Customer Reviews

Shrek (Two-Disc Widescreen & Full Screen Edition)

5 star:		(564)
4 star:		(117)
3 star:		(53)
2 star:		(38)
1 star:		(59)

 

 

Based on William Steig's bizzare backwards fairy tale, DreamWork's SHREK has fantastic animation, great voice casting and infamous "irreverent" humor. An ogre and a donkey rescuing a princess for an under-endowed King. How cleverly post-modern. Ha and indeed ha. Yes, it's a worldwide cartoon phenomenon or something like that. Now don't get me wrong, I like the recent movies like this one that trade traditional cute jokes for movie lampooning and irreverent gags, but I find it hard to avoid the fact that this "hilarious" comedy is somewhat overrated. Shrek (Mike Myers) and Donkey (Eddie Murphy) are a good odd-couple and there are some great jabs at Disney throughout the film's running time. But fart gags and weird humor aside, it's not as clever as it thinks it is. There are some fantastically funny moments in the film, especially the gingerbread man sequence and lines like "In the morning, i'm making waffles!" And the escape from the dragon's castle is a tour-de-force of fantastic animation and strange gags. However it's far more funnier if you take it as the sum of its parts rather than the movie as a whole. It may sound like just knocking success, but if you actually sit back and watch it, well, it really depends on if you want to sit through a cartoon with gross-out humour and fart gags. From a technical standpoint, the CGI photo-realistic water and fur simulation is brilliant. Since the success of TOY STORY, computer-generated cartoons have come a long way and it's impossible to deny that the CG is impressive. But then, so was the CG in Godzilla (Lesson: Impressive effects do not a good movie make). Watching SHREK in comparison to Pixar's competition MONSTERS INC, the latter is a more clever premise. Shrek gets 5 stars for animation, but it's a 3 star movie for laughs. the DVD extras are impressive though, with Commentaries, mock interviews, 'making of' docos and trailers.

Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow) is ruler of Durok. After he realizes he must be a king in order to be ruler of a kingdom he chooses Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) as his bride. Fiona is locked away inside a castle surrounded by a fire breathing dragon. Farquaad holds a tournament to determine the princesses rescuer. Shrek (Mike Myers) wins the tournament and makes a deal with Farquaad. The princess for the deed to his swamp. Farquaad agrees and together Shrek and his loundmouth donkey (Eddie Murphy) set off on an unforgettable adventure.

Shrek has already raked in over 266 million in the us box office alone and thats for a good reason so if you havent seen it yet, what are you waiting for. This is a great film for all ages. There is the perfect mix of humor for the younger and older audience. The voice overs by the actors is excellent and the CGI is just jawdropping(look out Pixar).

Dreamworks has put together an excellent DVD. The transfer is just flawless. The picture is clean and there is no edge enhancement. With all the debate over pan and scan and widescreen maybe this dvd should become the blue print for the standard. Pan and Scan (don't know why some people prefer it) with DD on one disk and Anamorphic widescreen with DTS on the other for the video and audio freaks like myself. The disk is just loaded with far to many extras to list here but trust me they will keep you busy for a couple of hours after the movie is over. If you can only get one dvd this month Shrek should be it.

shrek is a funny movie. the funniest thing in this movie is shrek's friend {or not} that he meets in his swamp{were shrek lives}. once i saw this movie i was hoping there would be a shrek 2 and now there is. in shrek farquad the very evil and short king sends shrek on a quest to find princess fiona a princess trapped in a castle with a fire breathing dragon gaurding her. shrek saves her and has to go bak i would tell more of this movie but i would give away the fun of it

Utterly original, terrific animated film, with great voice performances by Mike Meyers and Eddie Murphy,
written with lots of adult wit and humor. Word play and visual puns abound. You don't have to be a kid to love it,
or have kids to rent or buy it. Charming, sweet, funny and romantic.

Amazing, hip use of music (including John Cale's version of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah'- how's that for obscure?).

On DVD, try and get this now inexplicably, inexcusably out-of-print widescreen version, so you don't lose chunks
of the lovely visuals on the sides of the frame. It can sometimes be found used for a reasonable price.

This is a must-see. And it's not a easy way to define this film. This is for everyone, no matter of your sex, your age, your attitude to fairy tales, to cartoons or to music. "Shrek" has it to surprise and to enjoy each and everyone of your family or even none of your relatives.

It is easy to see with every kind of company. It's sweet, it's bitter. It's plenty of laugh and plenty of love. Music is really a big part of the film and every tune is perfect. I don't know of anybody who dislike this film. Extremely enjoyable.

I must say that I had been looking forward to it. Now I liked the Shrek character and seeing all those from the fairy tales. But still, too crude and not very origanl. Eddie Murphy's voice was annoying most of the time (Like watching Buddy Love).
Although it's not for young kids, it's watchable.

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I just LOVE that movie (also Shrek2)! The animation is hillarious, the characters are so real, each detail of the environment, character and mood is precise. Also it's very very funny. I can watch that movie ten times in a row.

I love Shrek beginning to end!

And I especially love that it includes all of the fairy tales from the past and builds a different story all together.

My husband, children, and I sit in front of the TV watching and I promise at the end when they are doing karaoke it makes me laugh like the very first time!

This is one of the greatest animated movies out and anyone with children or kids at heart will enjoy this great movie!

"Shrek" is a groundbreaking animated film released in 2001. It became the first film to win the Oscar for Best Animated Film. This film is terrific for all ages to watch. It features the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Oscar nominee John Lithgow ("Terms of Endearment"), and others. It explores a journey of three outcasts (an orge, a talking donkey, and a princess with a secret) to attempt to rescue villagers from being forced out of their homes. The villagers have a twist. All of them come from famous fairy tales, including the seven dwarves, Pinnocio, Cinderella, and many others. The quest becomes more than just mission. The three characters find their true selves and reveal secrets that change their lives forever. The action sequences contain the entertainment to keep audiences on the edge of their seats. Some action scenes have a little humor, namely tributing to "The Matrix". Every scene throughout the film has its own different theme that keeps audiences entertained, including comedy, action, and romance. As with the plot, the actors offer their own sense of theme that adds to the thrills. The wide range of personalities keep audiences interested. "Shrek" is great film sure to please audiences everywhere. Fans should also watch "Shrek 2" as the two combined make a great viewing experience.