Shrek (US)

I wanted to fall in love with this movie long before I`ve seen it. I deliberately missed it in theaters since I was convinced it would get a great looking DVD. Well, the DVD sure looks and sounds great, but as for the love - well, ahm... no.
This is (yet another) CG animation movie, that offers a lot of laughs and an almost magical plot. It is a mixture of several fairy tales and it gives some references to other movies as well.
The video transfers (both the widescreen and the fullscreen) are excellent. There are no signs of compression artifacts and the colors are extremely vivid and saturated. The CG animation looks very good, but it does not stand in the same league as "Final Fantasy". Some of the CG has a semi plastic look (the directors explain why they were aiming for this) and while most of the creatures` movements are accurately reproduced, the animation of the human characters seems a bit unnatural at times. However, the amount of detail is incredible - thousands of trees, millions of leaves and dozens of locations.
One little remark, though. For a PG rated movie, the violence towards animals (a bird, a frog and a snake) is a bit too much (although I must admit it IS funny).
The DTS and DD 5.1 soundtracks are both very good. While the sound is never too explosive, the surrounds are constantly used for special effects and ambiance. All the main characters (with the exception of Shrek) are beautifully dubbed. However, Shrek`s Irish (or is it Scottish?) accent is not suitable, plus Myers tend to lose the accent and pick it up again in various parts of the movie. Naturally, Murphy is the highlight of the show.
The musical score throughout the movie is hauntingly beautiful.
The menus are beautifully animated with sound.
The extras include 2 music videos, 5 interactive games, 2 behind the scenes featurettes (an ordinary one and another one dedicated to the CG animation), very extensive production notes, some (funny) technical goofs, a commentary by the directors and producer, 3 deleted scenes with storyboards and lots of DVD-ROM features (games, activities and the famous "Revoice Studio").
Bottom line - despite its minor imperfections, this is a good movie with great characters, lovely visuals and audio and an excellent disk. No wonder it is the number one selling disk of all times.

One of the best or better animation films I have seen in along while. Dreamworks look to be on top of Disney`s Pixar studios by a long shot. This two disc set is brilliantly set up to be one of the biggest DVDS out there. The disc coverages more than the R2 disc. If you have multi region player you must buy R1 disc.
The film is fun and crisp with special effects and looks as if it were a real film.

This was one of my must-haves - I was looking forward to it, and finally got it in my hands. R1 was the one people (here) said I should get, and I haven`t been disappointed.

I couldn`t help but feel some of the humour may be whizzing over some youngsters heads, but it hard to dislike this, and having seen it several times, I find some detail I missed before. Nice crisp graphics, details that you miss on first viewing in the backgrounds, hugely enjoyable for me to watch.

Wonderful soundtrack, great graphics, great disc! I haven`t had the R2 to compare to, so just go by the general recommendation of R1.

When "Shrek" arrived in cinemas this summer (2001) I don't think it was a surprise to anyone that it did extremely well. It was an animated film, had talking animals, a talented cast, a huge summer advertising and merchandising campaign, etc. The fact that before 'Harry Potter' it stood as the top grossing film of 2001, however, is still a surprise to almost everyone. It has a decent story, something many of the competing films were missing. With its theatrical success behind it, "Shrek" comes to home video to conquer another market.

"Shrek" is a simple tale with a clever hook. Based upon the book by William Steig, we meet the title character, a big green ogre with trumpet-like ears as he makes his way from an outhouse and takes a shower in thick mud. It's quickly obvious that this is not your normal fairy tale creature. Shrek (Mike Myers) is a private ogre, enjoying his days alone in his swamp, frightening those that trespass or wish him harm, but mostly keeping to himself. His privacy won't last long. Throughout the rest of the forest, the evil Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow) has announced a decree calling for the banishment of all fairy tale creatures from his "perfect" kingdom. The townspeople have gathered up these creatures, big and small, to sell to Farquaad's men, and it is here where we first meet Donkey (Eddie Murphy), being sold-out by his human master. Through a bit of luck, Donkey is able to escape the clutches of the men and runs through the forest until he comes upon Shrek. With the men fast on his heels, Donkey seeks solace behind the ogre's large frame and when the men get a good look at the hideous green beast, they forget about Donkey and run away - at great speed. Donkey, naturally, is convinced that Shrek has saved his life and proceeds to tell him so, and, about everything else on his mind at the moment. Donkey is not only a talking donkey, but he is a talking donkey who will not stop talking. During dinner, however, Shrek gets a bigger surprise when he discovers the banished fairy tale creatures on his property. All of them. Pinocchio, the seven dwarves, two of the three bears, Tinkerbell, they're all there. On his property! Needless to say, Shrek is less than thrilled about the idea of his house becoming a makeshift refugee camp, so he demands to know what the heck they're doing there. Donkey tells him about Lord Farquaad and Pinocchio assures him that they don't want to be on Shrek's property, only they have nowhere else to go. Being the reasonable ogre that he is, Shrek decides that he will have a talk with Farquaad and straighten this bit of nonsense right out.

