Shrek in human form. Cartoon "Shrek": what Hollywood teaches children

A market deal instead of a feat

The main function and purpose of any fairy tale, folklore or original, is the education and socialization of the younger generation. It was invented by our ancestors in order to convey to the child in an accessible form the rules and values ​​of society, developed in the process historical development peoples

The thousand-year history of fairy tales in the cultural experience of mankind has enshrined the idea of ​​good, evil and their personifications. Traditionally, in fairy tales of the peoples of the world, the forces of good are, firstly, victims of some kind of injustice: the most defenseless and vulnerable, fragile and gentle creatures - small animals (usually herbivores), children or girls, etc., who get into trouble due to someone's malicious intent; secondly, their defenders are brave noble heroes, knights, princes, etc.; thirdly, helpers of victims of injustice, humiliated and oppressed - animals, birds, good fairies, wizards.

Evil is, firstly, all kinds of evil spirits that have little resemblance to humans. The most a prominent representative This kind of negative character is the dragon (Tugarin-Snake, Zmey-Gorynych). Secondly, antisocial elements - robbers, pirates. Thirdly, representatives of the powerful - kings/kings and queens/queens (the latter, as a rule, evil stepmothers). Let us also remember that Koschey the Immortal also belonged to this category, bearing the royal title. And finally, evil wizards and sorceresses, who can act in a fairy tale as the main negative force or be someone’s assistants.

In "Shrek" there are all these traditional fairy-tale characters, but their functions are directly opposite to the world fairy-tale tradition. As in the famous song, “black became white, white became black.” Kind fairy turns out to be an insidious intriguer who, for selfish reasons, seeks to marry her son to the princess; her son - a handsome prince - is stupid and greedy. Before meeting the main character Shrek, Puss in Boots generally works... as a killer! But the evil dragon turns out to be a dragoness, and also very pretty and very loving!

I am very confused by the strange character who can be seen in all the Shrek films - a large male transvestite. Probably, by doing so, the authors wanted to reflect a sense of tolerance towards sexual minorities, which, apparently, Americans are very proud of. And Hollywood wants to instill this valuable attitude in children all over the world!

When you don't feel sorry for the bird

It is impossible not to say a few words about the monarch himself - a sadistic dwarf. Wanting to marry a beautiful princess, he makes a deal with an ogre - the latter saves the girl from the clutches of a dragon, and in exchange receives his swamp. Everything is clear - a market transaction instead of a feat! Both the king and Shrek consider this system of relationships acceptable and natural. These are the rules of fairy tales of the era of modern capitalism!

It is noteworthy that the acquaintance with the king begins with the dungeon of his castle, in which the executioner tortures the gingerbread boy by dipping him in hot milk! But this is a fairy tale for modern children, therefore, so that they do not have time to get scared and sympathize with the unfortunate tormented martyr, a joke is used. The gingerbread boy, whose legs were broken off by the king, shouts: “Just don’t touch the buttons - they’re made of icing!” The effect is laughter auditorium. And it was a child’s laughter at the unfortunate fabulous but living creature who was being tortured! But this is not an isolated example. The death of the princess's father - the toad king (by the way, a positive character) turns into some kind of farce, the death agony is presented as funny antics of an amphibian with bulging eyes and protruding tongue! From film to film, a colorful episode is repeated when Princess Fiona competes in singing with a bird, hits a very high note, under the influence of these sounds the unfortunate bird inflates and... all that remains of it are its paws and a cloud of smoke. But I don’t feel sorry for the bird – children’s laughter can be heard in the auditorium! Everything is turned into a joke again. The filmmakers quite consciously program exactly this reaction from the audience to cruelty.

Now about Princess Fiona. Hollywood offered its own version of the frog princess. Having made the princess the daughter of the toad king, W. Steig cast the classic fairy-tale spell “Princess by day, freak by night,” that is, an ogre, on the heroine of his book! Next, a traditional plot is proposed - the princess is languishing in the dragon's cave, she must be saved by a brave prince (in in this case, king), kiss and thereby remove the spell. But in “Shrek” everything happens diametrically opposite! The princess is saved by a hired ogre, to whom she subsequently gives her heart.

Why did Fiona fall in love with Shrek?

For what? Apparently, because he is a related race, he is an ogre! Ogre customs are much closer to the princess - she, like Shrek, loves to crunch on a baked rat, inflate toads and snakes in the image of balloons. Therefore, when the princess’s ideological choice is decided - to be human and marry the king or stay with a rude, uncouth ogre - she will prefer the latter.

The audience applauds! Let us clarify that ogres are terrible creatures that terrify all living things and do not disdain human meat. Let's remember: Shrek's favorite cocktail is decorated as a cherry. human eye! In general, it is alarming that the few human characters in this multi-part cartoon (with the exception, perhaps, of Fiona’s mother) they are not even just negative - they are the main villains, threatening the life of the entire fairy-tale community (king, prince, Rumplestiltskin)!

So what values ​​does this fairy tale teach in a child? What life choices should he make? To be a giant or a human?

