Review: "PUSS IN BOOTS: The Last Wish" is a Delightful Surprise

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 17 of 2023 (No. 1906) by Leroy Douresseaux

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)

Running time:  102 minutes (1 hour, 42 minutes)

MPA – PG for action/violence, rude humor/language, and some scary moments

DIRECTOR:  Joel Crawford with Januel Mercado

WRITERS:  Paul Fisher and Tommy Swerdlow; from a story by Tom Wheeler and Tommy Swerdlow

PRODUCER:  Mark Swift

EDITOR:  James Ryan

COMPOSER:  Heitor Pereira

Academy Award nominee

ANIMATION/FANTASY/ADVENTURE/COMEDY

Starring:  (voices) Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Harvey Guillén, Florence Pugh, Olivia Coleman, Ray Winstone, Samson Kayo, John Mulaney, Wagner Moura, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Kevin McCann, Anthony Mendez, and Bernardo De Paula

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is a 2022 computer-animated fantasy-adventure film directed by Joel Crawford and produced by DreamWorks Animation.  The film is a sequel to Puss in Boots (2011) and is also the sixth installment in the Shrek film franchise.  The Last Wish focuses on Puss in Boots' epic journey to gain the wish that will restore the eight of his nine lives that he has lost.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish opens in the town of Del Mar.  There, the renowned hero and outlaw, Puss in Boots (Antionio Banderas), hosts a party and later, saves the town from a giant.  After being injured during his battle with a giant, Puss sees a local doctor (Anthony Mendez) who informs him that he has used eight of his nine lives.  [I'm assuming that you, dear readers, are familiar with the superstitious belief that cats have nine lives].  The doctor urges Puss to retire from adventuring before he loses his ninth and final life.

Puss refuses to retire, but then, he has an unfortunate encounter with a menacing, bounty-hunting.  Known as Wolf (Wagner Moura), he is garbed in a black robe and hood and wields twin sickles, and he is so fearsome that Puss has to flee.  While on the run, Puss learns of the magical “Wishing Star,” which can grant a single wish to someone bearing the map to its location.  Puss begins his journey to the Star's location, the “Dark Forest.”  Joining him on his journey is Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek), the savvy Tuxedo cat he apparently betrayed, and also a small dog that Puss and Kitty call “Perrito” (Harvey Guillén).  But they aren't the only ones looking for the Wishing Star.

I was happy to hear about Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.  When I first saw the original, Puss in Boots, I was surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is like its fellow DreamWorks Animation 2022 stablemate, The Bad Guys.  Both films take inspiration for their production design from Sony Pictures Animation's 2018, Oscar-winning film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which mixes both a 3D and a 2D aesthetic in its design.  I think The Last Wish looks closer to Into the Spider-Verse than The Bad Guys does, but neither film electrifies the screen the way the Spider-Man film did.  

Like its predecessor, The Last Wish has a lead character who is part Zorro and part Valentino.  Puss in Boots is a charming rogue, the kind of character that can drive a swashbuckling adventure film to success.  However, The Last Wish requires a character to not only undergo a character arc, but also to evolve.  To that end, Antonio Banderas gives a performance with more humor and pathos than most actors give in live-action roles.  By the time The Last Wish ends, Banderas has me wishing real hard for a third film in this series.

As Kitty Softpaws, Salma Hayek makes the most of her moments.  The character doesn't get the space to roam dramatically that Puss does, but Hayek makes Kitty seem like a character that could carry her own movie.  Actor Harvey Guillén keeps Perrito the dog perfectly cute for this film, because he is just the kind of character that can quickly go from lovable to annoying.

The rest of the characters in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish come across as extraneous.  The “Three Bears Crime Family,” which includes Goldilocks (Florence Pugh), Mama Bear (Olivia Colman), Papa Bear (Ray Winstone), and Baby Bear (Samson Kayo), and also the crime lord, “Big” Jack Horner (John Mulaney), don't feel so important to the story that they could not be replaced with other famous fairy tale characters.  They aren't bad characters, but they seem to exist in The Last Wish for no other reason than to be part of this film's big action set pieces.  But Wagner Moura is awesome as the magnificent “Wolf.”  The film could have used more of him and less of the other “criminals.”

