From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Sep 11 11:22:06 2001 Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.ida.liu.se!newsfeed.sunet.se!news01.sunet.se!newsfeed1.swip.net!swipnet!howland.erols.net!cyclone2.usenetserver.com!usenetserver.com!feed.textport.net!sn-xit-04!sn-post-01!supernews.com!news.supernews.com!not-for-mail From: Shannon Patrick Sullivan Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Shrek (2001) Approved: ramr@rottentomatoes.com Followup-To: rec.arts.movies.current-films Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2001 18:57:52 -0000 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Message-ID: X-RAMR-ID: 29377 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 247025 X-RT-TitleID: 1107906 X-RT-SourceID: 886 X-RT-AuthorID: 1699 X-RT-RatingText: 3.5/4 Summary: r.a.m.r. #29377 X-Questions-to: ramr@rottentomatoes.com X-Submissions-to: ramr@rottentomatoes.com X-Complaints-To: newsabuse@supernews.com Lines: 58 Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:27546 rec.arts.sf.reviews:2931 SHREK (2001) / *** 1/2 Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson. Screenplay by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman and Roger SH Schulman, with additional dialogue by Cody Cameron, Chris Miller and Conrad Vernon, based on the novel by William Steig. Starring Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz. Running time: 89 minutes. Rated PG by the MFCB. Reviewed on August 27th, 2001. By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN Synopsis: Shrek (Myers) is an ogre living in contented solitude deep in the heart of a forest, until his home is invaded by fairy tale creatures fleeing the rule of the evil Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow). Farquaad agrees to relocate the pests, on the condition that Shrek rescues Princess Fiona (Diaz) -- whom Farquaad desires to wed -- from a far-off castle. Grudgingly, Shrek sets out, joined in his quest by an unwanted companion, Donkey (Murphy). Review: One memorable aspect of Disney's "Aladdin" was that it finally gave Robin Williams a character -- the Genie -- to best take advantage of his comic talents. "Shrek" does the same for Eddie Murphy; ironically, though, Murphy's ideal vessel turns out to be an ass. All the same, "Shrek" does represent Murphy's best comic outing in years, and as Donkey he steals all the best lines. For instance, after getting belted with pixie dust while trying to conceal his nature as a magical creature, Donkey soars into the air and scoffs, "Now I'm a flying talking donkey!" And despite its many contributors, the script for "Shrek" is full of such comic gems. Myers is delightful in more of a straight man role, and Lithgow also gets some great moments (watch for a hilarious repartee with the Gingerbread Man). "Shrek" takes great pleasure in lampooning fairy tales and nursery rhymes of all sorts, and reserves a few delightful knocks at Disney in the bargain. Things do go somewhat astray during the film's middle segment, which concentrates too much on the main characters at the expense of some of the terrific fairy tale satire which is the movie's greatest strength. But even then, one can always sit back and enjoy the beautiful computer animation, whose remarkable use here represents yet another dazzling leap forward for the technology. Copyright © 2001 Shannon Patrick Sullivan. Archived at The Popcorn Gallery, http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies.html | Shannon Patrick Sullivan | shannon@mun.ca | +---------------------------------+---------------------------------+ / Doctor Who: A Brief History of Time (Travel) go.to/drwho-history \ \__ We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars __/ ========== X-RAMR-ID: 29377 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 247025 X-RT-TitleID: 1107906 X-RT-SourceID: 886 X-RT-AuthorID: 1699 X-RT-RatingText: 3.5/4 From rec.arts.sf.reviews Sun Feb 17 17:51:03 2002 From: Rose 'Bams' Cooper Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews,rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Shrek (2001) Approved: ramr@rottentomatoes.com Followup-To: rec.arts.movies.current-films Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 18:22:35 -0000 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Message-ID: X-RAMR-ID: 30776 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 278595 X-RT-TitleID: 1107906 X-RT-SourceID: 447 X-RT-AuthorID: 3672 Summary: r.a.m.r. #30776 X-Questions-to: ramr@rottentomatoes.com X-Submissions-to: ramr@rottentomatoes.com X-Complaints-To: newsabuse@supernews.com Lines: 150 Path: news.island.liu.se!news.Update.UU.SE!puffinus.its.uu.se!newsfeed.sunet.se!news01.sunet.se!erinews.ericsson.se!erix.ericsson.se!luth.se!isdnet!sn-xit-02!sn-post-01!supernews.com!news.supernews.com!not-for-mail Xref: news.island.liu.se rec.arts.movies.reviews:2722 rec.arts.sf.reviews:202 '3BlackChicks Review...' SHREK (2001) Rated PG; running time 89 minutes Studio: Dreamworks Genre: Animated Official site: http://www.shrek.com/ IMDB site: http://us.imdb.com/Details?0126029 Written by: Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Roger S.H. Schulman, Joe Stillman (based on the book by Wiliam Steig) Music by: Neil Diamond, Harry Gregson-Williams, Joan Jett, John Powell, James McKee Smith Directed by: Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jensen Cast: Voices of: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, John Lithgow DVD standard features : widescreen and "Pan And Scan"; theatrical trailers; scene access. Languages & Subtitles: English, French, Spanish DVD special features: Dolby Digital 5.1, 5.1 Surround, 2.0 Dolby Surround sound; behind-the-scenes featurettes; "Shrek's Revoice Studio"; interactive