Shrek (2001)
Assault at an empire
Remember the song, When You Believe? Three years ago, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey popularized it on the airwaves, and it's the torch song of Dreamworks' 1998 animated feature, The Prince of Egypt. The studio, and the others who are trying to give Disney stiff competition in the field of animated pictures, might also have chanted it repeatedly during the last few years.
After many failed attempts, Dreamworks' latest, Shrek, may possibily be the David that topples Goliath (read: the Disney Empire).
Walt Disney's creations are, without a doubt, not only the best cartoon characters to grace the celluloid screen; their impact also resulted in Disney World and other Disney parts in Los Angeles, Tokyo and Paris, as well as merchandise goods that made the owners richer. Its grip on the animated world has lasted for decades. But just like the Roman and the other great empires, glory days are followed by a decline.
I mean, I thought that the period when The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin were released was a Renaissance for Disney Pictures, as animation mixed with song and dance numbers that remind film buffs of the glory days of Old Hollywood musicals look rousing and grand. However, it was short lived, when Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame were shown a few years later.
Not long after, some studios released their animated features. Call it barbarians at the Empire's gate. The results were quite discouraging (e.g. casting Woody Allen, whose films have usual references to sex, as the leading voice in Antz), but the first real threat to Disney may come from a least-expected character: an ogre named Shrek.
Shrek will not only be entertaining to young ones, but also to sharp-minded, older viewers because it pokes fun at Disney itself. Call it double the fun! Consider the kingdom of the diminutive villain Lord Farquaad (voiced by John Lithgow of Third Rock from the Sun) - it's so Disney-esque, and I wonder if that's the reason for the dumbfounded facial reactions of Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers of Austin Powers) and his donkey companion (Eddie Murphy) when they first enter it. Then there's an earlier scene, where Farquaad's men arrest some lovable Disney characters like Pinocchio. I find it amusing.
Consider too the lead character who isn't different from Quasimodo in physical features. Then he saves Princess Fiona (Camerion Diaz) from the clutches of a dragon (this scene is a definitive moment in The Sleeping Beauty. The unlikely romance between Shrek and Fiona reminds Disney fans of Quasimodo and Esmeralda. Finally, Fiona's secret is a twist on Beauty and the Beast.
The duo may be the film's centerpiece, but it's what surround them that makes Shrek a sheer delight.
Fairy-tale and Disney characters (like the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf) abound to astonish moviegoers. Then it's complemented with references to some popular American TV shows (e.g. The Dating Game), cameo appearances of oddball characters like Monsieur Hood (imagine the legendary hero of Sherwood Forest speaking English with a French accent), faddish dances like the Macarena, and Murphy providing the voice of the smart-ass donkey.
It's one of those moments when the wisecracking and nonstop yakking that made Murphy famous isn't only hilarious, but also a standout. The Academy voters might like to give him a special Oscar Award for that.
On a wider scale, the movie further reinforces the notion that being conventional is no longer the trend nowadays. It may be disappointing, as in the case of Princess Fiona after Shrek's rescue of her didn't conform to the fairy tale ending that she is hoping for. Furthermore, as Shrek proves, substance matters more than superficiality. In a way, it's opposite to some Disney couples, who look like God's ideal physical creation.
A decade ago, Beauty and the Beast made history by becoming the first animated film to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. Some felt it should've won, but the Academy might've thought animated aren't ripe for recognition during that time. Can Shrek be the second (to be nominated) and go all the way to the stage to receive the Golden Boy next year? Faith can move mountains, and there's a tune for that: Ain't no mountain high enough...
(First published in Daily Tribune on July 15, 2001)
Remember the song, When You Believe? Three years ago, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey popularized it on the airwaves, and it's the torch song of Dreamworks' 1998 animated feature, The Prince of Egypt. The studio, and the others who are trying to give Disney stiff competition in the field of animated pictures, might also have chanted it repeatedly during the last few years.
After many failed attempts, Dreamworks' latest, Shrek, may possibily be the David that topples Goliath (read: the Disney Empire).
Walt Disney's creations are, without a doubt, not only the best cartoon characters to grace the celluloid screen; their impact also resulted in Disney World and other Disney parts in Los Angeles, Tokyo and Paris, as well as merchandise goods that made the owners richer. Its grip on the animated world has lasted for decades. But just like the Roman and the other great empires, glory days are followed by a decline.
I mean, I thought that the period when The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin were released was a Renaissance for Disney Pictures, as animation mixed with song and dance numbers that remind film buffs of the glory days of Old Hollywood musicals look rousing and grand. However, it was short lived, when Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame were shown a few years later.
Not long after, some studios released their animated features. Call it barbarians at the Empire's gate. The results were quite discouraging (e.g. casting Woody Allen, whose films have usual references to sex, as the leading voice in Antz), but the first real threat to Disney may come from a least-expected character: an ogre named Shrek.
Shrek will not only be entertaining to young ones, but also to sharp-minded, older viewers because it pokes fun at Disney itself. Call it double the fun! Consider the kingdom of the diminutive villain Lord Farquaad (voiced by John Lithgow of Third Rock from the Sun) - it's so Disney-esque, and I wonder if that's the reason for the dumbfounded facial reactions of Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers of Austin Powers) and his donkey companion (Eddie Murphy) when they first enter it. Then there's an earlier scene, where Farquaad's men arrest some lovable Disney characters like Pinocchio. I find it amusing.
Consider too the lead character who isn't different from Quasimodo in physical features. Then he saves Princess Fiona (Camerion Diaz) from the clutches of a dragon (this scene is a definitive moment in The Sleeping Beauty. The unlikely romance between Shrek and Fiona reminds Disney fans of Quasimodo and Esmeralda. Finally, Fiona's secret is a twist on Beauty and the Beast.
The duo may be the film's centerpiece, but it's what surround them that makes Shrek a sheer delight.
Fairy-tale and Disney characters (like the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf) abound to astonish moviegoers. Then it's complemented with references to some popular American TV shows (e.g. The Dating Game), cameo appearances of oddball characters like Monsieur Hood (imagine the legendary hero of Sherwood Forest speaking English with a French accent), faddish dances like the Macarena, and Murphy providing the voice of the smart-ass donkey.
It's one of those moments when the wisecracking and nonstop yakking that made Murphy famous isn't only hilarious, but also a standout. The Academy voters might like to give him a special Oscar Award for that.
On a wider scale, the movie further reinforces the notion that being conventional is no longer the trend nowadays. It may be disappointing, as in the case of Princess Fiona after Shrek's rescue of her didn't conform to the fairy tale ending that she is hoping for. Furthermore, as Shrek proves, substance matters more than superficiality. In a way, it's opposite to some Disney couples, who look like God's ideal physical creation.
A decade ago, Beauty and the Beast made history by becoming the first animated film to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. Some felt it should've won, but the Academy might've thought animated aren't ripe for recognition during that time. Can Shrek be the second (to be nominated) and go all the way to the stage to receive the Golden Boy next year? Faith can move mountains, and there's a tune for that: Ain't no mountain high enough...
(First published in Daily Tribune on July 15, 2001)
posted by Francis Rex Alger @ 3:13 PM
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