Shrek (2015 Film)

Shrek is a 2015 American computer-animated fantasy-comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios, released by Walt Disney Pictures, directed by Pete Docter and John Lasseter, featuring the voices of Jack Black, Chris Rock, Krysten Ritter, Benedict Cumberbatch, Seth MacFarlane, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Troy Baker, Corey Burton, Bryan Cranston and Jean Dujardin. It is loosely based on William Steig's 1990 fairy tale picture book Shrek!, and somewhat serves as a parody film, targeting other films adapted from numerous children's fantasies (mainly animated Disney films). The film's soundtrack includes music by Smash Mouth, Eels, Joan Jett, The Proclaimers, Jason Wade, Baha Men, and John Cale (covering Leonard Cohen).

Shrek originally cast Robin Williams to do the voice for the title character, recording about 80%–90% of his dialogue. After Williams died in 2014 before he could finish, Jack Black was brought in to work for the character, who after his first recording decided to record his voice in a Scottish accent.

Earning $484.4 million at the worldwide box office, the film was a critical and commercial success. Shrek also received promotion from food chains such as Baskin-Robbins (promoting the film's DVD release) and MacDonald's. It was acclaimed as an animated film worthy of adult interest, with many adult-oriented jokes and themes but a simple enough plot and humour to appeal to children. Shrek won a Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. The film was also nominated for six British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards, including the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Chris Rock for his voice-over performance as Donkey, and won the BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. The film's main (and title) character was awarded his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in May 2020.

The film's success prompted Pixar to create two sequels—Shrek 2 (2017), Shrek the Third (2020), two holiday specials—Shrek the Halls (2017) and Scared Shrekless (2021), and a spin-off film—Puss in Boots (2022). The film's success also inspired other merchandise, such as video games, a stage musical.

Plot
Shrek (Jack Black), a grouchy, terrifying green ogre who loves the solitude in his swamp, finds his life interrupted when many fairytale characters are exiled there by order of the fairytale-hating Lord Farquaad (Benedict Cumberbatch). Shrek tells them that he will go ask Farquaad to send them back. He brings along a talking Donkey (Chris Rock) who is the only fairytale creature who knows the way to Duloc.

Farquaad tortures the Gingerbread Man (Seth MacFarlane) into giving the location of the remaining fairytale creatures until his guards rush in with something he has been searching for: the Magic Mirror (Mark Hamill). He asks The Mirror if his kingdom is the fairest of them all but is told that he is not even a king. To be a king he must marry a princess and is given three options, from which he chooses Princess Fiona (Krysten Ritter), who is locked in a castle tower guarded by lava and a dragon. The Mirror tries to mention "the little thing that happens at night" but is ignored.

Shrek and Donkey arrive at Farquaad's palace in Duloc, where they end up in a tournament. The winner gets the "privilege" of rescuing Fiona so that Farquaad may marry her. Shrek and Donkey easily defeat the other knights in wrestling-match fashion, and Farquaad agrees to move the fairytale creatures from his swamp if Shrek rescues Fiona.

Shrek and Donkey travel to the castle and split up to find Fiona. Donkey encounters the dragon and sweet-talks the beast before learning that it is female. Dragon takes a liking to him and carries him to her chambers. Shrek finds Fiona, who is appalled at his lack of romanticism. As they leave, Shrek saves Donkey, caught in Dragon's tender clutches, and causes her to chase them all out of the castle. At first, Fiona is thrilled to be rescued but is quickly disappointed when Shrek takes his helmet off and reveals he is an ogre.

As the three journey to Duloc, Fiona urges the two to camp out for the night while she sleeps in a cave. Shrek and Donkey stargaze while Shrek tells stories about great ogres and says that he will build a wall around his swamp when he returns. When Donkey persistently asks why, he sadly confesses that everyone judges him before knowing him; therefore, he feels he is better off alone, despite Donkey's admittance that he did not immediately judge him when they met.

Along the way, Shrek and Fiona find they have more in common and fall in love. The trio is almost at Duloc, and that night Fiona shelters in a windmill. When Donkey hears strange noises coming from it, he finds Fiona turned into an ogre. She explains her childhood curse and transforms each night, which is why she was locked away, and that only her true love's kiss will return her to her "love's true form". Shrek, about to confess his feelings for Fiona with a sunflower, partly overhears them, and is heartbroken as he mistakes her disgust with her transformation to an "ugly beast" as disgust with him. Fiona makes Donkey promise not to tell Shrek, vowing to do it herself, but when morning comes, Shrek has brought Lord Farquaad to Fiona. The couple return to Duloc, while a hurt Shrek angrily leaves his friendship with Donkey and returns to his now-vacated swamp, remembering what Fiona "said" about him.