Still, Antonio Banderas once again makes Puss in Boots an animated character worthy of headlining his own films.  Hopefully, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is not the last Puss in Boots film.

7 of 10

A-

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Sunday, April 16, 2023

NOTES:

2023 Academy Awards, USA:  1nomination: “Best Animated Feature Film” (Joel Crawford and Mark Swift)

2023 BAFTA Awards:  1 nomination: “Best Animated Feature Film” (Joel Crawford and Mark Swift)

2023 Golden Globes, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Motion Picture – Animated”

2023 Image Awards (NAACP):  1 nomination: “Outstanding Animated Motion Picture”

The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Oscar-Winner's Webcomic, "Pariah," Now in Print

[Aron Warner won both an Oscar and a BAFTA as the producer of the 2001 smash hit animated film, Shrek.  Apparently, he also produces a webcomic, entitled, Pariah, which is now in print through Dark Horse Comics.  The following is a press release from Dark Horse. - LD]

ARON WARNER PUBLISHES PARIAH WITH DARK HORSE COMICS

Academy Award winner produces webcomic-to-print series

As announced at Comic-Con International 2013, Aron Warner, the Academy Award–winning producer of Shrek, is bringing his acclaimed webcomic Pariah to Dark Horse Comics.

Pariah is cowritten by Aron Warner and Philip Gelatt (Petrograd), with artwork by Eisner-nominated painter Brett Weldele (The Surrogates). Volume 1, which collects the webcomic, is available in bookstores everywhere today.

In Pariah, genetically engineered geniuses known as vitros are labeled a terrorist cell after an explosion at a military weapons lab. The vitros are rounded up and left on a decrepit satellite orbiting Earth. Now they must band together and use their supergenius abilities to get back to Earth safely.

Pariah will also see a brand-new, eight-issue miniseries beginning next month!

Praise for Aron Warner’s Pariah:

“A group of hyper-intelligent teenagers called vitros suddenly find themselves hunted by a society that has marginalized them . . . I was hooked by the fifth page.”—Fanboy Comics

“It does have a lot of potential and ironically enough much of the story is about untapped potential of highly intelligent teens being ostracized for, well, being smarties.”—Comic Bastards

“A good read. The art is great, plain and simple.”—Eat Geek Play

Aron Warner’s Pariah Volume 1 webcomic collection is now available digitally and in stores.  Pariah #1, the first issue of the new print series, will be on comic shop shelves on February 26, 2014. For more information, visit PariahOnline.com.

About Dark Horse Comics
Founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson, Dark Horse Comics has proven to be a solid example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and establish a small, homegrown company as an industry giant. The company is known for the progressive and creator-friendly atmosphere it provides for writers and artists. In addition to publishing comics from top talent such as Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, Neil Gaiman, Brian Wood, Gerard Way, Felicia Day, and Guillermo del Toro, and comics legends such as Will Eisner, Neal Adams, and Jim Steranko, Dark Horse has developed its own successful properties, including The Mask, Ghost, Timecop, and SpyBoy. Its successful line of comics and products based on popular properties includes Star Wars, Mass Effect, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, Emily the Strange, Tim Burton’s Tragic Toys for Girls and Boys, Serenity, and Domo. Today Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent comic book publisher in the US and is recognized as one of the world’s leading publishers of both creator-owned content and licensed comics material.

Review: "Shrek Forever After" is an Upgrade from Third Film

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 37 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Shrek Forever After (2010)
Running time: 93 minutes (1 hour, 33 minutes)
MPAA – PG for mild action, some rude humor and brief language
DIRECTOR: Mike Mitchell
WRITER: Josh Klausner and Darren Lemke
PRODUCERS: Teresa Cheng and Gina Shay
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Yong Duk Jhun

ANIMATION/FANTASY/ACTION/ADVENTURE and COMEDY/FAMILY

Starring: (voices) Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, Jon Hamm, John Cleese, Craig Robinson, Jane Lynch, and Walt Dohrn

The magic is not gone! Shrek Forever After arrives in theatres and reminds us that the disappointing Shrek the Third was a fluke in the Shrek franchise. When Shrek debuted in 2001, it was certainly different from the typical animated film. Instead of being an update of some fairy tale meant to appease children, Shrek turned the fairy tale on its ear, spoofed pop culture, and introduced odd ball characters that were so endearing a few of them gradually became pop culture stars. The 2004 sequel, Shrek 2, was as good as the first film, but not as fresh and original. Shrek the Third was a misfire. While it may not be an original, Shrek Forever After returns to what the first two films did well.

