Shrek
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Saw this today -- very funny! Borderline PG-13, but hey, most of it went over the kid's heads, and my brother and I laughed the whole time. I loved the constant pokes at Disney -- there must have been a dozen of them in there, and not all of them subtle!
"And in the morning...I'm making waffles!"
"And in the morning...I'm making waffles!"
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So where was WannaBe? You left him behind? that is cruel. Im sure hes waiting for you now with a can of soup. 
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God save Freddie Mercury!
God save Freddie Mercury!
If you have not yet seen "Shrek" I suggest you pile the kids into the car and head to the theater as soon as you read this. It is the best family movie to come out of Hollywood in a long time, and yes, I am taking Toy Story 2 and Chicken Run into consideration. "Shrek" is one of those rare movies that will appeal to children with its low brow humor, but also to the parental units with jokes that will run right over the kiddies heads. I honestly don't think I have laughed this hard at any other movie this year. It's actually pretty embarrassing to be at a movie and have the little ones start giggling and pointing at my buddy and me because we are laughing so loudly at a children's movie.
While the humor is an important part of the movie, the fact that "Shrek" doesn't take itself too seriously is what makes the film so special. This movie is a brilliant parody, a fairy tale spoofing other fairy tales. The usual hero in a story such as this is the Prince, but here the role of the Prince is played by the evil and vertically challenged Lord Farquaad. The object of Farquaad's desires is not the timid, weak-willed Princess that we have come to expect, but rather a butt kicking beauty named Fiona. Obviously Lord Farquaad cannot be Fiona's knight in shining armor. This role is filled by an ugly (to most people), oftentimes rude, but genuinely nice ogre who just wants to be left alone. Heck, even the hero's trusty steed turns out to not be a horse, but rather a talkative donkey that gets on our hero's nerves
Before I end this review I feel I must give the animators their props. It's obvious that they all worked overtime on this project to ensure that Shrek starts where Toy Story 2 left off. The characters seem to have a depth that has never been achieved in an animated film, not to mention the enchantingly beautiful background.
If you are in the mood for a fun movie for the entire family, Shrek is definitely worth picking up when it comes out on video.
Overall I give it an 8/10
While the humor is an important part of the movie, the fact that "Shrek" doesn't take itself too seriously is what makes the film so special. This movie is a brilliant parody, a fairy tale spoofing other fairy tales. The usual hero in a story such as this is the Prince, but here the role of the Prince is played by the evil and vertically challenged Lord Farquaad. The object of Farquaad's desires is not the timid, weak-willed Princess that we have come to expect, but rather a butt kicking beauty named Fiona. Obviously Lord Farquaad cannot be Fiona's knight in shining armor. This role is filled by an ugly (to most people), oftentimes rude, but genuinely nice ogre who just wants to be left alone. Heck, even the hero's trusty steed turns out to not be a horse, but rather a talkative donkey that gets on our hero's nerves
Before I end this review I feel I must give the animators their props. It's obvious that they all worked overtime on this project to ensure that Shrek starts where Toy Story 2 left off. The characters seem to have a depth that has never been achieved in an animated film, not to mention the enchantingly beautiful background.
If you are in the mood for a fun movie for the entire family, Shrek is definitely worth picking up when it comes out on video.
Overall I give it an 8/10
I like this movie now as much as I did when I saw it over 2 weeks ago. It's cruising along, having made just under $200 million so far. It's still pulling in around a million each weekday.
I think the release of Disney's "Atlantis" will deal Shrek a small blow. Overall I think it will round out at $215-220 million, which is obviously quite good. Video and DVD sales will go through the roof for this one.
Disney is, frankly, in big, big trouble. All of their films are expensive: Atlantis, which is far from first-rate animation, cost (I think) $90 million. Tarzan cost $100 million. If it weren't for those amazing video sales, these movies would make only minor profits, counting of course the US Box Office alone.
Shrek, if my memory serves me correctly, cost around $60-70 million: and that's for top-notch computer animation, and 4 famous voices! Dreamworks is looking good.
What I don't understand, though, is Pixar. Are they working WITH Disney? I guess I'd thought they were rivals as well. Seems as if Disney is outsourcing to them, or something of the sort. If this is the case, Pixar is Disney's only hope at this point. Pixar is handling Monsters, Inc., and of course brought Disney Toy Story, and Toy Story 2.
Dreamworks is looking good either way.
I think the release of Disney's "Atlantis" will deal Shrek a small blow. Overall I think it will round out at $215-220 million, which is obviously quite good. Video and DVD sales will go through the roof for this one.
