Instantly becoming an animated film classic upon its release, the first installment of Shrek is available on Netflix. The animated film from Dreamworks studios has dusted off the world of fairy tales by offering a completely offbeat and innovative parody. Focus.
The fairy tale completely revisited
Who doesn't know Shrek ? This green ogre became a real star and was so successful at the box office that 4 parts of his adventures were released in cinemas. It must be said that his arrival on the big screen had the effect of a small bomb and immediately conquered the hearts of young and old alike. By revisiting traditional fairy tales, Dreamworks studios have done well by making Shrek, a true folk hero while his status as an ogre foreshadowed the opposite.
Yes because in a classic fairy tale, an ogre can not be the character reaping all the laurels. But it is by twisting its ideas that Dreamworks redistributes the cards by reversing the roles and proposing its bold version of things. A version conducive to tasty moments of comedy. As the feature film progresses, Shrek, a greenish ogre living alone in his Swamp, will have to leave his home in order to save a princess named Fiona from a fortress where she is imprisoned. The ogre will develop feelings for her as he must "deliver" her to Lord Farquadd, to whom she seems promised.
A tour de force from start to finish
From the first minutes, Shrek is a tour de force. We clearly feel this desire that the two directors of the film Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson have to propose a very picky parody and to completely valdinguer the habits and customs of fairy tales. This involves a reversal of roles as previously said (The ogre becomes the hero and the prince becomes the villain) but also by the appearance and rewriting of the most iconic characters of children's literature.
From the three little pigs to Pinocchio, through the gingerbread, they are there in the vast majority.Through this treatment, Steven Spielberg's studio offers a double reading to its viewers: The father of the family will capture the adult references of the ensemble while his children will recognize the mythical icons of the tales. The film then shows audacity throughout its unfolding. The most daring idea of the film is to develop a love story between Shrek and Fiona, an ogre and a princess: This goes against everything that has been done before.
The film also relies heavily on the beautiful chemistry between Shrek and the donkey, his faithful steed. It is the meeting of a grumpy and unsociable ogre facing a donkey who is his opposite, magnified by the voice of Eddie Murphy who really fits the character.There is not a single moment when you feel bored following the adventures of the trio since everything is very well paced. The fairy tale dusting operation is a real success. It is also necessary to highlight the soundtrack of the film which goes very well with the ensemble by alternating magical scores with rather modern music to emphasize even more this mixture.
With this first installment of Shrek, Dreamworks Studios launched one of the most lucrative franchises in animated cinema. Shrek sets the foundations of the famous character and his universe with it. The fairy tale is revised in a completely offbeat way and it is a real success. To see and rewatch on Netflix.
