Onions, ogres, and orange cats. With those three words, most of you will probably think of Shrek, the hilarious green ogre that eats onions and hangs out with orange cats. I briefly mentioned Shrek in my last post when I talked about his voice actor; Mike Myers. Per usual Myers does a fantastic job giving his character’s personality with witty jokes and goofy actions, and Shrek is no exception. There are a total of 4 feature-length Shrek movies, with many spin-offs and holiday specials to boot, all totally meme-able and treasures to the Gen-Z generation. I personally grew up on the Shrek films, and even over two decades since the first movies were released (I feel old), it still hasn’t lost its charm. But what makes Shrek and all his friends so timeless? Well, let’s get analyzing.
To preface this, I will say I’m a pretty big fan, so I omit that I’m rather biased in this analysis. To start, Shrek is a comedy based on a mash of fairy tales, Hollywood references, and adult jokes served to us in the form of a giant green ogre. Part of what makes Shrek so enjoyable to watch is that it’s palatable at any age. 8 years old can laugh when they see a donkey that loves to eat waffles, and parents will chuckle when they see Puss in Boots get arrested for illegally possessing catnip (I mean come on, between his name and the weed jokes how was this a PG movie?!). The jokes are timeless because they’re literally ageless, everyone has something to laugh at. Furthermore, the combination of adult humor and classic fairy tales combines relatability and nostalgia, something that is hard to replicate in movies. Shrek reuses concepts like fairy tale endings, damsels in distress, and knights in shining arms in a nuanced way. Our damsel is actually really good at fighting, her hero is only doing it to save himself, and the fairytale ending isn’t making them both gorgeous people who live in obscene wealth.
Shrek is unexpected, funny, and most importantly: Shrek is love. I hope some of you got that joke; I digress. On top of the bomb soundtrack and jokes, Shrek also has many underlying themes that are completely relatable. Concepts of self-acceptance, overcoming stereotypes, and true love play an important role in touching the hearts and minds of the audience. Ultimately, Shrek can be summarized by the idiom: don’t judge a book by its cover, which is a message that really resonates with its viewers. Also seeing your favorite children’s book character like the Fairy Godmother commit heinous crimes is comedy gold apparently. If Shrek really resonates with you, I advise you to reflect on how you see the world.
Shrek Getting Arrested Scene (if you’re interested): https://youtu.be/O1QJPcCksBk?si=TxCKiDfM5xW_ewRx