So starts the quest that leads him to rescue Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) fight the dragon and generally put the world back the way it should be, with him alone in his swamp. But these things never work out the way we want them - and you should never judge people by their appearance.

The visuals of PDI DreamWorks' animation become more impressive on repeat viewings, and it's clear that this is easily on target to become a family classic. It's one of those films that you can put on just to watch a specific scene or moment, and end up watching the whole thing from there on. All in all, "Shrek" is a lot of fun. The kids obviously love it, and if you're an adult and you haven't seen it, then you need to.

The video on this two disc special edition DVD is presented in both full frame (1.33:1) and anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1), with the full frame transfer on disc one and the widescreen on the second disc. Like all other computer-animated films on DVD, "Shrek" looks flawless. The colours are perfect and vivid, details is crystal clear, and, as this transfer of "Shrek" comes straight from a digital source there is no film involved so that there are no effects, blemishes, grain, or miscalculations. The result is a fuller and sharper picture. I should point out that during the castle sequence, and in particular the moment where Shrek and Donkey cross the swinging bridge, there are times when it actually looks like you're watching incredibly smooth stop-motion or claymation animation that is not 2-D and instead has depth. I should also point out that I have not watched the full screen version as the widescreen version is enhanced for 16x9 television and I have a loathing of film not in ratio.

Audio is also given what seems to be the normal treatment these days with DreamWorks, offering the listener both a DTS and Dolby Digital track. Interestingly, however, the DTS track is available only on the second disc with the widescreen transfer, while the Dolby Digital plays on both discs. Either way, the audio is represented extremely well, with DTS gaining a due to a bit fuller sound and a little more low-end. Dialogue is very well mixed and clean, as one might imagine and expect from a film that is completely overdubbed. The surrounds are very active, with all kinds of little forest noises and murmuring of creatures and humans in crowd scenes. The score by Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell sounds great and fits the film perfectly. Like a lot of new films "Shrek" has a very impressive array of special features. Because of the monster success, I think it became imperative that the DVD be more than impressive. Disc one, first and foremost, is filled to the rim with features for your DVD-ROM drive. The standout of these DVD-ROM features is called Shrek's Revoice Studio which allows you to record your own voice over a character from the movie in 12 different scenes. This is an ingenious little feature and though I don't understand exactly how it works, it is a lot of fun. Also on the DVD-ROM are 15 different games (some of which are accessible on regular DVD players as well) including a pinball game, a tic-tac-toe game with bugs and slugs, a bowling game, pin the tail on the donkey, and many more. Also on disc one is a behind the scenes featurette on the making of "Shrek", featuring interviews with the cast and crew (Katzenberg included). Personally, I would have loved to see them talk about the audience reaction to the film, or what it was like to have the film in the Cannes Film Festival, but this is basically your standard run-of-the-mill making of. Something else new on this disc is an area called DreamWorks Kids that is accessible from the main menu of disc one. Once selected, you can then chose from a selection of favourite scenes, other games, and music videos by the Baha Men (who also have a making of) and Smash Mouth. Obviously geared towards kids, I thought this was a nice way to organize the features. Rounding out disc one, is an advert for the upcoming traditionally animated film "Spirit: Stallion of Cimmaron," production notes, cast and crew bios, and a short music video of the characters from the film doing karaoke numbers that is quite funny (and is also referred to as the new extended ending, which starts after the credits of the film itself). 

