Whilst it may not be classed as high-brow art, Shrek deserves in many ways to be taken seriously for its great characters, tremendous double-edged humour and even the depth and variety of the soundtrack. With some punk from Joan Jett, hyper polished modern rock with Smash Mouth and Self to even some ballads and pop-rockers, Shrek certainly offers to almost all audiences within the soundtrack alone.
The movie is a phenomenal fairy tale, with an enthralling and thrilling quest whilst a happily-ever-after ending tops it all off. Shrek has underlying themes of enduring myths, about believing in yourself, being loved for the person you truly are, and the classic binary opposition of good vs evil. It also manages to blend the traditional stereotypes, especially those that are held within fairy tales, by tweaking all our assumptions on ogres, princesses, rescues, and even fire-breathing dragons.
However, with all this in mind, Shrek is not your typical or average family cartoon. It is jovial yet wicked, filled with sly in-jokes intended for an older audience (like “a castle that big must mean he’s compensating for something”) and yet somehow still possess a heart.
Our main hero of the film is the great, green, giant, ogre Shrek, who lives in his swamp. All Shrek wants is to be left alone, perhaps the reasoning for this comes not just from the fact that he is an ogre but maybe also because he is a lonely creature who has a problem (and maybe even a dis-contempt) with his ugliness. He is soon horrified when the solitude of his swamp is disturbed by a sudden invasion of cartoon creatures, who have been banished from Lord Farquaad's kingdom. Not long after, he finds himself (along with the company of Donkey) on a mission to try and rescue Princess Fiona from a lava surrounded castle, all as part of a bargain with the very small Lord Farquaad. Although, it’s certainly not that simple.
This is one of my favourite scenes of the whole film mainly due to the reference (and possibly even dig) at fairytale characters. Some of these include The Three Little Pigs, The Three Bears, The Three Blind Mice, Tinkerbell, Big Bad Wolf and Pinocchio. These references can be seen throughout, for example later, when Farquaad seeks a bride, the Magic Mirror gives him three choices: Cinderella, Snow White ("She lives with seven men, but she's not easy!") and Princess Fiona.
Another personal favourite moment is when Farquaad is torturing information out of the gingerbread man that he has chained to a table after breaking off his legs. "You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man," he sneers cruelly. There is also a remarkable romantic sequence where Shrek and Fiona stroll through a meadow, having inflated a toad and a snake as balloons, to the sound of My Beloved Monster by the Eels.
The interactions between Shrek and Princess Fiona are sweet and tender, while the exchanges between the ogre and the ass are often unkind and funny. The film breaks away from convention, but not so far that viewers will be put off by it. And, while there is a happy ending (as there must be in any fairy tale, no matter how unconventional), it is not necessarily the conclusion that many would be expecting.
For me, this is certainly a comfort film which brings laughter and joy as well as fond memories of watching it with old friends. The characters are diverse and unusually untypical whilst the comedy never leaves us without a laugh...and the soundtrack is totally superb.
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