyChristopher Crosby "Chris" Farley was an American comedian and actor. Farley was a member of Chicago's Second City Theatre and cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live from 1990 to 1995....
was originally going to do his voice for Shrek and recorded 80-90% of the dialogue for the character, but died before the project was completed. DreamWorks then re-cast the voice role to
Mike MyersMichael John "Mike" Myers is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film producer of British parentage...
, who insisted on a complete script rewrite, to leave no traces of Farley's version of Shrek. After Myers had completed providing the voice for the character, and the film was well into production, he asked to re-record all of his lines in a Scottish accent similar to the one his mother had used when she told him bedtime stories. Myers had also employed a Scottish accent for a
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
skit, a sketch in
Wayne's World 2Wayne's World 2 is a 1993 comedy film starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey as hosts of a Public-access television cable TV show from Aurora, Illinois. The film was adapted from a sketch on NBC's Saturday Night Live and is the sequel to Wayne's World....
and also for the characters Stuart MacKenzie in the motion picture
So I Married an Axe MurdererSo I Married an Axe Murderer is a 1993 American comedy-horror film starring Mike Myers and Nancy Travis. Myers plays Charlie McKenzie, a man afraid of commitment until he meets Harriet , who works at a butcher shop and may be a serial killer...
, and
Fat BastardFat Bastard is a fictional character in the second and third of the Austin Powers films. A morbidly obese henchman hailing from North Britain, Fat Bastard serves Dr. Evil in his quest to defeat Austin Powers. The character is portrayed by Mike Myers....
in
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged MeAustin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, released in 1999, is the second film in the Austin Powers series that began with 1997's Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and continued with Austin Powers in Goldmember. The film was directed by Jay Roach, co-written by Mike Myers and screenwriter...
and
Austin Powers in GoldmemberAustin Powers in Goldmember is a 2002 American spy comedy film and the third installment of the Austin Powers series starring Mike Myers in the title role. The movie was directed by Jay Roach, and co-written by Mike Myers and Michael McCullers. Myers also plays the roles of Dr. Evil, Goldmember,...
.
Don BluthDonald Virgil "Don" Bluth is an American animator and independent studio owner. He is best known for his departure from The Walt Disney Company in 1979 and his subsequent directing of animated films such as The Secret of NIMH , An American Tail ,The Land Before Time , and All Dogs Go to Heaven ,...
revealed in an interview that halfway through production of
An American Tail: Fievel Goes WestAn American Tail: Fievel Goes West is a 1991 American animated film produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblimation animation studio and released by Universal Pictures. It is the sequel to An American Tail, and the fourth installment in terms of the series' fictional chronology...
, Steven Spielberg approached Bluth with the concept of making Shrek as a traditionally animated film. Bluth agreed, and throughout the rest of the production of Fievel Goes West, he thought about what he was going to do to expand a small story into a feature length script. Spielberg only had two demands:
Bill MurrayWilliam James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack , Ghostbusters , and...
would play Shrek and
Steve MartinStephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
would play Donkey; both actors were available at the time. However, when Fievel Goes West was released in cinemas, Spielberg spoke highly of it, but spoke even more highly of rival Disney's
Beauty and the BeastBeauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...
. Bluth felt betrayed by this, leading to a bitter falling out between the two and Shrek being put in
development hellIn the jargon of the media-industry, "development hell" is a period during which a film or other project is trapped in development...
.
Shrek was originally set up to be animated as stop-motion. The tests were too costly and the executives were not pleased with the overall look and lack of facial expression in the main character. A test was then shot on live-action background plate miniature sets and the main characters were composited into the scene as a motion-captured computer graphics. Again, the results were not satisfactory. Katzenberg said, "It looked terrible, it didn't work, it wasn't funny, and we didn't like it." The studio then turned to its production partners at
PDIPacific Data Images is a computer animation production company that was bought by DreamWorks SKG. The company is now known as PDI/DreamWorks and is half of DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc., the public company formed by merging PDI and the feature animation division of DreamWorks.-History:PDI was...
, who helped Shrek to get its final, computer-animated look.
Early sketches of Shrek saw Shrek first living in a garbage dump near a human village called Wart Creek. It was also thought one time that he lived with his parents and kept rotting fish in his bedroom. These sketches were done in 1996/1997.
Donkey was modeled after Pericles, a real miniature donkey from Barron Park,
Palo Alto, CaliforniaPalo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
.
Critical response
Shrek received very positive reviews. Review aggregate
Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports that 89% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 176 reviews, with an average score of 7.7/10. The critical consensus is: While simultaneously embracing and subverting fairy tales, the irreverent Shrek also manages to tweak Disney's nose, provide a moral message to children, and offer viewers a funny, fast-paced ride.
Roger EbertRoger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
praised the film, giving it four stars out of a possible four and describing it as "jolly and wicked, filled with sly in-jokes and yet somehow possessing a heart."
