Tag Archives: Donkey

24Jan 2015

Shrek 2 Review ; Pinocchio you vixen

by jess

Shrek 2

Shrek 2 as the name suggests in the sequel to Shrek. In a few ways Shrek 2 feels like a bigger movie, the humor is bigger and the plot has more stakes.

Note- Keeping this one short and not doing the other Shrek movies, I didn’t like 3 and 4 doesn’t exist for me.

Shrek meeting Fiona’s parents

The plot is that Newlyweds Shrek and Fiona travel to the Kingdom of Far Far Away to met her parents. Fiona’s dad doesn’t takes a liking to Shrek as he has a deal with the Fairy Godmother that Fiona would be saved and married to her son, Prince Charming as the Fairy Godmother help Fiona’s dad become King.

The King hires Puss in Boots, a hit man, cat to axe-off Shrek. However Shrek gets the better of the little kitty and Puss joins him. Shrek gets the idea to go the Fairy Godmother’s factory. Shrek and the gang steal a potion to make people/true love attractive, weird spell. Donkey and Shrek use it which make them and Fiona pretty, or Fiona her old human self, have to wonder what Dragon looked like. Godmother decides that she will try to convince Fiona that Charming is Shrek. Shrek and pals get arrested and the fairy tale pals of Gingy, Pinocchio, the three pigs ect have to save them.

They crash the big ball and defeat the Fairy Godmother but Fiona dad is revealed to really a frog which her mother accepts. Shrek gives Fiona the chance to stay in their pretty forms but she tells Shrek she wants the ogre she married and they revert to ogre and Donkey again. Same moral as the first.

Fairy Godmother and Charming

Does this plot have issues? OH, Yes, first off why did Charming have to save her in the first place? If the king wanted to uphold the deal order an arrange marriage, Fiona was smitten with a prince before they met anyway. And what took him so long? Grooming? And is her a Prince or is that just his name. Nitpicks

But the way the humor way done, the pacing and the characters make up for it. Unlike the first Shrek, with movie doesn’t subverts Disney as much the first one, it subverts just pretty much everything while still subverting Fairy Tales as its mission point, and because of that the jokes do not let up. You just laugh more during this movie.

Puss in Boot being cute

Speaking the Characters, the new characters in this movie are fantastic. They all have their ticks that make then fun. First off, the Fairy Godmother is diabolic but I’m bias as I’m a fan of Jennifer Saunders, Ab Fab for the win (though all the voice actors in this movie

are great). But you gotta love that a Fairy Godmother is the villain. Pretty boys as villain isn’t new but Charming is just such as smarmy egomaniac that he is delightful. Puss is great as he uses his cuteness to disarm his victim. While the King and Queen aren’t anything amazing or new they are still likable though I like the beauty and beast/ Frog prince thing they have. But the real character of this movie is Mongo, a Gingerbread Godzilla monster, what could be more awesome?

We also learn more about the other characters, like Pinocchio’s underpants preferences, that one my favorite jokes.

Fairy Godmother singing

The animation and music like the first movie are great and you gotta love The Hero segment.

Charming kissing Fiona

Speaking of the climax, compared to the first movie there is a lot more at stake. In the first movie the only stakes is that Fiona will marry some guy that she doesn’t really like that much. In this one if Charming lands a kiss Fiona will be in love with him and not with Shrek as the King was co-forced into slipping her a love potion, which didn’t end up happing but the audience doesn’t really know that until Fiona head butts Charming. But what are the ramifications? In the first one Lord Farquaad was already a ruler and didn’t seem like he was that terrible at it, no one in Duloc seemed to be wanting but Charming would have been a bad king.

Also in the first one aside from one throw away line about locking Fiona in the tower again, Farquaad wasn’t very threatening, Fairy Godmother legit tried to kill Shrek when she learned Fiona wasn’t given the potion.

Donkey with Fiona’s parents eating Dinner

Compared to original, Shrek 2 just has more going for it, more likable characters, more plot, more stakes and all around more silliness. And by the way, DONKEY!

