Shrek - 10th Anniversary Talkback (Classic Spoilers)

[Rainbow Sharpie]

Once upon a time, in the distant kingdom of Hollywood, the Walt Disney Company was reigning supreme, and we all know it all started with a mouse - or a lucky rabbit if you wish to be technical. The studio's animated adaptations of both classic fairy tales and original properties had become films treasured by several generations of many audiences 'round the world, and for good reason - the wonders of the magic, the tenderness of the romance, the excitement of the adventure and the many laughs at the comedy had captivated them. (Oh, and a couple of theme parks and several billions of dollars from said movies and theme parks helps.)

However, Disney's enchanted reign did not deter other film studios. Rather, it inspired them to make their own knock-offs of other Disney films all in the name of a quick buck. When that plan didn't work for the most part, studios went, “Screw it” and pretty much left the animated films to Disney.

Speaking of leaving Disney, then executive producer Jeffrey Katzenberg left the studio in a huff after several less-than-pleasant experiences with then CEO Michael Eisner. He, Steven Spielberg and David Geffen formed DreamWorks Studios SKG in 1994. Naturally, DreamWorks opened its own small animation wing and Katzenberg was appointed CEO of the company. Despite releasing several modestly-earning films in this wing, DreamWorks never got the big hit it needed.

That is, until Steven Spielberg bought the rights to a little-known kids' book entitled Shrek! And would you believe that the development history of Shrek would indeed go from hell to fairy tale?

The orignal story of Shrek was simple - a young, timid ogre who had dreams of becoming a knight was forced into being the stereotypical brainless terrifying ogre that scares others away.
Despite all this, Shrek is still determined to be a knight he always aspired to be.

Unfortunately, this is where film production became hell. Shrek's original voice actor, Chris Farley, passed away in 1997 due to a drug overdose. He had recorded about 95% of the film's dialogue before his untimely passing. The role went to fellow SNL alum Mike Myers. Myers made things even harder by demanding a rewrite of his character and rerecording all of his dialogue twice!

Finally, after that development hell, the film was finally done with and was sent off to theaters with little hope going for it.

And the rest is history.

SHREK

The greatest fairy tale never told

Release Date: May 18th, 2001
Studio: DreamWorks Animation
Directed By: Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson
Starring: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, John Lithgow, Cody Cameron, Aaron Warner, Conrad Vernon

Plot Summary: A grumpy, loner ogre named Shrek is happy living by himself in his swamp. Problem is, a certain Lord Farquaad has forced all fairy tale creatures from his kingdom of Duloc out and they are forced onto Shrek's swamp. With the help of a chatterbox donkey, Shrek must save a princess from a dragon guarded castle tower and give her to Farquaad in return for his swamp. But will the princess' secret throw a monkey wrench in the whole deal?

Your comments?

 

[Tobias]

I kind of wish the Farley voiced version of the film had been released. If they were only missing 5% of the dialogue, then they could have just had a soundalike VA fill in the gaps.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the first two Shreks, but they kept beating this franchise like a dead horse to the point where I didn't even care to see the last two sequels in the theater, and I'm really not too stoked for Puss in Boots.

 

[Rainbow Sharpie]

I kind of wish the Farley voiced version of the film had been released. If they were only missing 5% of the dialogue, then they could have just had a soundalike VA fill in the gaps.

IIRC that was the first solution concerning, but I suppose they chose not to go that route in respect to Farley.

 

[Meow]

The first thing that came to mind was that I originally thought that Shrek poster was a ripoff of this Incredibles poster. I know Shrek was made in 2001, but I just assumed that they made a variant poster after The Incredibles came out. I guess that shows how biased I am...

Anyway, I always liked Shrek. However, while I understand that the whole idea was to turn the fairytale world on it's head, I could never quite get around the idea that Fiona's true form was that of an ogre. It just didn't seem believable to me that she wouldn't mind staying that way. (especially after she'd been so ashamed about it for so long) The movie was funny and entertaining, and I liked it's overall message.....but that ending just didn't work for me. I know I'm probably in the minority here.

