Product Details

• Actors: Guillaume Aretos (II), Jacquie Barnbrook, Bobby Block, Cody Cameron, Vincent Cassel
• Directors: Vicky Jenson
• Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Special Edition, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Dreamworks Video
• VHS Release Date: November 2, 2001
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1,203 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00003CXXI
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,837 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
William Steig's delightfully fractured fairy tale is the right stuff for this computer-animated adaptation full of verve and wit. Our title character (voiced by Mike Myers) is an agreeable enough ogre who wants to live his days in peace. When the diminutive Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow) evicts local fairy-tale creatures (including the now-famous Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, and the Gingerbread Man), they settle in the ogre's swamp and Shrek wants answers from Farquaad. A quest of sorts starts for Shrek and his new pal, a talking donkey (Eddie Murphy), where battles have to be won and a princess (Cameron Diaz) must be rescued from a dragon lair in a thrilling action sequence. The story is stronger than most animated fare, but it's the humor that makes Shrek a winner. The PG rating is stretched when Murphy and Myers hit their strides. The mild potty humor is fun enough for 10-year-olds but will never embarrass their parents. Shrek is never as warm and inspired as the Toy Story films, but the realistic computer animation and a rollicking soundtrack keep the entertainment in fine form. Produced by DreamWorks, the film also takes several delicious stabs at its crosstown rival, Disney. --Doug Thomas

From The New Yorker
The Shrek of the title is a bile-green ogre with disgusting personal habits and, this being an animated feature, an essential sweetness of nature. On the orders of a wicked lord, he rescues a princess from a dragon, only to screw up the plans by falling in love with her. The new DreamWorks production is overtly snook-cocking, turning every available fairy tale on its head: the princess has a short temper and karate skills, the dragon has the hots for a donkey, and the lord's castle is as tacky as a theme park. On the other hand, the film itself is hardly rough and real; however cunning the rendering of surfaces, there's still something flat and charmless in the digital look, and most of the pleasure rises not from the main romance but from the quick, incidental gags. In particular, look out for the Three Little Breakdancing Pigs. With voices by Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, and John Lithgow. -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly fun movie, May 20, 2001

By	David (Kodiak, AK) - See all my reviews

I highly recommend this movie. It's funny and fun to watch. The quality of digital graphics is simply stunning and makes the movie worthwhile just for that; it really is superior to the Toy Story movies. Fortunately, it's not just a special effects wonder. The movie's story stands up on its own too.

It's about Shrek, who's a gruff on the outside but soft inside ogre played my Mike Meyers, who sets off on a quest to rid his swamp of all the fairy tale creatures that have been exiled there, and as his companion for his adventures he has a donkey, voiced by Eddie Murphy.

I would not exactly call this a kid's movie. It is rated PG and they will love it, but most of the humor is actually aimed at adults, and it hits the mark. I laughed all the way through it - something I haven't done at the movies in some time. There are a lot of clever physical gags (pretty much anything that's bodily and gross) centered around Shrek and then there's Murphy's character of the donkey. Murphy's performance here equals anything else he has done. If you are a fan of Eddie Murphy, you won't be disappointed with his character.

This movie is not just one long comedy though. Remember, this is a fairy tale, so there is a romance story going on as well, but it never takes itself too seriously, keeping the movie's light atmosphere from bogging down.

Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona and John Lithgow as the rotten Farquaad are simply superb. All the actors were well picked for their characters.

You won't regret going to see this show. In fact, you may consider going a second time. I know I am.

43 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars And It's Not Even Disney's, August 14, 2001

By	Mark Jerome Ferreri (Oceanside, California United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Shrek (Two-Disc Special Edition) (DVD)

Shrek has grossed over 260 million in the theaters (as of Aug. 14, 2001). That's within .05% of the top grossing animation of all times, Toy Story (@ 262 million). Shrek is a great 3D movie. The 3D computer animation is second, only to Final Fantasy. The story is more involving than what I expected. The voices were well cast and performed. The whole film awsome. I'm sure you're aware of that or you wouldn't be reading this now. It has both adult (clean adult) and kids humor. The writers plagerized just about everyone and it was hilarious. Okay, now for the DVD. This DVD is created as 2 parts. One disc is aimed for the kids and the format is "full Screen" (pan & scan) and includes 17 DVD-ROM games. The other disc is geared more for adults and is letterbox formatted. Both discs have 3 minutes of extended ending that was never scene in the theatrical release. There's 'Making Of' and 'Behind The Scenes'. It encludes 11 hours of extras. There are also running commentaries. This DVD will actually allow you to replace a charector's voice with you own with "Sherk's Revoice Studio" effects. There are 15 minutes of newly animated footage specifically for the DVD interactive menues.. . . . . Shall I go on? . . . There is a sticker on EVERY box saying it's a winner. Each box has eligebility to win a prize, from a Kia car to X-Box game consoles to Baskin Robins Ice cream. So, we have a fantastic movie, the most massive extras features ever on a DVD, and free give-aways. And yould be nuts not to take advantage of this offer.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HAHAHA this one's a good one!, June 22, 2001

By	Agent Sonica (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

From the opening scene with the song "All Star," you know you're not in for a normal, predictable animated fairy tale movie. Besides the catchy pop soundtrack, many other scripted fairy-tale rules are thrown out the tower. Shrek the ogre isn't your conventional knght in shining armor- he didn't even want to be. But to make the short, not-so-intimidating villain Lord Farquaad get the fairy-tale animals off his property, he has to rescue the rather typical fairy tale princess Fiona from a tower guarded by a dragon and bring her back to Farquaad. His donkey sidekick, hilariously played by Eddie Murphy, tags along with Shrek. The trip back to the castle makes for many comical adventures. But a fat ugly ogre couldn't possibly get together with a beautiful perfect princess...or maybe...

When I first saw the previews I thought it would be just another dumb kiddie cartoon but when I saw it at the theater, it was hilarious. My fav scene, which had me laughing so hard I almost cried, was the one when Princess Fiona started singing with a bird, and then... Just proves, as the film preaches, you can't judge somrthing until you really get to know it. Finally, we the less-than-perfect-figured-people get our representation in the movies. Two thumbs up!