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 39 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 | exploding animal | arm ripped off | male nudity | 

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Taglines:

It's Big!

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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

Although Antz (1998) was the first computer animated film produced by DreamWorks, it was Shrek (2001) that established the studio as a major name in the field, alongside its main competitor, Pixar.

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Goofs

Lord Farquaad 'hires' Shrek and Donkey to go and rescue Fiona from her tower prison. But it should had been either impossible or very difficult to find the tower especially how it is implied the trio don't know where the tower is. Plus Shrek would need at least a map or compass to find the tower. It is possible though the magic mirror gave Farquaad directions or less likely Shrek and Donkey may have heard of the tower and have a rough idea where it is.

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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

The Blu-ray release adds some extra music cues to the score. For example, when Donkey sings "You Gotta Have Friends" to Shrek, an instrumental that wasn't there before is heard in the background.

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Connections

Referenced in The Ugly Truth (2009)

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Soundtracks

Staying Alive
Written by Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb
Performed by John Lithgow

User Reviews

Beautifully computer-animated fairy tale: a gentle morality play, very skillfully done.

I'm an old dude, 75 to be exact, and in my working days I was everything from a mainframe programmer to a HiTech startup Tech Admin. This sentence is here only to show why I am interested in the productions of Dreamworks and, of course, Pixar. Coming from a computer background permits me to be very, very impressed with the wonderful skill and creativity that go into making movies such as Shreck.

Now then: The movie itself is marvelous! The characters are gentle and funny; there is no gratuitous violence; there are innuendos, of course, but skillfully done in a way that the "libretto" if you will can be "read" at least two levels. The story line itself is charming, and the ending is a real, nifty surprise!

I add here that I've watched this with my younger G_Kids, who loved it; and also with my bride of fifty years, who loved it.

It is in all ways in a class with the best that Mr. Jobs has so far produced, which is saying a great deal.

HIGHLY recommended as good, funny, charming entertainment for a whole bunch of ages.

Nick Fortis Los Altos California

Details

Official Sites:

DreamWorks (Flash only) [United States] Official Facebook

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 May 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Shrek

Filming Locations:

Glendale, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$42,347,760, 20 May 2001

Gross USA:

$267,665,011

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$487,853,320

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks Animation, Dreamworks Pictures, 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:

1.66 : 1