Immoral "education"

But it’s still hard to say that the latest film of the animated epic “Shrek” radically changes the entire ideological concept of the film. The semantic inversion of fairy-tale characters, and therefore the traditional values ​​that they express, has remained. At Shrek's children's birthday party, the birthday cake is prepared by a fabulous transvestite man and a wolf in the cap of the grandmother he ate. And the main character is taken out of his state peace of mind Characters that are quite harmless in our, I repeat, traditional view are three little pigs who ate absolutely all the food for the guests and one very arrogant boy who asked his father to make Shrek make an ogre growl. Moreover, this child is not subject to any condemnation in the cartoon for his very discourteous behavior towards adults. The boy's father is ready to satisfy his whim in any way... Hollywood probably considers this behavior exemplary. Maybe this is a feeling of tolerance towards the child, but if we speak from the point of view of common sense, this is the glorification of immorality. After all, this film is intended for children!

The ending of the film is also interesting. The villain Rumplestiltskin is caught and languishes in a cage, and before his eyes, his favorite and only friend, the goose, who, unlike his master, has not done anything bad to anyone, has been killed! The execution was carried out by the chief positive heroine Princess Fiona, playing a note of extreme frequency, from which the unfortunate bird was torn apart! The little ogres, the children of Fiona and Shrek, were delighted! After which all the fairy-tale creatures began to jump, roll around in the mud for joy... In a word, a “happy ending”!

I really don’t want our children to go through the system of Hollywood educational lessons. I don’t want our Russians to be instructive either. good fairy tales passed through the Hollywood-Disney conveyor belt, and this process, alas, has begun... But the market puts forward strict rules of competition, and, alas, there is nothing to oppose our children's cinema and animation. I would like to sadly state, “The fairy tale is a lie, but there is a hint in it, good fellows lesson"...

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"Puss in Boots: Three Little Devils"
(short)

‎ (USA)

OK. $60 million

"Shrek"(eng. Shrek, 2001) - American full-length animated film directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson based on the children's book “Shrek!” by William Steig.

It is the first feature-length animated film in history to win an Academy Award for Best Animated Animation. feature film. Also awarded the BAFTA Award, Annie Awards (in 8 nominations) and other film awards.

The film collects and acts characters known and loved in European culture fairy tales, the traditional plot lines of which are skillfully and comically woven into a completely different story. Comic effect is created not only by the unexpected combination of completely different stories into one, but also by the fact that fairy-tale characters themselves have read fairy tales and know what is supposed to be in them and what is not, but every second they violate the audience’s expectations, and also by the fact that the heroes live in the conditional Middle Ages, but their speech combines with a high poetic style (for example, traditional fairy tale beginnings), like modern colloquial speech with stylistically reduced vocabulary, colloquial expressions and anachronistic references to modern technology, as well as a parodic discussion of the life of celebrities and the film industry.

Tagline: Prince is not charming. The princess is not sleeping. A bosom friend doesn't help. The cannibal is a hero. Fairy tales will never be the same.

Plot

Shrek is a huge green ogre (a man-eating giant from Western European fairy tales), who lives alone in a swamp in the vicinity of the city-state of Duloc, inhabited by people, animals, dolls and others from various European fairy tales and legends (for example, Little Red Riding Hood, Pinocchio, three blind mice from an English children's folk poem). Out of the goodness of his heart, he practically does not eat people, but his pride is warmed by the fact that at the sight of him everyone rushes in all directions. However, when Lord Farquaad - the evil little ruler of Duloc - expels all the heroes from his lands different fairy tales to Shrek's swamp, the latter goes to find out with Farquaad the issue of freeing the swamp from them. He himself does not face deportation, because he easily defeats all the peasants trying to tie him up. Along with him is the talkative talking Donkey, who always annoys Shrek, whom Shrek has already saved once from the ruler’s soldiers.

Lord Farquaad himself wants to become the rightful king, but for this, according to the fairy-tale canon, he needs to marry a princess. Magic Mirror from the fairy tale about Snow White under threat shows him a choice of three (the first two of them are Snow White and Cinderella), and he ultimately gives preference, on the advice of the courtiers, to the third - Princess Fiona, who is imprisoned in the tower of a castle guarded by a dragon. Farquaad arranges a tournament, the winner of which will receive the honorable right to defeat the dragon and rescue the princess, since the ruler himself does not want to be in danger, and would not be able to defeat anyone physically.

Shrek and Donkey arrive just as the tournament is about to begin. The lord proclaims that the one who kills the giant among the knights will receive the honorable right to save the princess. Shrek easily defeats everyone alone. Farquaad suddenly changes his plan and declares Shrek the winner of the tournament. Threatening his life, Shrek agrees to save the princess if in return Farquaad orders the fairy-tale creatures to leave his swamp.

Shrek and Donkey go to the dragon's castle. The dragon, with a swing of its tail, throws Shrek into Fiona's tower and remains eye to eye with Donkey. It turns out that this is the Dragon, and she suddenly falls in love with Donkey and tries to flirt with him. At this time, Shrek takes Fiona out of the tower, and the three of them with Donkey manage to escape.

