Shrek is the diamond in the rough of children’s animated movies.

We all know the story of Shrek but what I think is even more interesting is how Shrek came to be. How basically the whole movie was a big middle finger to Disney, which is why they take the mick out of it so much, and even if you say Lord Farquaad’s name slightly differently you can see even that as a dig and it’s so funny.

Despite this movie coming out 20 years ago it still holds up really well. Yes the animation style might be a bit more jarring than what we’re used to in this day and age, but for the time it’s still really enjoyable to watch. The storyline is brilliant, the jokes still land, and they have jokes for both adults and children and it’s one of those movies where any sort of age range can sit down and watch it and enjoy it.

What I love about this movie is that it took the simple fairytale princess storyline and flipped it on its head. The princess didn’t get to be this beautiful swan at the end but she was still beautiful to the people that it mattered to. The prince turned out to be the evil one and the ogre that is usually the antagonist was the hero. I also love the inclusion of donkey as the funny furry friend because his character is quite often seen in Disney princess films, and the fact that usually they’re so much more than just a simple donkey makes even that a parody of what it’s trying to be.

Usually they have the interesting chameleon or the fun dragon or the whole wood if you’re looking at Snow White, and to have donkey as a lowly simple creature that becomes so much more is really fun to watch.

This is a movie I feel is quite timeless. You could watch it at any time and it would still be brilliant. It’s so quotable, it reminds me of Mean Girls in that way, that you can just watch it and quote it and laugh along with it. It doesn’t feel outdated or old and the soundtrack is so strong, with it being popular pop music of the time and not its own soundtrack, it’s so easily recognisable and so fun.

If you haven’t seen this movie in a while or if you’ve never seen Shrek then I highly recommend you watch it. It’s not just looking at it through rose tinted nostalgia glasses, it’s looking at it as a piece that is changing the course of how fairytales are done and it is fantastic. Unfortunately for me I don’t think the sequels were as memorable as the original film but the series overall was very fun, so if you’ve never watched any of the sequels I still recommend you definitely watch the original.

What do you think of Shrek?

Until next time.

Published by shonaharding

Media graduate with a passion for reviewing film and TV. View all posts by shonaharding