Disney is, frankly, in big, big trouble. All of their films are expensive: Atlantis, which is far from first-rate animation, cost (I think) $90 million. Tarzan cost $100 million. If it weren't for those amazing video sales, these movies would make only minor profits, counting of course the US Box Office alone.
Shrek, if my memory serves me correctly, cost around $60-70 million: and that's for top-notch computer animation, and 4 famous voices! Dreamworks is looking good.
What I don't understand, though, is Pixar. Are they working WITH Disney? I guess I'd thought they were rivals as well. Seems as if Disney is outsourcing to them, or something of the sort. If this is the case, Pixar is Disney's only hope at this point. Pixar is handling Monsters, Inc., and of course brought Disney Toy Story, and Toy Story 2.
Dreamworks is looking good either way.
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i saw it on Sunday,
i loved it! i still cant figure out why he had a scottish accent but it was still great, the film was made by the hilarious Eddie Murphy, without him it would have been too much like disney.
my fave scene was the gingerbread man torture scene
i loved it! i still cant figure out why he had a scottish accent but it was still great, the film was made by the hilarious Eddie Murphy, without him it would have been too much like disney.
my fave scene was the gingerbread man torture scene
Overhyped. Overblown. Overcooked.
SPOILERS****
The Summer Film Season has been so goddawful, that it is fair to say that Shrek is a success. But compare it to the Lion King, Toy Story, Beauty and the Beast and Pinocchio and it is a rotten failure.
Sure the potshots at Disney are fun to spot. Eddie Murphy is hilarious when the audience could understand what he was saying. And I couldn't get enough of John Lithgow. However, a film called Shrek should have an interesting Shrek and that ugly green ogre was a disappointment. Mike Myers soft voice helps but the monster goes through so many shifts in character that it's impossible to understand him. He starts as an ogre with only one wish - to be left alone. He is so boundfully cheery in these opening scenes that I didn't buy the fact that he really wanted to have some company.
The most awful thing about Shrek is the Princess. Cameron Diaz's voice isn't suited to animation. It's shrill and recognisable. The audience always pictured the Princess as Diaz and not the Princess. And that twist near the end was far too easy. It extinguished any tension about the couple. If they're both ogres, who else are they going to end up with?
The film is funny, but much too often sketchy. If more time was spent on characters and plot and less on jokes and Disney parodying then Shrek had potential to be an animated classic. As it stands, it was a worthy effort.
SPOILERS****
The Summer Film Season has been so goddawful, that it is fair to say that Shrek is a success. But compare it to the Lion King, Toy Story, Beauty and the Beast and Pinocchio and it is a rotten failure.
Sure the potshots at Disney are fun to spot. Eddie Murphy is hilarious when the audience could understand what he was saying. And I couldn't get enough of John Lithgow. However, a film called Shrek should have an interesting Shrek and that ugly green ogre was a disappointment. Mike Myers soft voice helps but the monster goes through so many shifts in character that it's impossible to understand him. He starts as an ogre with only one wish - to be left alone. He is so boundfully cheery in these opening scenes that I didn't buy the fact that he really wanted to have some company.
The most awful thing about Shrek is the Princess. Cameron Diaz's voice isn't suited to animation. It's shrill and recognisable. The audience always pictured the Princess as Diaz and not the Princess. And that twist near the end was far too easy. It extinguished any tension about the couple. If they're both ogres, who else are they going to end up with?
The film is funny, but much too often sketchy. If more time was spent on characters and plot and less on jokes and Disney parodying then Shrek had potential to be an animated classic. As it stands, it was a worthy effort.
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I couldn't believe that she knew my name. Some of my best friends didn't know my name.
I couldn't believe that she knew my name. Some of my best friends didn't know my name.
Well like it or not, val, Shrek 2 is already in the works. Most movies don't go off the opinion of one person to make them a success, it's already pulled in, what over 200 million dollars, not to mention what sales of it on video and dvd will do.
Do you think he was happy cause he was alone? Yes, there was a couple of spots where it seemed kinda funny that he's depressed about something but it can't be that cause that's what he wants. Anyways, just deal with it. Every movie can't be perfect and not have any potholes or cracks in the plot.
Do you think he was happy cause he was alone? Yes, there was a couple of spots where it seemed kinda funny that he's depressed about something but it can't be that cause that's what he wants. Anyways, just deal with it. Every movie can't be perfect and not have any potholes or cracks in the plot.
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"I was walking down the street with my friend and he said, "I hear music", as if there is any other way you can take it in. You're not special, that's how I receive it too. I tried to taste it but it did not work." - Mitch Hedberg
"I was walking down the street with my friend and he said, "I hear music", as if there is any other way you can take it in. You're not special, that's how I receive it too. I tried to taste it but it did not work." - Mitch Hedberg
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Actually it's made roughly $247 million to date. It's the highest grossing picture in DreamWorks' history, and the second highest grossing animated movie of all time. It's also the highest grossing film of 2001 so far, and is only $13 million behind last year's #1, The Grinch.