Fiona thinks that she was freed by a handsome prince (as expected according to the plot of her fairy tale, familiar to her, like everyone else, from childhood), but everything did not go quite as it should. She doesn't want to go to Farquaad, and Shrek has to drag her.

Fiona hides from Shrek and Donkey every time before sunset. Donkey accidentally discovers that Fiona at night turns into a green giantess of the same “biological species” as Shrek. Shrek hears part of their conversation about "who could love such a monster", but thinks that they are talking about him. He is offended and leaves, and in the morning he hands Fiona over to Lord Farquaad.

The tragedy of Shrek and Fiona is that they both appear to be something and try to be something they are not. People have long labeled them: Shrek - that he is a huge, stupid ogre, Fiona - that a princess should be quiet and submissive. Both Shrek and Fiona have become so accustomed to these unreal images that they are stuck in them without knowing it. Having once believed others in themselves, they understand each other better, but having lost themselves for a moment, they part, as it seems to them, forever. They will again have to live under the labels of a meek princess and an evil ogre. And only their great desire not to lose themselves and their love again, discarding these very labels and misunderstandings leads them to happiness and love.

Fiona gets ready for her wedding and remembers Shrek. Donkey decides to tell Shrek the truth. Having learned that Fiona loves him, Shrek flies to the castle on the Dragoness, who loves Donkey and agrees to help Shrek. At this time, the sun sets, and Fiona turns into an ogre in front of everyone. Lord Farquaad orders his “monster bride” to be imprisoned in a tower. Shrek fights her off with the help of the Dragon, who swallows Farquaad.

Fiona's spell can be broken with a kiss, so Shrek kisses her, and everyone expects that she will now turn into a beauty. However, Fiona remains a giant, and she and Shrek have a fun wedding in the swamp.

Artistic Features

The film is based on a constant postmodern play on well-known images and plot structures of classic literary fairy tales and their cinematic incarnations. The filmmakers satirically rethought the moralizing conformism into which the fairy tale genre had degenerated by the end of the 20th century, and used familiar fairy tale images in an unusual nonconformist interpretation.

For example: Peter Pan stands in line to, as required by law, hand over the fairy Tinkerbell to Lord Farquaad's guards for a reward - the emphasized “law-abiding” nature of this act contradicts not only the spirit of the classic story about Peter Pan (who refuses to follow the “adult” rules and doesn’t want to grow up), but also ordinary human morality. Another example: Gray Wolf appears in a “grandmother’s” dress and cap, but speaks in a deep voice - that is, we are not talking about an attempt to hide his essence, as in the fairy tale about Little Red Riding Hood, but about demonstrating it, and even with a new one for an old children's fairy tale with an “adult” subtext - a hint at one of the phenomena of modern Western sexual culture - transvestism. Various kinds of hints, designed for different ages and cultural groups viewers, and form a subtext.

The main plot of the film is also a composition of plot inversions popular fairy tales: Let's say the Shrek and Fiona motif is an exact inversion of the fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast (in which the Beast ends up being the Prince).

The roles were voiced

In original:

Originally, actor Chris Farley was planned to play the role of Shrek. With his participation, the role was voiced about 80%, but in December 1997 he died. After this, Yaroslav Turylev was invited to voice the role. The Russian dubbing of Shrek was recognized as the best and was shown at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival as part of the premiere of the animated film Shrek 2. See also: Russian dubbing of the “Shrek” film series Release:

The grand premiere of the film took place on April 22, 2001. The film participated in competitive program Cannes Film Festival, its festival screening took place on May 12, 2001. The film was released in wide release in the United States on May 18, 2001. The film was a huge success at the box office, grossing $268 million in the United States and $484 million worldwide.

Music

List of songs from Shrek cartoons (English) Official soundtrack:

• "Stay Home" - Self
• "I'm a Believer" - Smash Mouth
• "Like Wow!" - Leslie Carter
• "It Is You (I Have Loved)" - Dana Glover
• "Best Years of Our Lives" - Baha Men
• "Bad Reputation" - Halfcocked (English) (Sounds in the film original version Joan Jett)
• "My Beloved Monster" - Eels
• "You Belong to Me" - Jason Wade
• "All Star" - Smash Mouth
• "Hallelujah" - Rufus Wainwright (Version played in the film

Music from the cartoon:

• "Fairytale"
• "Ogre Hunters/Fairytale Deathcamp"
• "Donkey Meets Shrek"
• "Eating Alone"
• "Uninvited Guests"
• "March of Farquad"
• "The Perfect King"
• "Welcome to Duloc"
• "Tournament Speech"
• "What Kind of Quest"
• "Dragon! /Fiona Awakens"
• "One of a Kind Knight"
• "Donkey's Ass"
• "Escape from the Dragon"
• "Helmet Hair"
• "Delivery Boy Shrek/Making Camp"
• "Friends Journey to Duloc"
• "Starry Night"
• "Singing Princess"
• "Better Out Than In / Sunflower / I"ll Tell Him"
• "Merry Men"
• "Fiona Kicks Ass"
• "Fiona's Secret"
• "Why Wait to Be Wed/You Thought Wrong"
• "Ride the Dragon"
• "I Object"
• "Transformation / The End»

Name: Shrek

A country: Duloc

Creator:

Activity: ogre

Family status: married

Shrek: Character Story

The film about the green giant, which was dubbed “postmodern entertainment for adults,” became a cult favorite and attracted millions of fans around the world. “Shrek” is the first full-length animated film to win an Oscar, as well as a number of other cinematic awards.

