I’m writing about the success of the movie Shrek 1 and why it’s so beloved and talked about to this very day.
According to New Hartford student Luke Wilson, Shrek was “one of the first films produced by Dreamworks and one of the big successful films of the 2000s.”
“The film was theatrically released by Dreamworks Pictures in the United States on May 18, 2001, and grossed over $491 million worldwide, becoming the fourth highest-grossing film of 2001…It was widely praised by critics for its animation, voice performances, soundtrack, writing, and humor, which they noted catered to both adults and children,” according to Wikipedia
The voices cast in this film are extremely unique. Cameron Diaz as Fiona does really well as her voice feels so expressive and into her character. John Lithgow as Lord Farquaad is not only iconic, but also really funny in how he performs as this short ruler. And of course, any conversation between Mike Myers as Shrek and Eddie Murphy as Donkey is pure gold. The Scottish accent that Myers invented for the character is both funny to listen to and also makes his performance as the main character feel really genuine as Shrek learns to open up to people around him. As for Donkey you not only hear Eddie Murphy’s funny voice but you also hear through his voice that he’s kind of the heart of the film as he gives advice and acts like a perfect confidant of both Shrek and Fiona.
Shrek was such a huge success as it both did well with so many audiences (to the point where it’s still talked about) and did so phenomenally at the box office that it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Shrek 1 and the entire Shrek franchise was a huge success because the new kind of fairy tale Shrek 1 was based on was important because it surprised audiences and inspired a new wave of unlikely fairytale stories.
What’s unique about the new kind of fairy tale that’s presented in Shrek 1 is while Disney movies (specifically the Disney Renaissance films) would have original theater songs sung by the characters that develop the world that they’re in, Shrek 1 instead uses pop music in order to fit the tone of the scenes from “All-Star,” “Bad Reputation,” “I’m On My Way,” and “I’m A Believer.”
The writing is so clever and funny, involving adult jokes that get looked over by kids but eventually catch on for adults to the iconic lines from the characters and how the writing feels really clever on how the people behind it balance out both the humor and the emotional moments with each other to make a movie with a compelling story, funny jokes, great iconic characters, and an endlessly rewatchable fun time.