The new film finds the title character, that lovable ogre, Shrek (Mike Myers), not loving being a lovable ogre. He fought an evil dragon to rescue Prince Fiona (Cameron Diaz), married her, and saved his in-laws’ kingdom, Far Far Away. Before that, however, Shrek was ogre who scared villagers and took mud baths. Now, he is a domesticated family man, changing diapers, and autographing pitchforks for admiring villagers, and his once-fearsome ogre’s roar has become a children’s favorite. Shrek longs for the days when he was “real ogre,” but there is someone with the magic to help him be bad again.

A smooth-talking dealmaker named Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn) meets Shrek and offers him a magical contract. Shrek can get a day to feel like a real ogre again, in exchange for ANY day from Shrek’s past. Shrek signs the contract, but the deal creates a twisted, alternate version of Far Far Away. This is a world in which he and Princess Fiona never met, and his friends, even Donkey (Eddie Murphy), don’t know him. He has 24 hours to restore his world or disappear forever.

Shrek Forever After is essentially a spin on director Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life, in which a man on the verge of suicide gets to see how unfortunate life would be for his family, friends, and community without him. Because it uses themes similar to the Capra film, this fourth Shrek movie is probably the most heartfelt and sentimental about the importance of close relationships. The narrative is insistent that each individual character is essential to the well-being and happiness of his or her fellow characters. [That said, Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) is getting a spin-off film.]

The entire story plays off the idea that the audience, by now, is familiar with these characters, knows their personalities, and has expectations about how the characters will entertain them. And Shrek Forever After delivers. All the voice performances are good, and, unlike in Shrek the Third, Eddie Murphy and Donkey have lots of screen time, which they use to spectacular results. This film also introduces another good Shrek villain, the winning Rumpelstiltskin, superbly performed by animator and voice actor, Walt Dohrn.

Shrek Forever After like the original is big and jolly. Cleverly chosen songs still populate the soundtrack and set the tone for key scenes in the story. Pop culture is slyly referenced and spoofed (like the funny break dancing witches routine), and the main characters still have some of the best jokes and one-liners the audience will hear during the summer movie season. But Shrek Forever After has heart. If this is indeed the last Shrek film (at least for awhile), we are left with a movie that reminds us how much fun Shrek and company are and how much we really like them or even love them.

8 of 10
A

Sunday, May 23, 2010

New Book Unveils the History of "Shrek" Film

New Book Says Shrek Was Close to Never Being Made

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--According to a new book, The Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies, and a Company Called DreamWorks (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) by Nicole LaPorte, Shrek almost did not happen. LaPorte, who covered DreamWorks, the company founded by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen, for Variety, details many of the fascinating decisions that changed movie history in this new book.

As LaPorte writes, before Shrek, the company was floundering financially, largely because none of the studio’s previous animated films were working. Shrek was DreamWorks’s first, all-out blockbuster; it grossed $484 million worldwide. The fourth installment of the Shrek franchise releases on Friday, May 21.

But DreamWorks Animation’s biggest, most lucrative franchise ironically almost didn’t get made and struggled along for years. As LaPorte writes, in the beginning (way back in 1994) when the project was just being discussed, Jeffrey Katzenberg hired four recent college grads, dubbed the “Propellerheads” who were experimenting with 3-D. The group, which included J.J. Abrams (who would eventually be called the “next Steven Spielberg”), Rob Letterman, Loren Soman, and Andy Waisler. After months of working on the film, their one-minute test so underwhelmed Katzenberg that he shut down production and threatened to scrap the project. Several millions in development costs were written off. As the movie floundered in oblivion, animators began referring to working on Shrek as being sent to “the Gulag.” Several writers (Ted Elliott Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, Roger Schulman) and directors (Henry Selick) gave Shrek a shot but when Andrew Adamson took over, the film was finally set on the right path. At that point, Jeffrey Katzenberg had far less to do with the film, than with other movies he had micromanaged, such as Prince of Egypt and The Road to El Dorado--both flops.

