Shrek (2001)

A mean lord exiles fairytale creatures to the swamp of a grumpy ogre, who must go on a quest and rescue a princess for the lord in order to get his land back.

Directors:

Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson

Writers:

William Steig (based upon the book by), Ted Elliott

Stars:

Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz

Won 1 Oscar. Another 38 wins & 60 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mike Myers	...	Shrek (voice)
Eddie Murphy	...	Donkey (voice)
Cameron Diaz	...	Princess Fiona (voice)
John Lithgow	...	Lord Farquaad (voice)
Vincent Cassel	...	Monsieur Hood (voice)
Peter Dennis	...	Ogre Hunter (voice)
Clive Pearse	...	Ogre Hunter (voice)
Jim Cummings	...	Captain of Guards (voice)
Bobby Block	...	Baby Bear (voice)
Chris Miller	...	Geppetto / Magic Mirror (voice)
Cody Cameron	...	Pinnochio / Three Pigs (voice)
Kathleen Freeman	...	Old Woman (voice)
Michael Galasso	...	Peter Pan (voice)
Christopher Knights	...	Blind Mouse (voice)
Simon J. Smith	...	Blind Mouse (voice)

Storyline

When a green ogre named Shrek discovers his swamp has been 'swamped' with all sorts of fairytale creatures by the scheming Lord Farquaad, Shrek sets out with a very loud donkey by his side to 'persuade' Farquaad to give Shrek his swamp back. Instead, a deal is made. Farquaad, who wants to become the King, sends Shrek to rescue Princess Fiona, who is awaiting her true love in a tower guarded by a fire-breathing dragon. But once they head back with Fiona, it starts to become apparent that not only does Shrek, an ugly ogre, begin to fall in love with the lovely princess, but Fiona is also hiding a huge secret.

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Plot Keywords:

onion | epic | arm ripped off | male nudity | tearjerker | 

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Taglines:

The greatest fairy tale never told.

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild language and some crude humor

Did You Know?

Trivia

Monsieur Hood's Merry Men perform to Riverdance: The Show (1995).

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Goofs

As far as we know, Fiona has spent her entire life alone in the tower, so she should have no knowledge of the outside world. Yet as her encounters with the songbird and Robin Hood demonstrate, she is more than capable of taking care of herself. However, it is revealed in Shrek 2 that she's spent at least a few years of her life outside the tower (from Fiona's diary), which might be the time when she learned her skills. Another theory is that she could have been practicing in her room in the tower.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[a fairytale book appears]
Shrek: [narrating] Once upon a time, there was a lovely princess. But she had an enchantment upon her of a fearful sort, which could only be broken by love's first kiss. She was locked away in a castle guarded by a terrible fire-breathing dragon. Many brave knights had attempted to free her from this dreadful prison, but none prevailed. She waited in the dragon's keep, in the highest room of the tallest tower, for her true love, and true love's first kiss.
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The S in Shrek has his ears.

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Alternate Versions

In the version showed in Cinecanal Latina, there are no actors names at the beginning. The start of the movie is the same but in the sequences where the names are displayed, they are not. You just see the water, or the worms, etc.

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Connections

Referenced in Rocky and Bullwinkle (2014)

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Soundtracks

My Beloved Monster
Written by Mark Oliver Everett (as E)
Performed by Eels (as eels)
Courtesy of DreamWorks Records

User Reviews

State-of-the-art computer animation used to tell a cracking little story

Shrek is a green ogre who lives in a swamp, but his king sends him on a mission which he must complete to get his own land back.

You only have to watch ten minutes of this film to realise that this is going to be a classic. Eddie Murphy being employed as a wisecracking donkey was a casting dream and plays well against the more plain Shrek, voiced by Mike Myers.

Ok the plot is old, new, borrowed and blue (all recaps and references to fairy tales), but I don't care. It is all so much good fun and better than that, the kind of thing that can be enjoyed by young and old, male or female. It is really a dream of movie and some brilliant pop tunes are employed that really work fantastically against the images. Real tear-to-the-eye stuff.

A real bliss-out of a movie and all parties should be congratulated for making it so great. A real DVD buyer, because it can be enjoyed over and over again. Bring on the follow up, I can't wait.

Details

Official Sites:

DreamWorks (Flash only) [United States] Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 May 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Shrek

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$42,347,760, 20 May 2001

Gross USA:

$267,665,011

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$487,769,799

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks Animation, DreamWorks, Pacific Data Images (PDI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

DTS (Digital DTS Sound) Dolby Digital SDDS Sonics-DDP (3D re-release)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1