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22Jan 2015

Shrek Review – Talking Donkeys are worth more than possessed toys

by jess

Shrek

Shrek a is Dreamworks 2001 CG movie. It was based off of a 1990 picture book by William Steig of the same name. Shrek is one of those seminal Non-Disney Princess movies and by that I just mean that it’s popular, like really popular. But just because something is popular does that make it good?

Shrek, Donkey and Fiona

Shrek is about a misanthrope Ogre who gets his swamp home invaded by Fairy-Tale creatures as Lord Farquaad wants the perfect kingdom and Fairy-tale creatures offend his senses or something. Lord Farquaad is trying to become king so he has to marry a princess, and he picks Princess Fiona who needs to be recused from a pretty dragon.

Shrek and a talking Donkey go to Lord Farquaad’s kingdom and Farquaad tells him if he recuse the Princess he will return the Swamp back to normal sans the enchanted little creatures. So Shrek and Donkey embark on a quest and save Fiona from the girly dragon.

Fiona at first isn’t happy that Fairy-tale logic wasn’t followed as her groom-to-be didn’t save her himself but on journey home Shrek and Fiona form an attachment. Fiona is also cursed as she turns into an ogre by night and only a kiss from her true love can break the spell. However Shrek over hears her and donkey talking about how she is ugly and hideous and he misconstrues it that they are talking about him and not her. Shrek is hurt and hasten Farquaad to them as they right outside the kingdom. Fiona is desperate to break her curse so her wants the wedding before sunset. Shrek and Fiona then part mad and sad about the misunderstanding. However Donkey convinces Shrek to break up the wedding and Fiona reveals her curse and when she and Shrek kiss she permanently becomes an ogre.

Shrek and Donkey’s souvenir photo

Shrek’s narrative is very simple, it’s a fun buddy journey story. Nothing really grand happens but that is not the point. It’s meant to a parody of Disney/fairytales. As far as that goes, Shrek wasn’t the first to this but there so much bile on the front maligning Disney. The first rule of parody is you have to love was you’re parodying and they clearly did not. Does that hurt the movie? Not really as it only is certain points in the film it’s still enjoyable. Shrek has some silly moments but the pacing is slow at points and some of the character are lacking.

Lord Farquaad and the magic mirror

First there is Shrek. Shrek is a big uncouth ogre or that how he appears and how he wants to be thought of. He makes the point that ogres have layers but the most revealing thing about him is that he is something of a culinarian. He also nice and sensitive but that is invention of the plot to add to the romance and drama. Donkey is annoying which is his point. Really the side characters are better and more likable. Lord Farquaad is hilarious with his Napoleon Complex although what is his deal? Is he a regent? How does marrying a random princess give him legitimacy? Gingy was my favorite characters and he was just in one scene but that was enough, and really it’s the sequel that give the cool side character more to do.

Fiona kicking ass

Then we have the princess, Fiona. Fiona is a proper late 90’s early 2000’s princess gal, she is pretty and kick-ass. Her being no-nonsense and ass kicking seems to stems off from her ogre persona. She also an odd blend of romantic and practical which is refreshing. I have no issues with Fiona.

I suppose the only issue I could have is that she only accepts her ogre form when she deems attractive by a male. But the point of it was that beauty is in eye of the beholder and having an unconventional beauty as the princess is the point to Fiona’s curse as story piece.

Monsieur Hood singing

I have been down on CG’s animation movies in the past and while I prefer hand-drawn stuff, I like Shrek’s animations. It’s nice cartoony and warm.

The music uses preexisting songs but they are handled fine though I love that enchanting leitmotif which is used at the beginning and what Fiona sings when she accidentally blew up that bird. Also the Robin hood song was silly.

Shrek

Shrek is a fun and silly movie that pokes fun at fairytales/Disney tropes. Is it bad? No, it’s fine but I like the second one better.

I just want to plug The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, it was my favorite book as kid and parodies fairytales so devilishly delightfully.

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