Originally posted by YoHo
I don't know, for all its success, I still think Shrek's plot was weak, plus, what's the story? Is there another story to be told there? or is this just a Scary movie 2?
I think they pretty much said everything that needed to be said.
Maybe Shrek did have a 'weak plot', but I guess I was too busy laughing my *** off to notice. I thought it was fresh, brash, original, and hilarious.
Personally, I have always had a problem with the message in many of the Disney animated films. One of their common themes seems to be "beauty is on the inside, not the outside". Yet, in the end, the ugly guy either gets dumped for the handsome guy (ie, Quasimodo or Grumpy) or he has to change into a handsome prince (the Beast) before he marries the girl. In other words, you may be beautiful on the inside, but you better be beautiful on the outside to have a shot at happiness. I loved the way Shrek turned this formula inside-out.
Shrek left us with this terrific cast of animated characters. Sure somtimes they don't smell very good. Sometimes they fart. Sometimes they're stubborn and stupid. Sometimes they screw up. Just like most people I know. Maybe that's why (along with the incredible computer animation), I actually forgot that I was watching an animated film.
Shrek ends with a wedding. Gee, I can see why you would say that there is no possible way for this to lead to another story. I guess Dreamworks may as well close up shop, since they've already "said everything that needed to be said".
Funny, we could have said the same thing after Toy Story. Luckily for us, there was enough imagination left at Disney to realize that Buzz and Woody might have something more to say.
I haven't seen much to convince me that Disney has a monopoly on the imagination market any more. Quite the contrary. I have, however seen conclusive proof that Dreamworks possesses an abundance of imagination. I'll be looking forward to Shrek 2.