The first part of the film was released in 2001, but adults and children still watch this extravagant cartoon, which carries the well-known message - good always triumphs over evil. The main character became so popular that in 2010 he received his own star on the Walk of Fame.

History of creation

In Celtic mythology, ogres are evil, man-eating giants who prefer to dine on small children. Unlike trolls who have carved out a niche in Scandinavian countries, ogres do not live in mountainous areas, but in remote swamps. The main goal of this huge creature is to hunt boys and girls. Sometimes the cannibal sneaks up on them at night when they are having a sweet dream. And the villain, armed with a club, loves to make trophies and talismans from bones.

Such mythological hero causes fear and horror even in an adult. However, the American illustrator and book author William Steig wrote children's story about the frightening but very kind Shrek, who is incapable of causing harm to people, even when they deserve it. The genius of literature came up with such a name for the main character for a reason, because in German and Yiddish Schreck (Shrek) means “fear” or “horror”.

According to rumors, Steig drew a giant based on the image of the French wrestler Maurice Tillet, who performed in the rings at the beginning of the 20th century. The champion title holder had an unusual appearance due to a rare disease called acromegaly. It is caused by a benign tumor on the pituitary gland, causing expansion and thickening of the bones, especially in the facial part. Therefore, the athlete, with a height of 170 cm, weighed 122 kg. Maurice was often compared to a troll or an ogre, but he had a vulnerable and kind character.

The book, released in 1990, later attracted the attention of the DreamWorks Animation studio, and it delighted television viewers with short films and four cartoons about the green monster: “Shrek” (2001), “Shrek 2” (2004), “Shrek 3” (2007). ) and Shrek Forever After (2010).

The first part of the cartoon, which had a budget of $60 million, received positive reviews from critics. The directors tried to put together a professional cast. The roles were voiced by John Lithgow, Chris Miller and other stars of the cinematic firmament.

Chris Farley was originally supposed to play the monster. The artist voiced Shrek 80%, but was unable to complete the work: unfortunately, Chris died in the winter of 1997. Then Mike Myers was invited to play the role of the swamp dweller.

The actor voiced the main character, but ultimately stated that he didn’t like Shrek’s voice at all, so he suggested redoing the main character’s manner of speaking to take into account the Scottish accent. The creators of the project liked this idea, so the studio spent another $4-5 million on redoing the dubbing and animation.

Concerning artistic features paintings, the cartoon is based on a postmodern play on classical characters. Viewers not only see the adventures of Shrek, who undertakes to rescue the princess from the clutches of a fire-breathing dragon, but also watch other heroes of literary fairy tales and their cinematic incarnations.

Moreover, familiar images are shown in an unusual interpretation, in the style of nonconformism. For example, at the beginning of the first part he stands in line to hand over the fairy to Lord Farquaad for a reward, which emphasizes the law-abiding nature of this character.

But readers familiar with Peter know that this hero wants to never grow up and refuses to follow “adult rules.” In addition, viewers see how Gepetto sells, a gray wolf in a suit took the ogre’s bed, and meets the heroes in the forest like a real one.

Biography and plot

The green giant Shrek lives alone in a swamp, and his day is not distinguished by any adventures: the monster’s morning begins with taking a mud bath, brushing his teeth and swimming in the water, and dinner begins with lighting a fireplace and cooking food. But, contrary to legends, it does not eat people, but feeds on slugs and other delicacies.

Despite the terrifying “No Trespassing” sign, residents of the outskirts of the city-state of Duloc, armed with torches and pitchforks, periodically raid Shrek’s home. However, the giant manages to fight back, because the monster can make anyone run, his heels sparkling, which undoubtedly pleases his pride.

Perhaps the giant’s life would be calm and measured, but the evil little man and part-time ruler of Duloc, Lord Farquaad, banishes everyone to the swamp fairy-tale creatures, which disrupts the lonely existence of the protagonist.

The green ogre goes to the lord to clarify the circumstances. Since the ogre has superhuman strength and easily deals with soldiers, Farquaad sets a condition for the main character: if he saves Princess Fiona from imprisonment in the castle, everything magical heroes will be deported from the seedy town where Shrek lives. Meanwhile, the ruler of Duloc dreams of becoming the rightful king, so he wants to propose marriage to Fiona. But the short man does not know that the beauty has been cursed.

