Shrek (2001)

Shrek (Mike Myers) is a big, green ogre who lives in a swamp. He is very happy in his swamp, primarily because he lives there by himself, just the way he likes it.

But one morning, he wakes up to find his swamp is now inhabited by a whole bunch of fairytale characters, who have all been evicted from their own homes by the evil, diminutive Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow).

Furious at his personal space being invaded, Shrek sets off to confront Lord Farquaad, and on the way, meets up with a talking donkey (Eddie Murphy). Unfortunately for Shrek, Donkey decides he is going to tag along. Even more unfortunately for Shrek, Donkey never shuts up.

When they find Lord Farquaad, he tells Shrek he will return his swamp to its original uninhabited state if he frees the beautiful Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) from the clutches of a dragon, so that he can marry her. Shrek agrees, and a great quest ensues.

The screenplay, written by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio and Joe Stillman & Roger S. H. Schulman is adapted from a book by William Steig. I haven’t read the book, but I would probably be keen to do so; I am curious as to how much of the story and characters actually originated from Steig’s book, and how much is the creation of the screenwriters.

It is a very clever script, filled with countless references to all the various fairytales the characters of the film originate from. I can still remember the very first time I saw this film, sitting on a couch in Hamilton, New Zealand back in 2002. I loved it then, and I still love it now.

Director Andrew Adamson (with co-director Vicky Jenson), who would go on to direct the Chronicles of Narnia films, has made an immensely enjoyable film. There is so much here for young viewers to enjoy, but the real success here is that adult viewers can enjoy it just as much, if not more.

The quality of the animation is exceptional, and the entire voice cast are brilliant. The endless back-and-forth banter between Shrek and Donkey is hilarious; it is impossible to imagine Donkey being voiced by anyone else than Eddie Murphy, his tone and intonation is just so perfect for the role.

There are some big surprises in the later parts of the film (maybe not as much of a surprise now, especially for those who have seen any one of the film’s three sequels; stay tuned for reviews of those coming in the near future), but more importantly, there are some very good messages in here for parents and children to discuss together after watching it.

There isn’t much more to say about this film, except to encourage you to watch it, either for the first time (seriously, where have you been?) or for a second or more time; you notice more and more each time, and it really is brilliant.

9 out of 10.

Aladdin (1992)

A Disney retelling of a classic tale, this film is a delight for audiences young and old, and still holds a special place in my heart, and always takes me back in my mind to events in my life at the time of its release.

The Sultan of Agrabah (Douglas Seale) is desperate for his only child - the Princess Jasmine (Linda Larkin) to find a suitor, so that she can marry and rule Agrabah in his absence. When we first meet the Sultan, he is largely under the control of his grand vizier Jafar (Jonathan Freeman) and his sidekick, the parrot Iago (Gilbert Gottfried).

Meanwhile, street urchin Aladdin (Scott Weinger) is barely surviving life on the streets. Forced to steal from street vendors just to stay alive, he lives life on the run from the city guards, and one day, finds himself thrown into the dungeons under the palace.

It is while he is in the dungeon that he meets Jafar (who is in disguise to begin with), who tells him of a Cave of Wonders, filled with more treasure than he can possibly imagine. Jafar needs Aladdin’s help to enter the cave, and retrieve a particular item, a golden lamp.

Aladdin agrees, and goes into the cave, but while trying to retrieve the lamp, finds himself trapped underground in the cave, with little hope of escape.

Trapped underground with the lamp, he rubs the lamp, and a genie (Robin Williams) appears, offering him three wishes.

I will leave the rest of the plot for you to discover if you haven’t yet seen this film.

The two directors of this film (Ron Clements and John Musker) have created a wonderful film, which I would consider a timeless classic in the tradition of earlier Disney films (early as in while Walt Disney was still alive). Together with screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, with whom the two directors worked on the script, they have brought this classic tale to a whole new audience.

With music by Alan Menken (who has composed music for so many other Disney films), and lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice (Tim Rice came in later after Howard Ashman sadly passed away during the making of this film) to round out the creative team, everything comes together to make this film the best it can be.

And it is truly great. Of course, one of the things that make this film so great is of course the performance of the late great Robin Williams as the Genie. I am sure that significant portions of the Genie’s lines didn’t come from the script, but were ad-libbed by Williams in the recording studio, as was the case with so many of his great characters throughout his career.

Gilbert Gottfried is also fantastic as the parrot Iago, with so many great quotable lines, and hilarious moments. In fact, all the voice casting is fantastic, with all performers bringing their own characters to life in such a beautiful way, bringing the viewer head-first into this amazing environment.

It is hard to believe that this film was still largely hand-drawn animation; the scenery, environments, and all the characters are so incredible. This film will continue to delight audiences for many years to come, I believe, and with a live-action version of Aladdin due to be released later this year, I think the legend will continue to delight a new generation of fans.

8 out of 10.