Shrek

We have exhaustingly read and re-read fairy tales in our bedtime, and we could predictably tell what would happen to them next in the story. But what comes to pass to our favorite characters when the ‘And they live happily ever after’ closes the story? Does Cinderella ban her stepmother and stepsisters from the kingdom (I think I would!). Does Sleeping Beauty still have long hours of nap (I wonder if she snores)? Does Little Red Riding Hood grow up to be afraid of the forest (or does she even have other colored hoodies in her closet)? These questions sometimes invaded our innocent minds, but somehow, we were always afraid to ask them. Everyone wants a happy ending, and no one wants to burst that fairy tale bubble in our heads.

Sensya na if I still have a hangover on seeing Shrek and the gang at the Universal Studios...

Movie Recall: Shrek (2001)

The Story: When a green ogre called 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 his swamp back. Instead, a deal is made. Farquaad, who wants to become the King, sends Shrek to rescue Princess Fiona, who is waiting for her one true love. But once they head back with Fiona, it starts to become apparent that not only does Shrek like Fiona, but Fiona is keeping something secret.

My Review:

Isn’t it a dream come true to see familiar fairy tale characters in one movie? Shrek gave us that and more. It has also opened up to a main male character who is ugly and ill-mannered, and a princess who is not a damsel in distress. Everything about Shrek is fresh and funny. But like any other fairy tale stories, it also gives us a lesson to be learned.

Trivia:

Computer animation production started on the project on 31 October 1996 and took more than four and a half years to complete.

The principal actors never met each other. All read their parts separately, with a reader feeding them the lines. John Lithgow later admitted that, while he enjoyed playing Lord Farquaad, he was a little disappointed that he never actually worked directly with Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, and Eddie Murphy. 

"Shrek" means "monster" in Yiddish, and is derived from the German word "Schreck", which means "terror" or "fright".

Cameron Diaz having undergone Kung Fu training during the making of Charlie’s Angels(2000), became very physical when recording her kung fu moves for Fiona's fight with Robin Hood and his Merry Men, and at times even broke out into Cantonese

Mike Myers recorded Shrek's voice in a natural accentless voice before the film was test-screened. After watching it, he decided that the voice didn't sound right and had all of his lines re-recorded with a Scottish accent, based on the voice his mother used when reading him bedtime stories as a child.

Princess Fiona rocks!