A giant in the company of an annoying one talking donkey keeps his promise and overcomes dangers and obstacles to rescue the long-haired girl from the clutches of a huge fire-breathing monster. Fiona thinks that Prince Charming saved her because the savior was wearing a helmet, but she realizes that she is mistaken.

Since the princess does not want to go to Farquaad, the giant has to drag her by force. Over time, Shrek falls in love with Fiona, and only at the moment of the latter’s wedding with the ruler of Duloc does he learn a secret: it turns out that due to witchcraft, the girl turns into an ogre at night. The giant hears about the damage imposed on the princess and understands that she did not call him a monster, but herself (before that, with the onset of sunset, the beauty was hiding from Shrek and Donkey).

Thus, upon learning that Fiona loves him, Shrek flies into the castle and ruins the wedding. A lover's kiss can save a lady from a magical spell, but when a giant kisses a girl, she remains a giant forever. And Farquaad is eaten by a dragon who fell in love with Donkey. Next, Shrek and Fiona get married surrounded by fairy-tale characters: a Christmas cookie, seven dwarves, three bears and other characters were invited to the celebration.

The adventures of the “multi-layered giant” do not end there: the lovers are on their honeymoon, and he receives an invitation to visit from his mother-in-law and father-in-law - the king and queen of the Far Away Kingdom. Having reached a compromise, the couple set off, taking Donkey with them, because the dragoness was in a bad mood (it turns out that she was expecting offspring, and Donkey’s children are shown at the end of the second part).

The king did not receive the giant well, and Shrek again has to save Fiona. But already at the hands of Prince Charming (that is, Charming) and his mother Fairy Godmother, a large owner of a potion factory. The main character reveals the secret of the conspiracy of Fiona's father, who in the past was a frog, and the monster also manages to appear in the guise of a man.

Shrek still manages to reconcile with his father-in-law. When he dies, the giant becomes heir to the throne of the Far, Far Country. The powerless hero does not want to be the owner of the crown, besides, he became a father, and, as they say, the ogre has his mouth full of worries. Shrek and his friends go in search of another candidate for the throne and find. While the heroes persuade Arthur to try on the crown, the greedy Charming stages a military coup, so the ogre again has to face trials.

In the fourth installment of the franchise, Shrek Forever After (2010), the giant complains about life. The fact is that the monster becomes a local star: a whole line forms at the green ogre’s home in order to get an autograph. The inhabitant of the swamp does not like this situation, because he wants to return to a quiet and measured life. When the main character argues with Fiona, their conversation is overheard by the failed magician Rumplestiltskin, who then offers the monster a lucrative contract.

By checking the in the right place, Shrek finds himself in an alternate reality, where he relaxes and scares people to his heart's content. But the giant is not recognized by his friends and his beloved wife Fiona, and he is also captured by Rumplestiltskin: the dwarf usurped power by deceit. It is noteworthy that Shrek will return his wife when he kisses her. The ogre has to make the princess fall in love with him again, and he also comes up with a plan to overthrow the cunning wizard.

Played in the film "".

Quotes

“- Remove the dead girl from the table! There's no place for a dead girl here!
- Where should we put it? The bed is already occupied.”

“-Wait. Where are we going? The exit is there!
“I need to save another animal.”

“They judge me before they know me. That's why I'm better off alone."

“Ugh, what a monster!
- Not very polite! Normal donkey."

“Don’t make yourself at home, you are officially not welcome here. It is a fact".

Literary basis

The green, phlegmatic ogre Shrek, who lives in the swamp, is an echo of Celtic mythology. These evil giants, living in the depths of the forest, had incredible strength, so even in unarmed combat they were difficult to defeat. These forest evil spirits communicated with uncivilized cries, and houses were decorated with trophies from the bones of their victims. Ogres have appeared more than once in European fairy tales and fiction.

However, children's writer William Steig in 1990 published a not at all bloodthirsty book about a good-natured ogre and a chatty donkey. The author deliberately made his reading “easy” because he was sure: “You must always remember that you are writing for children, otherwise you can write “War and Peace.” Except literary activity Steig also worked for a long time in sculpture, graphics and creating caricatures - it was he who gave the cartoon character such an appearance.

Prototype

And it turns out that this appearance is not an accident at all. Steig based Shrek on French-American professional wrestler Maurice Tillet, born in 1903. He first appeared in the ring under the pseudonym “The Ugly Ogre of the Ring,” and they say that strict mothers took their children to see the “bogeyman” - in order to scare the children (“You won’t listen...”) True, it was completely in vain that rumors dubbed Maurice an ogre - this was a very shy, well-meaning person who knew 14 languages ​​and played excellent chess. And his appearance is to blame for a rare and serious disease - acromegaly. This disease is associated with dysfunction of the pituitary gland, as a result of which the hormone somatotropin is produced in excessive amounts. Thus, after the completion of the natural growth of the body, the bones of the skull (with disproportionate changes in the face), hands and feet continue to expand and thicken. And if today acromegaly is treated with radiotherapy, as well as hormonal and surgical interventions, then in the 30s of the 20th century, when Maurice Tillet was at the peak of his career, this was not yet discussed. Later, the wrestler became famous and received a new pseudonym - “French Angel”.

