MOVIE REVIEWS

SHREK: AN OGRE FOR ALL SEASONS

Parents know the routine. There aren't that many movies in the theatres these days that are suitable to take kids to see, so when the summer's or the holiday's crop of animated movies come out, you know you're going to end up seeing some of them. All too often, you're bored or biting your tongue to keep from making the sardonic comments about plot or character that you would make to another adult as you squirm your way through another idiotic movie whose only virtue is its G rating.

Well, I've got good news for you. The movie Shrek, out in theaters right now, is an exception to that rule. Yes, the kids will love it, but so will you. It is one of the funniest movies I've seen in ages, certainly the funniest I've seen in the theater in years.

The plot is straightforward enough: an ogre lives by himself in a swamp, and likes his privacy. One day, out of the blue, his swamp is invaded by all kinds of fairy tale creatures, which have been exiled by Lord Farquad. Annoyed at the loss of his privacy, Shrek traipses to the lord's castle, with his sidekick, a talking donkey who won't shut up and won't take a hint that he's not wanted. There Shrek makes a deal with Farquad: Shrek will rescue the princess Fiona for the lord to marry, and in return, the lord will get the fairy tale freeloaders out of Shrek's swamp. Shrek and sidekick rescue the princess from the dragon guarded fortress, and then, on the way to the castle, Shrek and Fiona find themselves falling in love, but comic misunderstandings prevent them from realizing this until the climax of the movie.

What makes this movie so funny is the twisted take the writers and filmmakers have on the whole genre. Nothing is sacred: Shrek refers to Snow White (in her glass casket, looking strikingly like the Disney Snow White, and not by accident, either) as "the dead broad"; Shrek defeats a slew of knights in a takeoff on WWF moves; Princess Fiona herself knocks out a bunch of Robin Hood's merry men with moves that could have been lifted from The Matrix or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and the smart alec lines come fast and furious. Imagine Fractured Fairy Tales with higher production values, made into a full length movie, and you have a pretty good idea of the sensibility here. The satires on Disneyland, on Disney characters, and on other movies, are worth the price of admission in themselves.

The kids won't get all the jokes, but there's enough slapstick and dumb humor (especially in the beginning sequence, when we get to see Shrek clean himself and eat; suffice it to say that gross humor involving body parts and body noises is the order of the day in this sequence) to keep the kids entertained, while the adults are laughing their heads off at the satire.

The voices are perfect: Eddie Murphy as the loudmouthed donkey, Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona, John Lithgow as the evil Lord Farquad, and of course Mike Myers as Shrek himself. The computer-generated animation is quite good; if you thought the stuff in Toy Story and Antz was good, you will be really impressed at this animation. The faces are so lifelike and expressive that you forget from time to time that it's an animated movie.

How delightful to have a movie that the whole family really can enjoy together, though not, perhaps, on the same level.