Shrek mediocre at best

[BRERALEX]

i was hoping that the donkey would get shot and killed.

i liked the movie dont get me wrong but all this comotion about it being a classic. everywhere i read they say SHREK is a big big deal.

But whats the big deal. They added toilet humor to a cartoon and ripped Disney classics which they can only DREAM of trying to recreat with that kind of creativity that WORKS without crapping all over something totally totally totally original.

 

[BRERALEX]

i liked the movie but first off one of the first things i thought was would i take my 3 yr old to see it?

i still cant answer that question and that bothers me.

Many people are saying that it was better then Toy Story. HOW? ...........WHY? WHEN? WHAT PARTS?

I'm sorry but i can say easily that Toy Story is in another league of STORY TELLING then Shreek i mean shrek is.

I leave tommorrow for the magic kingdom and must subside commenting now so i can read anything else LAND has written on any other thread.

 

[Sarangel]

I think that Shrek should be a wake up call to Disney... I don't think Shrek will be a Classic that we'll all need to have the way Lady and the Tramp or Cinderella are, but it is a very good piece of work. The only parts I found better than Toy Story were some of the technical elements, and I think that (for me at least) the overtones from the Katzenberg/Eisner feud are a little much. Who knows it could improve in repeated viewings, but I just can't see it being as relevent in 20 years...

Sarangel

 

[Planogirl]

Why is everyone using a Pixar film when comparing Disney to Dreamworks? Wouldn't Dinosaur and The Emperor's New Groove be better examples of recent Disney work?

I liked Shrek for its own merits. I'm not comparing it to past movies from any studio but just going by whether I was entertained. I definitely was. I can't say the same for The Emperor's New Groove and while Dinosaur was a pretty movie, I didn't think that the story was that compelling.

Let's see if Dreamworks can do it again however.

 

[ContempoSMT]

i loved it and all my friends loved it!

 

[ContempoSMT]

i heard it was great! and really funny also from other people in my area...

 

[YoHo]

Plano Girl, I think the reason is that Shrek is done by an outside firm just like Pixar, so they are comparing Apples to Apples. If you want to compare directly, then Compare Emperor's new groove to the Road to El Dorado. Now I have yet to see ENG, but Road to EL Dorado basically soured me on Dreamworks Animation. It was worthless.

 

[Briar rose108]

I enjoyed Shrek and so did my 7 y/o dd & my 38 y/o dh. We also enjoyed Road to Eldorado. Now I wouldn't call RTE my favorite or even in my top 20. But I thought it was entertaining.

I love Disney, but there "batting average" is not perfect. They do not "score" with every movie they make. ie...Emperor's New Groove, Fox & the Hound, The Great Mouse Detectives and my least favorite disney movie of all time (forgive me, but it is only my opinion....Pocahontas). I think Katzenberg was a great loss to Disney. But I also think that other companies can and do make quality films.

Some of my favorites are 1) Sleeping Beauty 2) Cinderella 3) Little Mermaid 4) Beauty & the Beast

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. If everyone enjoyed the same things it would be an incredibly boring world.

As far as this summer and animation go....I think that Shrek will surpass Atlantis in ticket sales. Because, IMHO, Atlantis doesn't look all that interesting. I will probably see it this summer with my daughter and I may change my opinion. But that is okay................

 

[Planogirl]

YoHo, my bad. Thanks for pointing out my error.

Actually El Dorado and ENG are both disappointing IMO. I think that both studios have the potential to do far better especially Disney. I have high hopes for Atlantis at this point.

And I still like Shrek whoever made it! And that is truly all I have to say about it.

 

[bayniac]

I thought Shrek was great! I also thought it was more of an adult film. Sure you can take the kiddies and they'll enjoy it as a cartoon. The adult innuendos will fly right by, but for the most part, more enjoyed by adults.

The digital animation was awesome.

Cinderella, Little briar Rose, Little Snow-white, and Little Red Riding Hood were by the brothers Grimm. Beauty and the Beast was copied from one of Andrew Lang's fairytale books. Disney copied those, put their twist on it and put it to their animation. So you can't really be offended "for" Disney when those are being made fun of. Why get upset when another company copies it and uses the characters for it's own twisted humor?

Did they blatantly make fun of Disney? Yes! But did they try and turn everyone against Disney? No.
Yes Dreamworks is a competitor when it comes to movies. But we all know that they will not put Disney out of business.

So relax. If you liked it, great! If you didn't, oh well, not the first time you didn't like a film right?!

JMO
Bayniac

 

[ladyntramplover]

First of all, I am a teacher at an elementary school, and the kids know what I like. I LOVE Disney. I wear something on me that is Disney EVERY DAY and the kids know that. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I am probably the biggest Disney freak in my area (excluding my fiance who is just like me). I see every Disney movie that comes out (maybe that is a bad thing since many of the newer releases just haven't had the "magic") because of one reason; it's Disney.

I'll be the first to admit that when I first started seeing trailers for "Shrek," I was unimpressed. I thought there was no way that Dreamworks could outdo Pixar on the "Toy Story" movies. So when it came time to release "Shrek," I groaned. I didn't want to go...but you know what happened? It was probably the best animated movie I've seen since "Toy Story 2." So what if the movie teases Disney? That's the best part of it! Believe me, Dreamworks was not trying to create an original classic like past Disney movies...and that is OKAY! The movie was entertaining on a level that Disney has not even tried. Maybe that's Disney, though; it really doesn't tease others mercilessly and maybe I don't want them to. But even I can see that "Shrek" is a very funny movie and quite entertaining to all kinds of people.