Working on a cartoon

Work on the first “Shrek” began back in 1997, and lasted four and a half years. The atmosphere around the creators of the cartoon was quite tense at first. The animators could not agree with the management of Dream Works regarding the “stuffing” of the project - the scriptwriters “spice up” the children’s fairy tale too much. The first staff of artists quit miserably, but this did not stop the cartoon story from developing.

As we work on parts of the cartoon Computer techologies developed, the computer graphics engine also improved: the outer “shell” of the characters does not change, but inside there is a completely different “engine” that makes Shrek and his team more agile. If earlier the quality of the graphic design of the characters left much to be desired and close-ups were a problem, by the third part of “Shrek” this problem was finally “killed.” But we had to work a lot on the details of clothing, hairstyles, physique and facial expressions of the characters - having become “closer” to the viewer, they simply had to be ideal.

Famous cartoon voice actors Hollywood stars– Mike Myers (Shrek), Cameron Diaz (Fiona), Eddie Murphy (the “magnificent” Donkey) and Antonio Banderas (Puss in Boots).

Humor in a cartoon

The creators of "Shrek" seem to have put together all the thousand and one fairy tales of Scheherazade to turn them upside down: the main characters in their adventures are accompanied by Snow White and the dwarves, Pinocchio, Rapunzel, a tranny bartender, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Robin Hood, a wolf and three piglets, talking cookie Pryanya and so on.

Princess Fiona, bewitched by an evil fairy, languishes in a tower guarded by a ferocious dragon, and cannot wait for the kiss of love from the “charming prince” - instead, a green ogre appears in the company of a donkey, and the lively beauty happily “disenchants” herself, turning into an ogre. Not surprising, because her king-father was actually a toad (before her mother’s magic kiss). The Dragon turns out to be a very lonely and amorous lady with eyelashes longer than her teeth - and she and Donkey lived long and happily, surrounded by their hybrid “cherubs”. Shrek himself turned out to be a harmless, slightly reserved “feudal lord”, signing autographs on peasant pitchforks...

On the wall of Princess Fiona's bedroom hangs a portrait of "Sir Justin" with a cartoon image of Justin Timberlake (Fiona's "voice" - Cameron Diaz - was having an affair with the singer at the time of the film's release). The cartoon contains parodies of scenes from the films “The Godfather”, “The Lord of the Rings”, “Indiana Jones”, “Mission Impossible”, “Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar”, “Spider-Man”, “Alien”, “Frankenstein”, “Garfield”, as well as references to Michael Jackson (Pinocchio dance), Marilyn Monroe (skirt blowing scene), to the game “Need For Speed” - and this is not a complete list. The central gate of the Far Far Away Kingdom is suspiciously reminiscent of the entrance to Paramount Studios, and its English-language name “Far Far Away” looks exactly like the hills of Los Angeles, on which the legendary white letters “Hollywood” are located. Through fairy tale life Many real stories also emerge: cartoon characters they talk about trade unions, insurance, contracts with small print below and other not particularly childish concepts.

Shrek Awards

"Shrek" twice claimed the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival (in 2001 and 2004) - and was the only one among its competitors animated film. In 2002 and 2005, The Green Giant won an Oscar for directing and for best animated film of the year.

Shrek is a film series produced by DreamWorks Pictures, directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicki Jenson. The first part of "Shrek" was released in 2001 and was a huge success with viewers. It was followed by three more parts. It is known that the series of animated films about Shrek was based on the book of the same name by writer William Steig “Shrek!” The film adaptation of this work was conceived back in 1991 by director Steven Spielberg. Shrek was voiced by actor Bill Murray. However, the project only got off the ground in 1996, when DreamWorks took over its development. Main character was supposed to speak in the voice of actor Chris Farley, but the artist died in 1997, and the role of Shrek went to Mike Myers.

Shrek 1 earned about $480 million at the box office against a budget of $60 million. It became the first feature-length animated film in history to win an Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film.

In the cartoon “Shrek,” all parts tell about the fictional kingdom of Duloc, near which the main character, a green ogre named Shrek, lives in the forest. Action animated film takes place in the conditional Middle Ages, where at the same time magic is possible and there are endless references to modernity (for example, the use of modern technology). The “zest” of the cartoon “Shrek” is given by the non-standard play on traditional fairy tales and characters. The three little pigs, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Little Red Riding Hood, the wizard Merlin and many others appear as secondary characters in the film. Also, some episodes of the cartoon are a parody of famous paintings- for example, on “The Lord of the Rings”, “The Matrix”, “Austin Powers” ​​and many others.

Shrek 1

The cartoon "Shrek 1" begins with an introduction to the main character - a green ogre named Shrek, who lives in cozy house in the swamp. One day, the ogre's calm lifestyle is disrupted by crowds of fairy-tale characters who literally occupy his house. It turns out that the local ruler, Lord Farquaad, issued a decree banning all fairy-tale heroes from the city to the forest. Shrek goes to Farquaad to resolve the issue, but the lord, in exchange for canceling the decree, asks for a favor - to kidnap Princess Fiona for him, languishing in a tower guarded by a dragon.