Despite his privacy, Shrek is miserable and misses Fiona. Furious at Shrek, Donkey comes to the swamp where Shrek says he overheard Donkey and Fiona's conversation. Donkey keeps his promise to Fiona and tells Shrek that she was talking about someone else. He accepts Shrek's apology and tells him that Fiona will be getting married soon, urging Shrek into action to gain Fiona's love. They travel to Duloc quickly, thanks to Dragon, who had escaped her confines and followed Donkey.

Shrek interrupts the wedding before Farquaad can kiss Fiona. He tells her that Farquaad is not her true love and only marrying her to become king. The sun sets, which turns Fiona into an ogre in front of everyone in the church, causing Shrek to fully understand what he overheard. Farquaad, disgusted by Fiona, orders Shrek killed and Fiona imprisoned. Shrek whistles for Dragon who bursts in along with Donkey and devours Farquaad, killing him. Shrek and Fiona admit their love and share a kiss; Fiona is bathed in light as her curse is broken but is surprised that she is still an ogre, as she thought she would become beautiful, to which Shrek replies that she is beautiful. They marry in the swamp and leave on their honeymoon while the rest celebrate by singing "I'm a Believer".

Cast

 * Jack Black as Shrek
 * Krysten Ritter as Princess Fionna
 * Chris Rock as Donkey
 * Benedict Cumberbatch as Lord Farquaad
 * Seth MacFarlane as Gingerbread Man
 * Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Pinnochio
 * Grey DeLisle as Red Riding Hood
 * Troy Baker as The Three Little Pigs
 * John Ratzenberger as The Big Bad Wolf
 * Mark Hamill as The Magic Mirror
 * Jean Dujardin as Robin Hood
 * Frank Welker as the Dragon
 * Christopher Knights as Thelonius
 * Michael Gough as Captain of the Guards
 * Susan Blakeslee as Old Woman (Donkey's ex-owner)
 * Pete Docter as Duloc Mascot (a man dressed in a suit that looks like Lord Farquaad)
 * Terrell Ransom, Jr. as Baby Bear
 * Danny Jacobs as Peter Pan

Reception
Shrek was well-received, with critics praising Shrek as an animated film worthy of adult interest, with many adult-oriented jokes and themes but a simple enough plot and humor to appeal to children. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 87% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 190 reviews, with an average score of 7.7/10. The critical consensus is: "While simultaneously embracing and subverting fairy tales, the irreverent Shrek also manages to make humour out of Disney itself, providing a moral message to children, and offer viewers a funny, fast-paced ride."

Robert Roeper praised the film, giving it four stars out of a possible four and describing it as "jolly and wicked, filled with sly in-jokes and yet somehow possessing a heart." USA Today's Susan Wloszczyna praised the main cast of Black, Ritter and Rock, mainlypraising Chris Rock's performance, stating it "gives the comic performance of his career, aided by sensational digital artistry, as he brays for the slightly neurotic motormouth." Richard Schickel of Time also enjoyed Rock's role, stating, "No one has ever made a funnier jackass of himself than Rock." Peter Rainer of New York magazine liked the script, also stating that "The animation, directed by Pete Docter and John Lasseter, is often on the same wriggly, giggly level as the script, although the more "human" characters, such as Princess Fiona and Lord Farquaad, are less interesting than the animals and creatures -- a common pitfall in animated films of all types." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film a positive review, saying "Shrek is a world-class charmer that could even seduce the Academy when it hands out the first official animation Oscar next year." James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film four stars out of four, saying "Shrek is not a guilty pleasure for sophisticated movie-goers; it is, purely and simply, a pleasure." Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a positive review, saying "The witty, fractured fairy tale Shrek has a solid base of clever writing." Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave the film an A+, saying "Tet another kind of palace coup, a shout of defiance, and a coming of age for Pixar." Jay Boyar of the Orlando Sentinel gave the film a positive review, saying "It's a pleasure to be able to report that the movie both captures and expands upon the book's playful spirit of deconstruction." Steven Rosen of The Denver Post gave the film a positive review, saying "Pixar Animation again proves a name to trust for imaginative, funny animated movies that delight kids and adults equally." Susan Stark of The Detroit News gave the film four out of four stars, saying "Swift, sweet, irreverent, rangy and as spirited in the writing and voice work as it is splendid in design." Lou Lumenick of the New York Post gave the film four out of four stars, saying "A fat green ogre with a grouchy disposition and worse manners, Shrek is the sort of unlikely hero that nobody could love -- except just about everyone who sees this hip and hilarious animated delight." Jami Bernard of the New York Daily News gave the film four out of four stars, saying "The brilliance of the voice work, script, direction and animation all serve to make Shrek an adorable, infectious work of true sophistication."

Sequels and Spin-Offs
Shrek had two sequels which included Shrek 2, and Shrek the Third. Both films received similar acclaim from critics and were box office hits. There were also two holiday specials called Shrek the Halls and Scared Shrekless, a spin-off called Puss in Boots (a prequel to the Shrek series, exploring Puss's origin story and his life before meeting Shrek, Fionna and Donkey) and several shorts. A fourth feature film was also planned for release, but was later cancelled in 2022.