Saturday Night Live actor Chris Farley was originally cast as the voice of Shrek. The animators relied heavily on Farley’s own looks and Tommy Boy hairstyle to draw the early versions of the ogre. After Farley’s death, Mike Myers was brought on to replace him. Myers decided near the end of production to give Shrek a Scottish accent and could not be dissuaded, which meant $4 million in reanimation for the ogre’s mouth and facial expressions.

The film also served as DreamWorks’ biggest ammunition in its battle against Disney. Shrek is essentially the anti-Disney movie, taking beloved characters like Snow White and the Gingerbread Man and turning them on their heads. And Lord Farquaad's pointed resemblance to Michael Eisner was icing on the cake for Katzenberg who was in a heated legal battle with Eisner. Eisner had once called Katzenberg a “little midget” publically during the trial, and as an inside joke, the Farquaad character was made to be very short.


About the Author
Nicole LaPorte is a former film reporter for Variety, where she covered the Hollywood movie industry for several years. She also wrote "The Rules of Hollywood" column for the Los Angeles Times Magazine, and has written for the New Yorker, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, New York Observer, Sunday Telegraph Magazine, and W Magazine. LaPorte is currently the West Coast Reporter for Daily Beast. She lives in Venice, California.

Review: "Shrek the Third" is Disappointing

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 88 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux


Shrek the Third (2007)
Running time: 93 minutes (1 hour, 33 minutes)
MPAA – PG for some crude humor, suggestive content, and swashbuckling action
DIRECTOR: Chris Miller with Raman Hui
WRITERS: Jeffrey Price & Peter S. Seaman and Chris Miller & Aron Warner
PRODUCER: Aron Warner
EDITOR: Michael Andrews

ANIMATION/COMEDY/FANTASY/ACTION/FAMILY

Starring: (voices) Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Ruper Everett, Justin Timberlake, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Cheri Oteri, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Amy Sedaris, John Krasinski, Larry King, Susanne Blakeslee, and Ian McShane

Smelly ogre Shrek (Mike Myers) returns in Shrek the Third, and finds himself in a bit of a fix. When he married Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), he never realized that the union would put him in line to become the next King of Far, Far Away, so when his father-in-law, King Harold (John Cleese), dies, Shrek and Fiona are facing the very real possibility of being the new King and Queen.

Determined to remain an ordinary ogre and return to his peaceful life in the swamp, Shrek sets off with reliable pals Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) on a long journey to find Fiona’s long lost cousin, Artie (Justin Timberlake), an underachieving high school slacker. Making the rebellious Artie accept the throne proves to be a bigger challenge than Shrek suspected.

Meanwhile, Shrek’s old nemesis, Prince Charming (Rupert Everett), has returned to Far, Far Away with an army composed of some of classic fairytales most infamous villains, including Captain Hook (Ian McShane) and his crew and the Evil Queen (Susanne Blakeslee) from “Snow White.” It’s up to Fiona and her band of princesses: Cinderella (Amy Sedaris), Rapunzel (Maya Rudolph), Sleeping Beauty (Cheri Oteri), Snow White (Amy Poehler) and, of course, Doris (Larry King), to fight until Shrek and crew return to the country for the final battle with Charming.

Considering the box office success of Shrek and Shrek 2 and the fact that they were actually very good films, Shrek the Third’s mediocrity is shocking. It’s only mildly amusing, and there’s nothing distinguishing about the animation, which actually looks really bad (in terms of character movement and design) in several places. There are too many characters, and not enough of Eddie Murphy’s Donkey who is every bit the star of this franchise that Mike Myers’ Shrek is. Any future installments need a significant overhaul because Shrek the Third looks like the franchise is showing tired, old legs.