Next, the cartoon “Shrek 1” introduces viewers to Donkey, one of the central characters of the franchise. At first, Donkey irritates the ogre with his chatter, and then becomes true friend. Shrek kidnaps Fiona, and the dragon turns out to be a dragoness who unexpectedly falls in love with Donkey. Shrek and Fiona feel mutual sympathy, but the ogre still has to give the princess to Lord Farquaad. Shrek is afraid that the beauty will never be able to love a monster like him. But it turns out that Fiona is in human form only during the day; at night, she also turns into an ogre.

Princess Fiona was made to look like her voice actress Cameron Diaz

On Fiona and Farquaad's wedding day, Shrek decides to confess his feelings to the princess. At the moment of the wedding, the sun sets, and Fiona becomes mad in front of everyone. Farquaad orders her to be imprisoned and Shrek, who came to the rescue, to be executed. Everyone is saved by a dragoness who swallows the cruel Lord Farquaad. "Shrek 1" ends with Fiona deciding to stay in character and marrying the main character.

Shrek 2

The cartoon "Shrek 2" was released in cinemas in 2004. Usually sequels are less successful than the first parts, but the cartoon "Shrek 2" was a rare exception. With a budget of $150 million, it grossed $920 million, almost doubling the revenue from the first part.

Shrek 2 begins with the married ogres being invited to their kingdom by Fiona's parents. But when King Harold and Queen Lillian see their son-in-law, they are not happy. Fiona's godmother, Mother Fairy, is also unhappy with the wedding. It was she who bewitched the princess, and Prince Charming, the son of Mother Fairy, had to lift the spell, and then she would have taken over the entire kingdom. But Charming was too late, and Shrek saved Fiona. Mother Fairy forces King Harold to hire Shrek's killer, Puss in Boots. However, the Cat fails to complete his task; moreover, he becomes Shrek's friend.

Shrek's mother-in-law and father-in-law treated the ogre without enthusiasm

At a factory producing magic elixirs, an ogre steals a bottle of a drink that turns him into a man and Donkey into a beautiful white horse. While in this form, Shrek hurries back to Fiona, and at this time Prince Charming impersonates her reincarnated husband. Shrek has to storm the castle with his friends, and they are also helped by a huge cookie named Pryanya. Mother Fairy tries to destroy Shrek, but King Harold blocks him. He himself turns into a frog, and then dies, blessing his daughter and her husband. Mother Fairy dies from her own spell, reflected from Harold's armor. Shrek and Fiona, having become ogres again, return to their swamp.

Shrek 3

The original title of the next series about the good ogre is “Shrek the Third,” which hints at the royal title. According to the plot, after the death of King Harold, Shrek has to take into his own hands the rule of the Far-Far-Far Kingdom, which was ruled by Fiona's parents. But this task turns out to be too much for the ogre, so he decides to find someone else for this role. He finds a young man named Arthur Pendragon who can handle the management of the kingdom. However, Arthur is not confident in himself, and while Shrek persuades him, Prince Charming seizes power in the Far, Far Away Kingdom.

Fiona assembles a fighting force of fairy-tale princesses - Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. Princess Rapunzel, who joined them, eventually turns out to be a traitor and helps Prince Charming in palace coup. However, together with their friends, Shrek and Fiona manage to defeat the villain. They hand over the reins of the kingdom to Arthur Pendragon, and they themselves return home to the swamp. There Shrek becomes a happy dad - Fiona gives birth to triplets.

The cartoon "Shrek 3" was released in 2007 and collected slightly less money than the previous part. If we look at the ratings and reviews of film critics, the cartoon “Shrek 3” became the most unsuccessful of all parts of the cartoon. The reason for this was the not very successful plot and repetitive jokes.

Shrek 4

The latest part of the animation, “Shrek 4,” or “Shrek Forever After,” was released in 2010. According to critics, it was much more interesting than Shrek 3, but it collected even less at the box office - $752 million. The cartoon "Shrek 4" tells how, tired of everyday life and fussing with children, an ogre runs away from a family party and ends up visiting the wizard Rumplestiltskin. They make a contract: Rumplestiltskin gives him a day of freedom, and in return Shrek gives him any day of his life. But the villain takes away exactly the day when the ogre was born, and then Shrek finds himself in an alternative reality: how everything would have happened if he had not existed. Rumplestiltskin now leads the kingdom, Fiona herself escaped captivity and became the leader of the ogres. She does not recognize Shrek, like his other friends - Donkey and Puss in Boots.

Puss in Boots in an alternate reality has gained a lot of weight

The Ogre has to win their favor and with their help overthrow Rumplestiltskin. He is given only one day to do this, otherwise he will disappear. Fiona's kiss helps break the spell. The cartoon "Shrek 4" ends with everything coming back, the villain is punished, and the main character begins to appreciate what he has.