and DVD-ROM activities; storyboards; production, cast, and technical notes and commentary Review Copyright Rose Cooper, 2002 Review URL: http://www.3blackchicks.com/bamsshrek.html Back when Disney/Pixar released A BUG'S LIFE right around the same time rival mainstream animators Dreamworks came out with their similar buggy tale, ANTZ, I thought it was no contest: the Disney juggernaut and graphics whiz kids at Pixar, ruled the roost. Subsequent Disney/Pixar releases of TOY STORY, TOY STORY 2, and MONSTERS, INC. only served to underscore that team's powerhouse status. But now, with SHREK having triumphed artistically, excelled at the box office, and now getting "Oscar" buzz, Dreamworks may end up having the last laugh after all. THE STORY (WARNING: **spoilers contained below**) Once upon a time, a big, misunderstood ["I'm not bad...I'm just drawn that way!"] ogre named Shrek (Mike Myers) was chillin' by himself in his swamp, minding his own beeswax...when along came a bunch of fairy tale creatures, invading his personal space, disturbing his wa! "What's up with *that*?", bellowed the ogre, and off he went to see what was the matter. Along the way, he hooked up with a little ass, Donkey (Eddie Murphy). Long of mouth, short of silence, Donkey was the first to accept Shrek for his True Self; but still, Shrek thought Donkey was a pain in the...well, you know. Shrek and Donkey set out to find the source of the disturbance: Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow), a legend in his own mind. After a rousing bout of world wide rasslin', Lord Farquaad tasks Shrek to go rescue a damsel in distress: Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), a faire maiden with a secret of her own. Will Shrek find contentment in his swamp again? Will Farquaad grow a couple inches? Will Fiona kick a little ass of her own? Will Donkey Get Some from Dragon? Hey, turn the page... THE UPSHOT Good thing I didn't place any bets on whether SHREK would've succeeded as it has; I would've lost. And despite some rumblings from SHREK detractors, I say it is deserving of its success. Granted, I didn't come away from this cartoon with nearly the Warm Fuzzies that I got from each of the previous Pixar flicks that I've seen (and, except for "Monsters", own on DVD). Then again, SHREK isn't drawn to be that way; its jabs at Disney's way of telling classic fairy tales - not to mention its poke at Disneyland itself - are evidence of the snarky sarcasm and mature humor that have drawn adults as well as children to this beautifully-animated film. And talk about beautiful animation! The CGI in SHREK is nothing less than astounding; the attention to detail, amazing. Computer animators push the technical envelope further and further each year, and the people behind SHREK have taken advantage of the leaps on technology since ANTZ was released in 1998. The story itself - ogre meets girl; ogre fails to completely Appreciate girl; girl becomes Empowered and Finds Her True Self - is nothing new to the land of fairy tales; but the way the tale is told in SHREK is funky fresh. The riffs on classic Disney-fied characters like Pinocchio (not Geppetto's favorite boy after all, eh?), Snow White (complete with exploding Bluebird Of Happiness), and especially The Gingerbread Man ("eat me!") are just part of what makes this movie so noteworthy. I just wish there were more such riffs; and if rumors of a SHREK 2 being in the works are true, hopefully I'll get my wish. The voice talent here was surprisingly strong. I'm not a fan of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE alumni, but Mike Myers tore it up as Shrek, the misunderstood ogre. I don't know why Myers chose a brogue accent, but the dialect worked well for his character. Cameron Diaz as Fiona was fine; heck, I was just happy that she wasn't cloying here. John Lithgow made his shortstuff Lord Farquaar epic in his smallness. And Eddie Murphy, as Donkey, was not nearly as over-the-top as I had feared he would take his character. Murphy was somewhat subtle, where a Chris Tucker or a Martin Lawrence, in the same role, probably would've worked my last nerve. Proving, once again, that you don't have to be an ass, to be an Ass. DVD THINGIES The SHREK DVD, with its *eleven* hours of extras, is a Thingies lover's dream. All of the extras in this two-disc set are too numerous to mention in detail, so I'll just highlight a few here. Disc one features Windoze-only DVD-ROM extras such as the "Revoice Studio" and "DreamWorks Kids", both interactive modules aimed at the younger set; it also has "interviews" with the characters (not the actors), which put me in mind of Pixar's use of "outtakes". Disc two includes storyboard pitches of deleted scenes, real outtakes of technical goofs (including a warm and fuzzy donkey!), and my second favorite extra, "The Tech of Shrek", which details the production of the film. My favorite? "Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party". Trust me: it's a must-see. BAMMER'S BOTTOM LINE Owning the SHREK DVD has more than made up for the fact that I missed the movie during its first run. And all the extras are almost worth me trading in my Mac for a DVD-equipped PC. Uh...almost. SHREK (rating: greenlight): In 2001, I grooved on MONSTERS, INC., no doubt; but SHREK was most enjoyable in its snarkasm, and with it, Dreamworks finally provides Pixar Studios with some real competition - especially for its DVD Thingies. Rose "Bams" Cooper Webchick and Editor, 3BlackChicks Review Entertainment Reviews With Flava! Copyright Rose Cooper, 2002 EMAIL: bams@3blackchicks.com http://www.3blackchicks.com/ ========== X-RAMR-ID: 30776 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 278595 X-RT-TitleID: 1107906 X-RT-SourceID: 447 X-RT-AuthorID: 3672