Box office
The film earned $11,573,015 on its first day and $42,347,760 on its opening weekend, topping the box office for the weekend and averaging $11,805 from 3,587 theaters. In its second weekend, due to the Memorial Day Weekend holiday, the film gained 0.3% to $42,481,425 and $55,215,620 over the four-day weekend, resulting in an overall 30% gain. Despite this, the film finished in second place behind
Pearl HarborPearl Harbor is a 2001 American action drama war film directed by Michael Bay and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Randall Wallace, who wrote the screenplay...
and had an average of $15,240 from expanding to 3,623 sites. In its third weekend, the film retreated 34% to $28,172,869 for a $7,695 average from expanding to 3,661 theaters. The film closed on December 6, 2001 after grossing $267,665,011 domestically along with $216,744,207 overseas for a worldwide total of $484,409,218. Produced on a $60 million budget, the film was a huge box office smash and is the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2001 behind
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's StoneHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, released in the United States and India as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, is a 2001 fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. The film is the first instalment in the Harry Potter film series,...
, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and Monsters Inc.
Awards
At the Oscars, Shrek won the first ever
Academy Award For Best Animated FeatureThe Academy Award for Best Animated Feature is one of the annual awards given by the Los Angeles-based professional organization, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
, beating
Monsters, Inc.Monsters, Inc. is a 2001 American computer-animated film and the fourth feature-length film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It was directed by Pete Docter, co-directed by Lee Unkrich and David Silverman, and written by Jill Culton, Peter Docter, Ralph Eggleston, Dan Gerson, Jeff Pidgeon, Rhett...
and Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.
Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "Prince Charming? So last millennium. This decade, fairy-tale fans--and Princess Fiona--fell for a fat and flatulent Ogre. Now, that's progress."
Shrek was also nominated for 6 BAFTA Award, including the
BAFTA Award for Best FilmThis page lists the winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best Film, BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language and Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film for each year, in addition to the retired earlier versions of those awards...
. Eddie Murphy became the first actor to ever receive a BAFTA nomination for a voice-over performance. The film was also nominated for Best Visual Effects, Best Sound, Best Film Music, and won the
BAFTA Award for Best Adapted ScreenplayThe British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award for Best Adapted Screenplay has been presented to its winners since 1968:-1980s:1983: Heat and Dust – Ruth Prawer Jhabvala*Betrayal – Harold Pinter...
.
American Film InstituteThe American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
recognition:
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains:
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs:
- I'm a Believer - Nominated
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) - Nominated
- AFI's 10 Top 10
AFI's 10 Top 10 honors the ten greatest American films in ten classic film genres. Presented by the American Film Institute , the lists were unveiled on a television special broadcast by CBS on June 17, 2008....
- #8 Animated film
Influence
Previous films and TV shows, such as Fractured Fairy Tales and
The Princess BrideThe Princess Bride is a 1987 American film based on the 1973 novel of the same name by William Goldman, combining comedy, adventure, romance, and fantasy. The film was directed by Rob Reiner from a screenplay by Goldman...
, have parodied the traditional fairy tale. However, Shrek itself has noticeably influenced the current generation of mainstream animated films. Particularly after Shrek 2, animated films began to incorporate more pop culture references and end-film musical numbers. Such elements can be seen in films like
Ice Age: The MeltdownIce Age: The Meltdown, also known as Ice Age 2: The Meltdown or simply as Ice Age 2, is the 2006 sequel to the 2002 computer-animated film Ice Age. It was produced by Blue Sky Studios for 20th Century Fox, and premiered in Belgium on March 1, 2006...
,
RobotsRobots is a 2005 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Blue Sky Studios for 20th Century Fox, and was released theatrically on March 11, 2005. The story was created by Chris Wedge and William Joyce, a children's book author/illustrator. The two were trying to create a film version of...
, and
Chicken LittleChicken Little is a 2005 computer-animated science fiction family comedy film loosely based on the fable The Sky Is Falling. It was the 46th animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation...
. It also inspired a number of computer animated films which also spoofed fairy tales, or other related story genres, often including adult-oriented humor, most of which were not nearly as successful as Shrek, such as
Happily N'Ever AfterHappily N'Ever After is a 2007 American computer-animated film based on the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen. It is a Vanguard Animation production, released by Lions Gate Films on January 5, 2007...
, Doogal,
IgorIgor is a 2008 computer animated family comedy film about the stock character Igor. The plot revolves around the grotesque title figure Igor and his dreams of winning first place at the Evil Science Fair. The movie was released on September 19, 2008...
, and Hoodwinked!.
Home media
The film was released on
VHSThe Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and
DVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on November 2, 2001. A 3D-converted version of the film was released on Blu-ray 3D on December 1, 2010, along with its
firstShrek 2 is a 2004 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film, produced by DreamWorks Animation and directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon. It is the second installment in the Shrek film series and the sequel to 2001's Shrek...