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DreamWorks has really been makin some decent films lately, i mean they do have their flops(Road to ElDorado), but other than that, they've really taken off with the movie business. I mean Gladiator, Chicken Run, Shrek, Road Trip, LOL, what else?
Then you have Universal, which is basically what their movies are these days, the story can be used and reused doesnt matter. I mean sequels to just about every hit just cause they made a lot of money off of the first one they want another go at it.
Paramount is makin some good ones, as is 20 Century, WB, MGM. They're all coming around, and hittin the right buttons at the box office lately.
Then you have Universal, which is basically what their movies are these days, the story can be used and reused doesnt matter. I mean sequels to just about every hit just cause they made a lot of money off of the first one they want another go at it.
Paramount is makin some good ones, as is 20 Century, WB, MGM. They're all coming around, and hittin the right buttons at the box office lately.
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I'm not arguing against Shrek's commercial success, how can I? The film is a box office smash. But so was Mission Impossible 2.
What I am saying is that the American critics have gone overboard with praise for a film that is good, but not great. Perhaps, they were getting tired of writing derogatory comments.
Shrek is a slight comic fable. Nothing more. To hear people describe it as best picture of the year is rubbish. Antz is a better film but didn't get half the attention.
I am hoping that Monsters Inc. comes out soon. I expect that Pixar Production, if anything like the Toy Story series, and not at all like the woeful A Bug's Life, to be a much better film than Shrek.
And to go against your Dreamworks comments. I can praise them for their enormous output but they were supposed to be some kind of revolutionary new company that would take Hollywood back to its classic storytelling roots. There have been a few wonderful films to come out of the studio but Dreamworks has hardly been a revolutionary new company.
And I still can't forgive them for the shoddy marketing job they did on Almost Famous.
What I am saying is that the American critics have gone overboard with praise for a film that is good, but not great. Perhaps, they were getting tired of writing derogatory comments.
Shrek is a slight comic fable. Nothing more. To hear people describe it as best picture of the year is rubbish. Antz is a better film but didn't get half the attention.
I am hoping that Monsters Inc. comes out soon. I expect that Pixar Production, if anything like the Toy Story series, and not at all like the woeful A Bug's Life, to be a much better film than Shrek.
And to go against your Dreamworks comments. I can praise them for their enormous output but they were supposed to be some kind of revolutionary new company that would take Hollywood back to its classic storytelling roots. There have been a few wonderful films to come out of the studio but Dreamworks has hardly been a revolutionary new company.
And I still can't forgive them for the shoddy marketing job they did on Almost Famous.
Originally posted by bigvalbowski
And I still can't forgive them for the shoddy marketing job they did on Almost Famous.
And I still can't forgive them for the shoddy marketing job they did on Almost Famous.
I liked Shrek though, I thought it was superior to the first Toy Story and A Bug's Life and Antz, and probably neck and neck with Toy Story 2. It was incredibly clever and sweet, and it blew Atlantis out of the water (no pun intended). It's a good picture any way you cut it.
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Any animation film these days can be a hit...it just depends on how you serve it. Atlantis wasn't as big as it could of been. Disney still likes to go old school when it comes to animation, and there's nothing wrong with that, it just seems like most of their movies now are recycled. Unless they move into the computer age, and i understand that some of the scenes in some of their movies are done on computers, any movie they make now is gonna suffer. People have gotten a taste of cgi...and they want more. For one, it looks crystal clear on DVD. Bug's Life, and TS2 are good examples of that. Anyways, Shrek is a good movie, just because it had a story kids and adults can relate to. Any movie made now that involves animation will have to stick to cgi or it won't get the audience it should. Why, I don't know. Or maybe it just needs a good storyline.
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I still have not seen this movie, the most of it I ever watched was in the scene from 'I am Legend'...
I cannot relate to the characters...they just look to odd...
I cannot relate to the characters...they just look to odd...
This most assuredly is not a perfect film, but it is a marvelous send-up of the fairy-tale genre and the script is great. This has romance, humor, a talking donkey, no car chases and makes fun of The Mouse. What more could you ask for? Movie spoofs and karaoke? It has those too. Most harrowing performance by gingerbread? You betcha! The voicework is spot on and even Eddie Murphy is enjoyable. Great fun is had by all (except Michael Eisner-I'd love to have been a fly on the wall in Eisner's office the morning after this copped the Oscar for Animated Feature). Very entertaining and well worth your time. Most recommended.
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