Why Shrek is a good film

Shrek is a 2001 comedy movie in which we follow Shrek (Mike Myers), a big, green ogre on a quest
to get his swamp back from being overrun by fairy tale creatures who were evicted from their land
by the tyrannical lord named Farquaad (John Lithgow).
On his adventure he meets a talking donkey called Donkey (Eddie Murphy), who helps him find Lord
Farquaad and arrange a deal with him to get the deed to his swamp back in exchange for rescuing
the Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), who, after rescuing, he falls in love with. However, Fiona has a
dark secret, that will change both of their lives.
Although it’s a film primarily for children, there is phenomenal writing, being able to craft both
hilarious jokes and compelling drama and weave in positive messages, all with an edge of innuendo
to keep the adults entertained.
Shrek has many positive messages, in a time when prejudice and bullying are more prevalent, Shrek
teaches us that beauty isn’t always on the outside, diversity is important and should be embraced
and bullying is a sign of weakness. Just because you’re ugly, doesn’t mean you can’t be loved.
The animation has aged gracefully, without many of the growing pains that 3D animation was going
through at the time. It pushed the boundaries of CGI, so much so that it won the first Oscar for Best
Animated Picture.
The cinematography is excellent with amazing attention to detail. For example, at the start of the
movie, when Shrek is going about his day, there is a scene where he looks at a mirror and it smashes,
and Shrek is happy about it. However, during the Hallelujah sequence, Shrek finds that same mirror,
still smashed, and is sad.
The music is expertly implemented, with a jukebox musical approach while still creating an original
score that rivals even modern movies. There’s one thing that you may have noticed while watching
the movie, and that’s how the licensed non-diegetic music only plays when characters are ‘putting
on a mask’, whether for others or themselves, while the original music plays when the characters are
being who they really are. The only exception to this would be Donkey, which I think was very clever
to make him one of the two characters in the movie to sing diegetically.
I would like to mention the editing in one specific way, and that’s the editing in the Hallelujah
sequence. In this sequence, Shrek is sad and about to lose all his needs, and during the sequence
there’s constant cross-fades between shots to show how, while Shrek needs Fiona and Donkey, they
also need him. This is also contrasted with the opening ‘All Star’ montage, showing shots from that
montage in a new light because Shrek now realises how lonely his previous life was after
experiencing real bonding with the two people he’s just driven away.
In conclusion, Shrek is an underrated masterpiece that too many people write off as a meme