5 of 10
C+

Saturday, June 09, 2007

NOTES:
2008 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Animated Film” (Chris Miller)

Review: "Shrek 2" Aimed More at Adults than Children

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 90 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux


Shrek 2 (2004)
Running time: 93 minutes (1 hour, 33 minutes)
MPAA – PG for some crude humor, a brief substance reference and some suggestive content
DIRECTORS: Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, and Conrad Vernon
WRITERS: Andrew Adamson, J. David Stem, Joe Stillman, and David N. Weiss with Chris Miller; from a story by Andrew Adamson (based upon characters created by William Steig)
PRODUCERS: David Lipman, Aron Warner, and John H. Williams
EDITORS: Michael Andrews and Sim Evan-Jones
Academy Award nominee

ANIMATED/COMEDY/FAMILY/FANTASY/ADVENTURE

Starring: (voices) Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, John Cleese, Julie Andrews, Rupert Everett, and Jennifer Saunders

I found Shrek 2 to be every bit as funny as the original, but I don’t think it’s quite as surprising or better than the smash hit and Academy Award-winning Shrek. The first film was sweet and sentimental, and despite it’s clunky and peculiar computer-generated animation, it was fresh and different. Shrek 2 is every bit the expensive and glossy sequel, and is mostly disposable entertainment. In fact, the filmmakers have managed to make a movie so entertaining that it’s disposable entertainment as art. I laughed a lot and had a damn good time, but as I do with many big summer films, I’d mostly forgotten it not long after I’d left the theatre. There’s nothing wrong with that, but Shrek 2 is like a cheap candy bar, sweet but not necessary. You can wait for home video.

In Shrek 2, the titular Shrek (Michael Myers) and his wife Princes Fiona (Cameron Diaz) with Shrek’s homeboy Donkey (Eddie Murphy) travel to Far, Far Away, Fiona’s home to meet her parents the King (John Cleese) and Queen (Julie Andrews). The royal parents, however, are not happy to see Fiona married to an ogre, which is what Shrek is, and they’d hoped she’d married Prince Charming (Rupert Everett).

It was Charming who was supposed to rescue Fiona in the first film (and not Shrek as it happened) and break the spell that caused Fiona herself to become an ogre at night. Now, that Fiona has married Shrek, she’s a full time ogre. Charming’s mother, the Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders) demands that the King get rid of Shrek, so he hires a suave assassin, Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderas), to dispatch Shrek. But when Puss becomes Shrek’s friend, Fairy Godmother throws all her magic behind a diabolical plan to trick Fiona away from Shrek and into the arms of her son.

I found Shrek 2’s humor mainly directed at adults, although children can certainly enjoy it. Much of the comedy is built around sight gags, but there are numerous sly cultural references (visual and spoken), witty asides, puns, etc. that will go right over the heads of the kids and many 20-somethings. There is also a surprising amount of sexual innuendo and crude humor. Once again, I think this film is aimed more at adults than children, much like the old Warner Bros. cartoons from the 1930’s and 40’s. They were originally made as theatrical shorts to be shown before films and weren’t specifically aimed at children just because the shorts were cartoons.

Technically, Shrek 2’s animation is much improved over the first film, but PDI, the company that animated both Shrek films has nothing on Pixar, the studio behind Toy Story and Finding Nemo. There is a crucial difference between Pixar and PDI. Pixar does computer animation in the tradition of Disney animated classics: animated films that are fairy tales aimed at children, but also appeal to adults who are “young at heart.” PDI creates broad PG-rated films that attract kids simply because they are animated but are also written to attract adults with rough humor and sarcasm.

The standout voice talents in the film are Eddie Murphy, John Cleese, and Jennifer Saunders. Their performances are what we would expect of actors that are both fine comedians and comic actors, and they are really good at adapting their particular talents for virtually any kind of comedy.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2005 Academy Awards: 2 nominations: “Original Song” (Adam Duritz-composer/lyricist, Charles Gillingham-composer, Jim Bogios-composer, David Immerglück-composer, Matthew Malley-composer, David Bryson-composer, Dan Vickrey-lyricist for the song "Accidentally In Love")and “Best Animated Feature Film of the Year” (Andrew Adamson)