Hey, to each their own, and I honor all opinions, but "Shrek" will stand out this summer (in my opinion, it will totally outdo "Atlantis") and it's okay for it to do so.

lady

p.s. Has anyone read the original children's story book called "Shrek" (by William Steig)? I picked it up the other day since the movie was based on it, and really the movie shares NO similarities except for the main character. The plot and characters are ALL DIFFERENT! Weird, in my humble opinion.

 

[D L and K's Mom]

I jsut returned from seeing SHREK with DH, DD and 15 other 10 year old girls (DD's B-Day Party). I have to say we all really, really enjoyed the movie.I was very shocked to see the range of people in the theatre. WE saw a lot of young children (3, 4 and 5) and a lot of teenagers as well as older adults. I thought a lot of the jokes "went over the kids heads" but they still enjoyed the movie. I recently watched a short documentary on how they did the animation and was stunned at all the work that goes into it. The animators wanted people to leave the theatre not thinking that they had just seen an animated movie but instead to have the feeling that the characters were "REAL". I have to say I think that the movies animation surpasses the last Disney film I saw (Emperor's New Groove) . Sorry for all of you who disagree this is just my opinion. I think the animation was much more lifelike (The individual blades of grass, the flowers, the characters hair, the lava and fire etc.) Don't get me wrong I loved the Emperor's New Groove but I think SHREK out did it in the animation dept. I did think a lot of SHREK's humor came from "Silly" things..burps, etc which the girls thought was hysterical. I think Disney has it beat in the story dept. Just my opinion. Go see it for yourself and make your own judgement.

ladytramplover is that the same William Steig who wrote the "C-D-B "books? I also am a teacher and my students love those books. Thanks for the info I will have to check out the original book.

 

[missymouse3367]

I saw Shrek today I didn't like it. I like the story line was good but some of the actors didn't act! There were alot of lines that could have been done without. As for Toy Story it rules the humor was great I felt that my ds, 3 yo,
wouldn't get bad manners from it. As for the hits on Disney well lets just say so people do dumb thing when they are jealous!!!!

 

[darbella]

here. The kids and I totally enjoyed the movie.

 

[YoHo]

Saw shrek last night, with an Open mind. The only character that didn't suck hard was Eddie Murphy's Donkey.
2 out of 5 stars, it boogles the mind that this is drawing crowds the way it is. Plot was shoddy. Found the acting adequet. Overabundance of easily dated pop culture references including the smashmouth opening.

Another Voice, you keep talking about how animation will change in the post Shrek world. I have to say, if this is how animation is going to end up, then I plan to stop going to animated movies.

Having said that, the Animation itself was excellent. I din't think it was better then Pixar, just different.

 

[ladyntramplover]

Okay, YoHo....

 

[ladyntramplover]

I agree that the plot left a lot to be desired. I don't think "Shrek" will ever be a classic like "Cinderella" or "Lady and the Tramp" but I know "A Bug's Life" isn't in that category either.

I just enjoyed the movie for what it was. I don't care if it wasn't a classic. I felt I got my money's worth at the theater, and I was thoroughly entertained. Isn't that all that matters anyway?


lady

 

[DisneyFanGuy]

We saw it yesterday. The five of us (two adults and three kids) voted it the best family movie of the year, and the best that we have seen since TS2. (Our last best family movie of the year) My kids are 15, 12, and 8.

I was really impressed at the range of ages in the theater. Many adults with kids, some adults without kids, and just behind us three older women (60 and 70ish) who were absolutely on the floor laughing at the jokes.

What was really impressive is that we live in a small town and by the third week just about any film is playing to very few people. The theater was packed and some kids were saying that they had seen the film several times.

To give you a comparison, Spy Kids played for three weeks. (Other, larger theaters played it longer). Shrek seems to be going strong into it's 4th week. I asked the theater owner and he said that he bumped another film to play it longer because it was drawing the largest crowds.

We liked everything about the film! The story, animation, and music. It's too contempory to last as a "classic", but as a just totally fun day at the movies, it's a scream!

I will still see Atlantis, and hope it's just as good!

 

[YoHo]

ladyntramplover,
That's just it, I didn't think it was worth the $8.50 I had to spend to see it. Not when my Fiancee didn't crack a smile for the first half of the movie.

I also I agree that everyone is entitled to their opinions, but we are on a discussion board, therefore we get to discuss our opinions.

It would have been worth it at Matinee prices.

Maybe I'm just too familiar with Mike Meyer's work on SNL, but all I could think was that shrek was going to spit out:

If its not scottish, its CRAP!!!!

I didn't get the entire first part of the movie, Why was the lord tossing the fairytale creatures out? It'd be nice if they established the plot a little.

 

[ladyntramplover]

YoHo...

You raise a good issue about why the fairytale creatures were being captured...I don't know the reason. My fiance and I went back a second time to see if there was an answer, and there wasn't. I'd really like to know why; it would give me a better picture as to Lord Farquad's character.

I, too, am very used to Mike Meyers' work; I think I've seen all of his films and tv skits. Once again, I agree with you about the Scottish line, but once again, I thought he might have said that line in "Austin Powers 2" with Fat ... you know (I can't say it on a Disney site).

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the movie; like you said, everyone is entitled to their own opinions. Wouldn't it be nice if the theaters would refund your money if you didn't like the film? I'd finally get my money back from seeing such classics as "Final Destination," "Wag the Dog" and "Pearl Harbor."

lady