Hi folks! Welcome to my My Own Personal Nerdy Disney and Animation Scrutinizing Analysis blog. A blog where I'm analyzing several Disney films, Disney or Animation in general! These entries are just meant to be my analyses. Not reviews or statements. Just fun analyses! Though I'll make some personal remarks now and then, the content of these entries are meant to be depicted objectively. They're made for entertainment purpose only and the pictures/clips are copyright Disney or other companies.
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And finally; If you haven't seen the films, beware of spoilers! And the funny lines aren't meant to be nothing than funny. So I hope you won't find them offensive. If so, I apologize
Before
reading this entry, I want to make an important remark: For once I`m actually
going to make a departure. While my blog was originally created to be
centered only around Disney, I was originally planning to create another blog to
discuss non-Disney related content. However, while trying to do so,
I`ve figured out that it was a lot of work.
So that`s why I decided to
post my non-Disney content here and rename the blog to My Own Personal
Nerdy Disney and Animation Scrutinizing Analyses. So that
means that from now on, I`ll make entries related to other
animation studios as well. And
this entry will be an analytical assessment that will be more in
depth of the subject. Instead of just discussing the movie itself, it
will center more about it`s influence on the animation field.
I know that I don`t look scary, but this was my best shot :) |
At least it`s not Ever Ever After :) |
How Shrek Changed and Influenced Animation
We`re the emoji versions :) |
Yes, even I can drive :) Even though I`m not a good driver :) |
The Good and Bad Sides of Shrek`s Success
I`m trying to lift up my chin in order to be taller :) |
I`m trying to show you how green eyes can be sexy :) |
In many ways, the success of Shrek was both a blessing and a curse for both DreamWorks and animation in general. A
blessing for actually showing how a non-Disney property could take over
the world (considering that Disney`s former executive, Jeffrey
Katzenberg, was behind DreamWorks, it truly was a full circle of him.
Which could fuel of all the theories of Lord Farquaad being based
on Michael Eisner). But it was also a curse,
for setting the course of the upcoming animated features to be pop
culture driven, snappy, zingy and cynical.
Don`t worry, we washed the onion, so it doesn`t smell :) |
True that Shrek mostly reasonated with audiences for those reasons. And was perceived as a breath of fresh air for those who were tired of Disney`s reign. Yet no matter how cleverly written Shrek was, it
could always be perceived as a proof of our cynical times: That
audiences weren`t rooting for straight-forward, sincere fairy tales
anymore. And that it was acceptable to have such cynical mockeries of
them. And sure, Shrek isn`t only a mockery of fairy tales, but of
Disney`s brand in general (with it`s quite overt Disneyland-spoof with the Duloc song, among other things). While the creators of Shrek have
of course denied this, Katzenberg stated that Disney executives were
"gracious and complimentary" when screening it for them. However, DreamWorks showed a few
scenes to Disney attorneys to avoid lawsuit. They toyed
with
poking fun at Universal City and Las Vegas, but decided the most
recognizable one to children was the most fun to play with. It was hard to have fun with fairy tales without touching the biggest
purveyor of fairy tales in the world. Still DreamWorks tried to stop the irreverence a number of times.
I`m laying here to be decoration :) Not to be food :) |
Behind the Scenes Information
At least it won`t be a WWF spoof :) |
I`m just pretending to like you in order for this picture :) |
My dentist would be proud of my teeth :) |
Shrek spent a decade in development hell. Bill Murray was Shrek and Steve Martin was Donkey at first. But it`s well known that Chris Farley was cast to play the titular ogre. When Farley died of a
drug overdose in 1997 (with most of his voiceover work
complete), DreamWorks executives considered Nicolas Cage, Tom Cruise, and yes, even Leonardo DiCaprio to replace Farley. Director Andrew Adamson was so devastated by Farley`s death that he wanted Jeffrey to fire him.
Even
before Farley's death, Shrek was regarded as a disaster by DreamWorks
insiders. It`s crew nicknamed it The Gulag,
because it was comprised of animators who had been fired from
other films. Katzenberg wanted to make serious animation for adults”
when he started DreamWorks. Yet he insisted it be "low-budget and experimental". So it wasn`t the most important film at the studio at the time. The editor Sim Evan-Jones was said to be on a Special Projects, without knowing what it was.