Unfortunately, this is where film production became hell. Shrek's original voice actor, Chris Farley, passed away in 1997 due to a drug overdose. He had recorded about 95% of the film's dialogue before his untimely passing. The role went to fellow SNL alum Mike Myers. Myers made things even harder by demanding a rewrite of his character and rerecording all of his dialogue twice!

How was the Shrek character rewritten? Are you talking about Myers talking with that Scottish accent?

 

[Rainbow Sharpie]

How was the Shrek character rewritten? Are you talking about Myers talking with that Scottish accent?

That was meant in reference to Shrek's original backstory, in which he was a shy, timid ogre boy whose dream was to be a knight, but couldn't due to prejudice, whereas in the actual film, he's a grumpy, loner type (presumably from all the prejudice he's faced in his lifetime) who wanted to be left alone.

As for the accent, Myers originally recorded Shrek's dialogue in his talking voice, but at the last minute chose to rerecord all of his lines with the accent.

 

[Dr.Pepper]

I honestly cannot believe that Shrek came out 10 years ago. It has been a while since I have seen the first three but I remember enjoying all of them to a certain degree.

 

[Kevin the Geek]

The first Shrek is the best movie in the series, in my opinion. It's also one of my favorite animated movies, if not one of my favorite movies, in general.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary, maybe Donkey could make some waffles for Shrek.

 

[Monterey Jack]

Ah, the days when Shrek was fun and fresh instead of being a totally played-out franchise.

 

[simpspin]

Looking back at Shrek (and the ensuing sequels), I must say I like 1,2, and 4 the same but for different reasons.

Shrek: The best 'satire' on the various Fairy Tales and the most smart assed of the four movies, IMO. 8.5/10

Shrek 2: Part two was less of a satire on fair tales as it turned them into a pop-culture parody fest, but Shrek 2 managed to thread the together so well, it didn't matter. Puss'n Boots was also a great addition. 9/10

Shrek, The Final Chapter: More like Back to the Future, part 2, this was the darkest of the Shrek's, but also the most moving of the films. Stilskin was amazing and the story was the most empathatic of the 4. Hopefully, this is where they stop making sequels (or prequels, I hope). 9/10

Shrek the Third: Please shoot me. 2/10.

 

[Monterey Jack]

Shrek, The Final Chapter: More like Back to the Future, part 2, this was the darkest of the Shrek's, but also the most moving of the films. Stilskin was amazing and the story was the most empathatic of the 4. Hopefully, this is where they stop making sequels (or prequels, I hope). 9/10

Shrek the Third: Please shoot me. 2/10.

I'm amazed anyone likes the fourth Shrek movie more than the third. The third isn't as good as the first two, but it was entertaining. The fourth is a total cash-grab.

 

[Meow]

That was meant in reference to Shrek's original backstory, in which he was a shy, timid ogre boy whose dream was to be a knight, but couldn't due to prejudice, whereas in the actual film, he's a grumpy, loner type (presumably from all the prejudice he's faced in his lifetime) who wanted to be left alone.

Looks like you already said that above. I guess I didn't read it very carefully.

I'm amazed anyone likes the fourth Shrek movie more than the third. The third isn't as good as the first two, but it was entertaining. The fourth is a total cash-grab.

I thought they were both cash-grabs. The third one was worse though. It had a lame plot, (forcing Charming into the role of the main villain which I didn't think worked very well even though I like the character) and focused predictably on Shrek's issues with being a dad. Justin Timberlake was in the third one while the fourth movie's main villain was voiced by a guy from the writing staff. (I think. He wasn't a celebrity anyhow.) The fourth movie may not have been that great, but I think it was more sincere because it seemed like they were really trying to wrap things up with the franchise instead of just pumping out another sequel.

You could argue that even the second one was an attempt to milk the franchise, (They added Puss, knowing how popular a cute character like him would be. They even made jokes about it.) but at least that movie was genuinely good. I liked it better than the first one. Too bad they didn't stop there.

 

[defunctzombie]

I was never into this movie. The first was okay, but the sequels were just bleh.