Disc Two has more features, including a commentary with producer Aaron Warner, and directors Vicky Jensen and Andrew Adamson. This is geared towards the technical side and very informative, but the three also seem to have a lot of fun together and it is obvious how proud they are of the film. Next is a featurette called "The Tech of Shrek," which further delves into the processes involved in making the film. If you're into computer animation at all, there's certainly a lot here, as the animators explain just how far the technology has advanced since their previous feature, "Antz." Also on board, are a few storyboard pitches of scenes that didn't make it into the computer. Another featurette is called "Technical Goofs" which show a couple scenes where a wrong command (or something) was given by the animators that resulted in odd changes to the characters' physical attributes. Most of these scenes are very rough and from early stages of the animation process. You will also see some of this same footage in the other featurettes. The final featurette briefly introduces us to the world of International dubbing, and is fairly fun to watch the Spanish version of Donkey do his best Eddie Murphy. Next up is a character progression "reel," which is basically a series of sketches that you can surf through and notice how the concepts and designs for the characters changed in pre-production. Finally, we have the theatrical trailer, and hints for the Xbox video game of "Shrek," as well as the same production notes and cast and crew bios. There are also a number of 'Easter Eggs' on both disks - or as the Gingerbread Man says "Not my gumdrop buttons". 

"Shrek" is a fun movie that has enough to offer adults that they can actually enjoy watching the film without their children.

Despite the fact the lead character is a smelly green ogre, "Shrek" is a beautiful fairy tale love story. Not your ordinary tale of a princess in distress, in this version the princess` would-be rescuer lives in a swamp, eats disgusting bugs, and would rather just be left alone. He`s forced into rescuing the princess after all sorts of fairy tale creatures invade his secluded little piece of paradise. Accompanied by his new pal, Donkey, Shrek becomes something he never dreamed of being - a romantic hero.

Dreamworks have put together a great package. A great movie, combined with a good soundtrack and unparalleled visuals, topped off with a collection of very entertaining extras, makes for a top-notch release. This is a fantastic package and come very highly recommended to everyone. Stunning, flawless and impossibly detailed, this DVD picture (measuring 1.78:1 anamorphic) will astonish you and prove what the format is capable of. The reason it`s so good is that it is straight digital-to-digital source.

Stand out performance however goes to Eddie Murphy as the fast talking, quick thinking, ever so slightly annoying Donkey. Murphy's performance is hilarious, and Donkey gets most of the laughs from the outset.

One of the most entertaining films of the year, "Shrek" is great fun for kids of all ages. There`s humor for adults that won`t offend children, and plenty to keep everyone interested and entertained.

Although Shrek has made millions, has recieved excellent reviews by almost every critic, it is NOT a super movie. Its a very short fairy-tale adventure about an Ogre (Shrek) trying to get his land back from the fairy-tale creatures. He is joined by the loud-mouth donkey, named Donkey. The dialogue between the two characters is simple and useless, and is just there to keep the story moving. The donkey is supposed to keep us laughing all the way through the movie, but instead becomes a real pain. The only thing that saves this movie from being a total failure (besides the animation), are the scenes that poke fun at Disney, like the parking signs that have different names, (Sir Lance etc.). Other good points include the Gingerbread man and Pinocchio.

Kids may like it, but I can`t understand why any adult would like it. I do recommend this movie as you will undoubtedly enjoy it as 99% of the people do.

As for the DVD itself: The video is crystal clear, and the audio is close to perfect. If you liked the movie then you`ll find the extras enjoyable.

Content

The star of the film is a giant green ogre named, rather obviously, Shrek. All Shrek wants out of life is to be left in peace in his swamp to enjoy ogre pursuits. Aside from some minor irritation from the local villagers, he gets his wish; that is until the evil Lord Farquaad starts evicting fairytale creatures from their homes and dumping them in the swamp! Farquaad wants his kingdom, Duloc, to be the perfect realm, and fairytale creatures do not sit well with that idea.

In an attempt to get his land back Shrek, and his lovable donkey called, err, Donkey, set off to Duloc to confront Farquaad. After defeating Farquaad's knights, Shrek is offered a deal: Rescue a princess in return for the deed to his swamp. Shrek begrudgingly agrees and he and Donkey set off to rescue princess Fiona from the clutches of a fire-breathing dragon.

Along the way they encounter many dangers, and when the princess is freed Shrek must confront the most frightening thing of all, his feelings. Could a princess ever love an ogre, or is Shrek destined to be alone forever?

The voice talent in Shrek is first rate. Mike Myers is well suited to the role of the ogre with a heart of gold, even if Shrek does sound suspiciously like one of Myers' characters from the Austin Powers films. Cameron Diaz is also an excellent choice for the role of Fiona, being able to lend the character both a gentle, loving side as well as a feisty, no-nonsense side! John Lithgow is up to his usual level of brilliance as the vertically challenged Lord Farquad. The guy can really do evil when he wants to.