Chris
Farley's Shrek centered on a teenaged ogre who wanted to be a knight. Who
was going to resuce Donkey (Eddie Murphy, who originally was going to
sing more, but was instructed to sing badly and was originally named "Little Ass") from a witch, opposite a sarcastic princess voiced by Janeane Garofalo. Shrek was originally a sweet, well intentioned soul who wanted more than to lurk around the swamp. Princess Fiona
didn't trust people, and it was Shrek's good
nature that opened her eyes and warmed her up. But Myers
wanted to make Shrek his own, insisting on a total script rewrite before
he joined the project.
Even a Donkey can wish Happy Birthday :) |
Don`t worry, they won`t be muddy :) |
As for Awards, Shrek won the first ever Best Animated Feature Oscar. It was written by Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio, who wrote both Aladdin and Pirates of the Caribbean. And one of the writers were J.J. Adams. Shrek also happened to be screened in Cannes, the first animated feature since Disney's Peter Pan in 1953. Neil Diamond even joined youngsters who sang I'm A Believer in the theater lobby. As for it`s success, Jeffrey said to Adamson “Get ready for this. This may only happen once in your life.” Some said that they`ve never seen Katzenberg so happy before. Which proved that he enjoyed his revenge. DreamWorks
considered re-releasing Shrek against Pixar’s Monsters, Inc., but eventually
decided against it.
The Praise and Backlash of Shrek`s Success
Cupid loved my ass so much that she aimed for it :) |
Yes, I know that it`s unhealthy, it`s my tongue who guided me here :) |
I was inspired by Tarzan :) |
How Animation Changed After Shrek
Yes, they`re yummy :) Don`t be fooled by the title :) |
I`m a holy raccoon :) |
How Shrek Started the Trend of Mockery of Fairy Tales
Pun intended :) |
Theories About Why Fairy Tales Are Easy To Mock
I know there`s something behind me, but I`m pretending that`s it`s not there :) |
I`m pretending to go on a quest without an armor :) My own sort of quest :) |
Epilogue
I`ll hope that`you`ll love my massage :) But I have fleas :) |
However, while not to disregard Disney, it still was nice to see that a non-Disney feature could top the Box Office and become a sensation for once. Which truly made DreamWorks
one of the big boys. So Shrek does deserve genuine praise for
that reason alone. While animation has now changed and it`s been
acceptable to include different genres in the CGI world, at least Shrek is
an important cornerstone in animation. While it started a trend, it`s
still a movie with heart and shows how a irreverent comedy can easily be heartfelt. While I truly hope that this assessment didn`t came off as an
attack to Shrek, I still admire what it has achieved. And yeah, as this entry was meant to synergize with it`s 20th Anniversary, it`s hard to believe that it`s been over
20 years since it came. So Happy Past 20th Anniversary, Shrek, and may you continue to have many more.
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References:
Shrek Two Disc Special Edition DVD
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrek
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/shrek
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0126029/?ref_=bo_se_r_1
https://thedailyaztec.com/105347/artsandculture/celebrating-20-years-of-shrek-and-its-influence-on-pop-culture/
https://theweek.com/articles/556154/how-shrek-went-from-worlds-biggest-animated-franchise-internets-creepiest-meme
https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/shrek-oral-history
https://www.cinema.com/articles/462/shrek-production-notes.phtml
http://am.animatedviews.com/Shrek.html
https://www.quora.com/Did-Shrek-change-the-course-of-modern-animation-due-to-its-success
https://moviechat.org/tt0126029/Shrek/58c7776693cef4080d7c4988/Did-this-film-change-the-animation-world
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzIALF0m3oM (Watching Disney VS DreamWorks from The Nostalgia Chick)
https://variety.com/2016/film/features/disney-pixar-acquisition-bob-iger-john-lasseter-1201923719/
https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/show/threecommentears/id/4333807
Really insightful piece. I don't know much about the history of Shrek so I learned so much. I'm amazed that this movie was originally supposed to be in motion capture!
SvarSlett