Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
It ain't easy bein' green -- especially if you're a likable (albeit smelly) ogre named Shrek. On a mission to retrieve a gorgeous princess from the clutches of a fire-breathing dragon, Shrek teams up with an unlikely compatriot -- a wisecracking donkey.
Shrek earns standout marks for its voice performances — Myers, Murphy, and Diaz bring genuine comedic energy and warmth — and for its novelty: the film's irreverent, meta-satirical take on fairy tales was genuinely fresh in 2001, subverting Disney tropes with wit and pop-culture savvy in a way that felt singular. The CGI animation was groundbreaking for its time but is uneven by modern standards, landing it at average cinematography. The plot is a competent but fairly conventional hero's journey dressed in subversive clothing, and the ending, while crowd-pleasing, is a fairly predictable resolution of the romantic and identity arcs it set up.