Stand out performance however goes to Eddie Murphy as the fast talking, quick thinking, ever so slightly annoying Donkey. Murphy's performance is hilarious, and Donkey gets most of the laughs from the outset.

The film is full of many hilarious moments, not just in the voice acting, but also in the animation itself. Especially amusing is the way that the film pokes fun at pretty much every fairytale going. There is something for everyone here; kids will love the animation and the slapstick moments, adults will enjoy the film on another level entirely because of its intelligent and witty dialogue. Like most films of this ilk, Shrek features a few racy lines of dialogue, but nothing too smutty, and it should go right over the average child's head.

Video

What can I say? Rarely before have I seen such a flawless transfer. Taken directly from the digital source, Shrek looks spectacular. There really is no other way to describe the visual aspect of this release. I didn't spot a single flaw anywhere, although I'm not one to sit there with the frame advance button checking for the smallest imperfection, but you get the idea. The video comes in two formats: the first disc contains the 4:3 pan-and-scan version of the movie, the second disc houses the 1.78:1 anamorphic version. Both versions look amazing, but obviously the widescreen version is the preferred choice for 16:9 television owners and movie buffs.

I think it's great that Dreamworks have chosen to include both versions of the film, as kids probably don't care if the movie is in the widescreen aspect ratio, but they could kick up a fuss about it not filling the whole of their TV screen. At least a choice is there, unlike some other recent DVDs.

Audio

Shrek has a very pleasant soundtrack, which is presented in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS formats. Both mixes are pleasing to the ear, but I prefer the DTS mix. In fact, this was my primary reason for opting for the R1 set, but more of that later. As is the norm with most animated films, Shrek features a nice collection of songs from acts like Smash Mouth and the Baha Men, along with a fine original score.

Dialogue is clear throughout, which is good news as the vocal performances are intrinsic to the overall success of the film. The sound effects are also excellent, and there are some nice surround moments throughout in evidence, such as when Shrek and Donkey are in the dragon's castle and the various crowd effects throughout the film.

It's worth noting that the DTS mix is only available on the second, widescreen version of the film. The pan-and-scan disc contains Dolby 5.1 only.

Features

There is a very generous amount of bonus material spread across the two discs. Disc one includes an HBO making of special, a sneak peek of the new Dreamworks film 'Spirit', character interviews, hidden fun facts, and the Shrek karaoke music video. The character interviews are a novel feature, but they're fairly short and John Lithgow's Lord Farquaad is conspicuous by his absence.

The first disc also contains the Dreamworks Kids features, such as music videos, favourite scene selection and fifteen DVD-Rom games! Included with the DVD-Rom material is Shrek's re-voice studio, which allows you to dub your voice over those of the characters in a number of key scenes! It's great fun for both adults and kids alike. The music videos are also pretty good fun; both songs are very catchy.

Disc two houses yet more great features, including a commentary track, a technical featurettes, a storyboard pitch of deleted scenes, technical goofs, an international dubbing featurette, character design progression reel, hints for Shrek on the X-Box, cast and filmmaker bios, production notes and a theatrical trailer!

The storyboard pitches are very amusing, as seemingly mad animators run around the room voicing scenes for a small audience of studio bodies. The goofs are pretty cool, and feature things like a fuzzy Donkey, or Shrek with an exploded face! The dubbing featurettes is worth a couple of viewings, and it's interesting to think that the actors have a chance to really make the characters their own. The commentary is also very good, with a lot of background information on the production. The track is even subtitled, which is a very nice touch and one that I wish was more widely used.

It's also worth pointing out that Shrek has some the finest animated menus of any disc I've seen. I thought the Star Wars discs were good, but they don`t have the charm of this release. The main characters from the film stand awaiting your selection, upon which an amusing animation occurs. For example, selecting the special features option prompts the Pinocchio character to disavow all knowledge of special features, while his nose doubles in length! The other animations are equally as good, especially Donkey.

There are also a couple of easter eggs for you to discover.

Overall

Dreamworks have put together a great package: a great movie, combined with a good soundtrack and unparalleled visuals, topped off with a collection of very entertaining extras, makes for a top-notch release that should be high on everyone's "to buy" list. This set is even more tempting than usual because of the comparatively poor region two release, although an expensive R2 three disc boxed set is now available (which also includes the CD soundtrack). For those of you who don't know, us region two consumers originally got a single disc release, sans DTS and a lot of the special features… Still, enough moaning about the inadequacies of the original region two version. This is a fantastic package and come very highly recommended to everyone. Shrek-tacular!