 

[weirdojace]

Dang, it's been 10 years? I remember seeing this movie in theaters and then watching it in class on the last day of school in sixth grade.

Geez I feel old.

 

[Philmister978]

Looks like you already said that above. I guess I didn't read it very carefully.


I thought they were both cash-grabs. The third one was worse though. It had a lame plot, (forcing Charming into the role of the main villain which I didn't think worked very well even though I like the character) and focused predictably on Shrek's issues with being a dad. Justin Timberlake was in the third one while the fourth movie's main villain was voiced by a guy from the writing staff. (I think. He wasn't a celebrity anyhow.) The fourth movie may not have been that great, but I think it was more sincere because it seemed like they were really trying to wrap things up with the franchise instead of just pumping out another sequel.

You could argue that even the second one was an attempt to milk the franchise, (They added Puss, knowing how popular a cute character like him would be. They even made jokes about it.) but at least that movie was genuinely good. I liked it better than the first one. Too bad they didn't stop there.

You're close, he was part of the staff, but it was part of the storyboard staff, not the writing staff.

 

[Light Lucario]

Dang, it's been 10 years? I remember seeing this movie in theaters and then watching it in class on the last day of school in sixth grade.

Geez I feel old.

Yeah, it feels pretty weird to think that it has been ten years since the original movie came out. It actually doesn't feel that long ago to me. I was just about the finish the sixth grade when the movie came out in theaters. That definitely makes me feel weird.

Anyway, I've only see most of the first movie. I think I miss the first thirty or forty minutes when I watched it on TBS. I didn't think it was that great, but it wasn't terrible by any means either. It just felt like an okay movie to watch for the fun of it. I've never seen any of the Shrek sequels and considering that I wasn't really that impressed with the first one, I don't think that I plan on watching them anytime soon.

 

[fostersfan34]

Oh man, 10 years? Boy, how time manages to slip through our fingers. Anywho, I remember I used to be obsessed with Shrek when it first came out. I was it in theaters, and then I bought the VHS tape (Now THAT is old). My parents even had an old van with a VCR in it so when we went places, and there wasn't a public domain "50 Greatest Cartoons" tape around, I put in Shrek.

As for my feelings on the films:

Shrek- I loved this one for a reason, folks, a genuine slap in the face to the Disneyesque fairy tales (In the good way). All the characters were great, the film had general heart, and even some of the lesser gags were hilarious (Shrek asking the Farquaad mascot a question, and the poor man in the suit is running through the queue area screaming his head off). Plus the twist at the end surprised me for the better. Farquaad (sp?) was a great villain, and I loved how his shortcomings (No pun intended) were played for laughs. One other scene that gets a laugh out of me was the Man in the Mirror's Dating Game parody,

Shrek 2- Well, with this one, they introduced Fiona's family and the fact her father was appalled an ogre was his heir apparent made for a good conflict. The only real turn off for me was the copious amount of pop culture gags, but as others have said, the story made up for it. That said, the Cops parody was genius.

Shrek the Third- I thought this was okay. It kind of left me with an empty feeling, though. It just wasn't satisfying to me for some odd reason. It felt shorter than the others, the plot seemed to go too fast, and though I like the fact they included Arthur and Merlin, as well as make Charming a villain for a change, I just felt like something was missing when I left the theater, but I just can't put my finger on it. Other than that, it was decent. The one thing I DO have a problem with in this one was the huge selling point with the ogre babies. If I recall, they really didn't have too much of an impact in the film, aside from Shrek not really wanting to be a father, much less take the kings place after his death.

The Final Chapter-I haven't seen this one, so I cannot really give an honest opinion of this one, though I heard it was better than the 3rd, so maybe if I catch it on HBO sometime soon or watch it on DVD, I'll give it a proper judgement.

 

[Rainbow Sharpie]

Lol, who edited the topic title?

Anyway, the first Shrek still holds a special place in my mind since it was one of the first films I remember seeing in theaters and being the Disney freak I am, loving practically every reference.

Gosh, at age sixteen, feeling old now!