STARS: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz & John Lithgow

Shrek (Myers) an Ogre living in a Swamp and generally enjoying a life of Ogring and such, saves the life of Donkey (Murphy) and is quite annoyed when Lord Farquaad (Lithgow) has Fairy Creatures from all over the land placed in his precious swamp, ruining his life. Shrek and Donkey go to Lord Farquaad demanding his swamp back and end up saving the life of Princess Fiona (Diaz) in return for his precious swamp. But Princess Fiona who has ideals of Prince Charming and meeting her true love has a special secret, that will change Shrek’s life forever.

Full of adventure and extreme tongue-in-cheek humour it appeals to all ages, as children will enjoy this movie for the fun and adults will enjoy it for the humour that is obviously directed at older age groups. Shrek is fun to watch, especially as the animation is top quality and almost life-like. The music is wonderful and modern. And I don’t know anyone that actually hates this movie.

The main cast members are all outstanding in their respective roles but for me the ultimate performance came from Eddie Murphy who runs amok throughout the entire movie. Much like in Disney’s Mulan, Eddie is far and away the star.

It is well known that this is the movie that Jeffrey Kratzenberg has wanted to make since leaving Disney under less than acrimonius circumstances 5 or so years back. Much of the humour is pointed directly at Disney, so much in fact that I lost count. For trivia buffs, Lord Farquaad’s demeanour and features was apparently based on a Senior Member of the Disney team. A stunning act of revenge many years in the planning.

I don’t often mention the directors commentary in the plot synopsis but this is an exception. The comm features 3 people, both Directors (Andrew Adamson and Vicki Jensen) and producer Aron Warner. This is one of the best comms I have heard on a DVD. For example, when the movie starts the 3 start humming the opening credits. When this occurs you just know it’s going to be something special. There is barely a moment’s silence throughout and they go in details about how scenes/effects were created and obviously they had fun which really shines throughout the commentary. Awesome!!!

THE EXTRAS

As promised, the extras are plentiful and should keep you amused for quite a while….

* Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party: Exclusive never-before seen extended ending,

* The Tech of Shrek: Amazing Behind-The-Scenes featurette,

* Shreks Revoice Studio: Exclusive never-before-used technology that enables viewers to voice their favourite character (DVD ROM), * 2 minute interview with Shrek, Fiona, Lord Farquaad and Donkey,

* Production Notes,

* Cast and Crew Bios,

* Director’s comm,

* International Dubbing Featurette: Learn how Shrek was dubbed into languages around the world,

* DVD Player based games: - Trivia Game, - Decorate the Gingerbread Man (characters include a sailor and a punk) , - Character Morph (allows kids to mix and match the 4 main characters body parts).

CONCLUSION

This is an amazing movie and deserves the accolades that it has received. Dreamworks have proved again that not only are they as good as Disney but in some ways they are better in that they are not afraid to push the envelope. BUY THIS NOW