2004 BAFTA: 1 win “Kids’ Vote”

2005 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Adam Duritz, Dan Vickrey, David Immerglück, Matthew Malley, David Bryson for the song "Accidentally In Love")

Review: Eddie Murphy Made the Excellent "Shrek" Even Better

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 16 (of 2002) by Leroy Douresseaux


Shrek (2001) – computer animated
Running time: 90 minutes (1 hour, 30 minutes)
MPAA – PG for mild language and some crude humor
DIRECTOR: Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson
WRITERS: Ted Elliot, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S. H. Schulman with additional dialogue by Cody Cameron, Chris Miller, and Conrad Vernon (based upon the book by Shrek! William Steig)
PRODUCERS: Jeffrey Katzenberg, Aron Warner, and John H. Williams
EDITOR: Sim Evan-Jones
Academy Award winner
ANIMATION/COMEDY/FANTASY and ADVENTURE/ROMANCE/FAMILY

Starring: (voices) Michael Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, John Lithgow, Vincent Cassel, and Jim Cummings

Shrek (Michael Myers), a reclusive ogre, suddenly finds his home in the swamp beset by the denizens of hundreds of fairy tales. They are refugees of a hate campaign by a little despot named Lord Farquaad of Duloc (John Lithgow). Farquaad promises to remove the fairy tale beings from his home if Shrek rescues Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) from a fearful fire-breathing dragon. By marrying a princess, Farquaad would become a king. The talkative Donkey (Eddie Murphy) joins Shrek as his faithful steed on the quest to rescue the princess for Farquaad, but love has other plans.

From Pacific Data Images (PDI) and DreamWorks, respectively the computer animation studio and movie studio behind Antz, Shrek is a lively and funny cartoon that kids can watch but that is really aimed at adult viewers. With the requisite toys and novelties, the film is sure to attract children, and the film contains enough gross and childish humor to keep their attentions. Shrek’s success, however, is in its ability to tap into grown-up sensibilities. Literally having a pack of writers working on the script gives Shrek’s story multiple layers. The movie is filled with pop culture references, film references, bawdy humor, sight gags, and sly asides, and the romantic and sentimental aspects of the film are quite convincing.

The voice actors really carry the movie. Myers is, as always, able to create several character voices, and he creates two others in this film besides Shrek: the Narrator and one of the Three Blind Mice. Ms. Diaz has a nice performance as the princess, but she saves her best work for the film’s last quarter. John Lithgow, an accomplished actor who has played a few wacky villains in the last decade, revealed his comic chops in the television series “Third Rock from the Sun.” He doesn’t fail to please here; his Farquaad is nasty, petty, deceitful, and quite vindictive – a potent little menace who really deserves his comeuppance.

The star of the show, however, is Eddie Murphy as Donkey. We’ve come to take Murphy for granted. He hasn’t taken on oh-so-serious roles like other comedians, so many critics and moviegoers don’t think of him as a good actor. His Donkey is a jiving talking huckster, at one moment cowardly, brash the next, and a mentor when he has to be. The role fits Murphy like an old glove, but he makes Donkey so vital, so fresh, so funny. Like one of Robin Williams’s caricatures, Murphy is a chatterbox, but he doesn’t wear thin; even his mumblings are funny. His verbosity never annoys, and Donkey is the axis upon which this story turns. Lose him and you have a passable, middling movie.

Shrek is a surprise, and it went on to win the first Oscar® for Best Animated Feature. It is truly for all ages. Funny and touching, it is Hollywood product that is near perfect entertainment – well put together by its cast and creators.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2002 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Animated Feature” (Aron Warner); 1 nomination: “Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published” (Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S.H. Schulman)

2002 BAFTA Awards: 1 win: “Best Screenplay – Adapted” (Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S.H. Schulman); 5 nominations: “Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music” (Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell). “Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects” (Ken Bielenberg), “Best Film” (Aron Warner, John H. Williams, and Jeffrey Katzenberg), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Eddie Murphy), and “Best Sound” (Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Wylie Stateman, and Lon Bender

2001 Won BAFTA Children's Award Best Feature Film (Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson, Aron Warner, and Jeffrey Katzenberg)

2002 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy”

Shrek Character Posters: Shrek