I've
got a body odour problem. Speak for yourself
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A genuine
rival to Disney's crown arrives in the form of a Scottish
speaking green ogre.
Nigel
Bell
In recent
months Disney's had it pretty much its own way when it comes
to children's movies. The
Emperor's New Groove and Spy
Kids have proved they still lead the way when it comes
to family animation and live action films. In a few weeks
they'll look a full length feature of the TV show Recess
to consolidate their position.
But even
Disney might have to take a back seat with the arrival of
Shrek.
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| You
think I'm ballroom dancing? You're wrong, so wrong |
It's from
the Dreamworks team which brought us Antz back in 1998.
That film was overshadowed by Disney's A Bug's Life,
but Shrek is destined to win the battle this time around.
It offers
something for children and adults alike and further enhances
the reputation of computer animation begun with Toy Story.
What Shrek
does is turn the traditional fairy tale on its head. It starts
ordinarily enough with a narrator reading from a "Once
Upon A Time" fairy book. The cosy feeling lasts two minutes
before a page of the book is torn out and used as toilet tissue.
The narrator
is Shrek (Myers), a giant green ogre (with a Scottish accent)
used to the solitary life in his swamp haven.
But life
is about to change. The evil Lord Farquaad (Lithgow) is evicting
all fairy folk from his kingdom and they end up on Shrek's
land. He heads off to meet the Lord to demand their removal
and ends up embarking on a quest for Farquaad. The Lord wants
him to find him a Princess he can marry and so become a King.
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| Talk
or I eat your head |
Shrek
is accompanied by Donkey (Murphy), the fun character of the
film, full of sassy lines but too reminiscent of Murphy's
previous animation encounter - Mushu in Mulan.
The film
takes broad swipes at Disney wherever it can. Indeed it's
a case of spot the Walt character as the three little pigs,
Pinocchio, seven dwarves and Snow White all make appearances.
Lord Farquaad lives in a palace which looks and sounds like
a Disney theme park.
It's to
be hoped the rival corporation takes this in good heart because
all the elements add to a film which really has so many memorable
moments. There's an hilarious torture scene involving the
gingerbread man and a Blind Date spoof where the Lord chooses
which princess he'd like to marry.
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| Oh,
and there's a dragon in the film as well |
Even our
own Robin Hood gets to star, although for some reason with
a French accent, and he's soundly defeated by a martial arts
kicking Princess Fiona (Diaz).
Oh, and
there's a nice message for us all to think about. Beauty isn't
everything, there's something wonderful about us all, however
we look.
Shrek
fever is set to grip the nation and rightly so.
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