,
secondShrek the Third is a 2007 American animated film, and the third film in the Shrek series. It was produced by Jeffrey Katzenberg for DreamWorks Animation, and is distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was released in U.S. theaters on May 18, 2007...
, and
thirdShrek Forever After, taglined as The Final Chapter, is a 2010 animated fantasy-comedy film, and the fourth and final installment in the Shrek film series, produced by DreamWorks Animation. The film was released by Paramount Pictures in cinemas on May 20, 2010 in Russia, and on May 21 in the United...
sequels.
Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party! is a 2001 3-minute musical short film, included on Shrek VHS and the Shrek 2-Disc Special Edition DVD. It takes up right after the Shreks ending, with film's characters performing a medley of modern pop songs.
Video games
Several video game adaptations of the film have been published on various game console platforms.
- Shrek
Shrek is a video game based on the first installment in the popular movie series. It was released exclusively as an Xbox launch title on Wednesday, November 14, 2001.This is the first Shrek video game to be rated T for Teen by the ESRB...
(2001)
- Shrek: Hassle at the Castle
Shrek: Hassle at the Castle is a 2D fighting game video game for Game Boy Advance. It is based on the movie Shrek and features characters from it. Players progress through the game playing Shrek, Princess Fiona, and Shrek's companion, Donkey. They travel through various chapters of the game that...
(2002)
- Shrek: Extra Large
Shrek Extra Large is an action-adventure video game released in 2002 by Digital Illusions CE. The game is based on the Shrek movie series, developed exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube.The player controls Shrek on a quest to rescue princess Fiona...
(2002)
- Shrek: Super Party
Shrek: Super Party is a party video game released in 2003 by Mass Media. The game is based on the Shrek movie series. This is also similar to the Mario Party series of games.-Overview:...
(2002)
Comic books
In 2003,
Dark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
released a Shrek three-issue mini-series
comic bookA comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
adaptation, which was collected into a
trade paperbackIn comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
.
Musical
A
musicalMusical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
version, based on the film, with music by
Jeanine TesoriJeanine Tesori is an American musical arranger and composer who won the 1999 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music in a Play for Nicholas Hytner's production of Twelfth Night at Lincoln Center and the 2004 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music for Caroline, or Change.Tesori made her Broadway...
and a book and lyrics by
David Lindsay-AbaireDavid Lindsay-Abaire is an American playwright and lyricist. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2007 for his play Rabbit Hole, which also earned several Tony Award nominations.-Early life and education:...
, opened on
BroadwayBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
on December 14, 2008, and closed January 3, 2010, running for a total of 441 performances. It starred
Brian d'Arcy JamesBrian d'Arcy James is an American actor and musician.-Personal life:James was born in Saginaw, Michigan, the son of Mary , a seller of children's books, and a lawyer father, Thomas F. James. Brian's maternal grandfather was Harry F. Kelly, former Governor of the state of Michigan...
in the title role,
Sutton FosterSutton Lenore Foster is an American actress, singer and dancer. Foster has received two Tony Awards, in 2002 for her role of Millie Dillmount in Thoroughly Modern Millie and in 2011 for her role of Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes...
as Princess Fiona,
Christopher SieberChristopher Sieber is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Kevin Burke in Two of a Kind starring Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen and Lord Farquaad in Shrek the Musical. Christopher studied acting and musical comedy at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City...
as Lord Farquaad,
Daniel Breaker-Life and career:Born in Manhattan, Kansas, the son of a career military officer, Breaker grew up partly in Germany and attended Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, a performing arts school in Florida. He then earned a BFA degree from the Juilliard School in 2002...
as Donkey, and
John TartagliaJohn Nicholas Tartaglia is an American singer, actor, dancer, puppeteer.Tartaglia was born in Maple Shade, New Jersey, U.S.. He joined Sesame Street's puppetry team at the age of 16 part-time, performing as a right hand and many minor characters, including Phoebe and being the backup for Kevin...
as Pinocchio. The musical received many
Tony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nominations and won the 2009
Tony Award for Best Costume DesignThese are the winners and nominees for the Tony Award for Best Costume Design. The award was first presented in 1947 and included both plays and musicals...
. A North American Tour opened July 25, 2010, in
ChicagoChicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had...
. A
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
production opened in the
West EndWest End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
on June 7, 2011.
See also
- Shrek (series)
The Shrek film series from DreamWorks Animation, based on William Steig's picture book, Shrek!, consists of four computer-animated films including: Shrek , Shrek 2 , Shrek the Third , and Shrek Forever After . A short 3D film, Shrek 4-D, which originally was a theme park ride, was released in 2003...
- List of animated feature-length films
- List of computer-animated films
- List of fairy tale characters in Shrek
- Shark Tale
Shark Tale is a 2004 American computer-animated comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation. In the story, a young fish named Oscar falsely claims to have killed the son of a shark mob boss to win favour with the mob boss' enemies and advance his own community standing...
External links