Shrek 5

To date, the release of the cartoon “Shrek 5” is still only in the plans of the Dreamworks studio, although initially the producers said that “Shrek Forever After” would be the last part of the popular series of cartoons about the green ogre. This was emphasized by the slogan for “Shrek 4” - “ Final chapter" However, at the moment, the head of Dreamworks, Jeffrey Katzenberg, does not deny that in the future, viewers can expect new episodes of “Shrek”. Perhaps the creators will not stop at “Shrek 5”, and viewers will be treated to another part – “Shrek 6”.

The very first short film, Shrek: The Honeymoon, was released in 2003. It tells how Shrek and Fiona plan to go on their honeymoon, but the princess is kidnapped by the executioner Duloc, sent by Lord Farquaad. Shrek and Donkey go to the enchanted forest after the kidnapper. A revived stone statue of an evil dragon awaits them there. But with the help of Donkey’s beloved, the red Dragon, they defeat their enemies and return Fiona home. In a fabulous hotel, Shrek and Fiona celebrate their honeymoon in the company of friends.

Shrek and Fiona make the perfect couple

The second short film was released in 2007. It is dedicated to the Christmas holidays and is called “Shrek Frost, Green Nose.” Sometimes called Shrek: A Christmas. The cartoon tells how the green ogre, together with Fiona and his children, plans to celebrate Christmas in a quiet family atmosphere. But suddenly friends, led by Donkey, come to their house and create a real mess.

The third short film, Shrek: Halloween, appeared in 2010. It is also known as Shrek: Scary Stories. According to the plot, Shrek and his friends are organizing something like a competition. They go to Lord Farquaad's abandoned castle and take turns telling scary stories there. Whoever doesn't get scared and remains the last one in the castle will become the king of Halloween. The number of daredevils gradually decreases until only Shrek remains. He becomes the king of Halloween and continues to celebrate the holiday with his family. There is also another, but slightly less famous short film - “Shrek: A Thriller”.

Shrek

The main character of the cartoon series. WITH German language"Shrek" translates to "horror". It is known that this Shrek prototype was a real person - the French wrestler Maurice Tillet. Maurice suffered rare disease, one of the consequences of which was facial distortion.

Shrek's prototype - Maurice Tillet - was very smart person and knew several foreign languages

Despite his name, Shrek is a peace-loving ogre who does not eat people, but only likes to scare them for his own amusement. He doesn't like it when someone disturbs his peace, so the swamp where the ogre lives is dotted with signs warning people of danger. Before meeting Fiona, Shrek led a measured life, but some items in his everyday life would shock any person. Just look at toothpaste made from caterpillars or a cocktail made from eyes.

Shrek has bright green skin, funny tube ears and a wide, kind face. In all episodes he wears the same clothes - a dirty shirt, a brown vest and dark pants. Nothing is known about the ogre's parents. After a long bachelor life, Shrek finally marries Princess Fiona. In the third part, he gives birth to three children - Fergus, Farkle and Felicia.

Fiona

Fiona is Shrek's lover and later wife. Even in infancy, her godmother, Mother Fairy, cast a spell on her. Because of him, Fiona looks like a human during the day, but at night she turns into a monster. The princess's parents decided that it was better to hide their daughter from prying eyes and imprisoned her in a tower guarded by a dragon. According to the spell, Fiona was supposed to be kissed by a handsome prince, after which she would finally become human. However, she falls in love with Shrek, who kisses her, and Fiona turns into an ogre, which suits her quite well. Despite her external fragility, the girl knows martial arts and can stand up for herself. Possesses courage and decisive character. Fiona from Shrek is a parody of the classic princesses Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, who are bewitched by handsome princes. Fiona, the owner of long red hair, appears in cartoons almost always in the same clothes - a green floor-length dress. In the third part she becomes the mother of three children. Fiona is voiced by actress Cameron Diaz.

The beautiful princess ended up choosing the look of an ogres

Donkey

The donkey from Shrek is one of the main characters whom the ogre met in the first part. Shrek saved Donkey from his owner, an evil old woman. main feature This character is that he can speak human language. He irritates many people with his talkativeness, as he can talk about all sorts of nonsense and sing songs for hours on end. In the first part, Donkey found his “soul mate” - the Dragon, guarding the tower where Princess Fiona was languishing. Subsequently, the Donkey and the Dragoness gave birth to dragonfaces. In the second part of the franchise, Donkey was in the guise of a noble white horse, but then regained his former appearance. Donkey from Shrek speaks in the voice of actor Eddie Murphy.

Murphy was awarded several film awards for his voice acting as Donkey.

Puss in Boots

The cat from Shrek is one of the most popular characters, despite the fact that he only appears in the second part. He is hired by King Harold to deal with the ogre, but the cat does not complete the task and, on the contrary, becomes Shrek's faithful friend. The series of films about the green ogre does not reveal any details from the biography of the cat.

In 2011, Dreamworks released a separate full-length cartoon, where the Cat from Shrek became the main character. From it, viewers learned that the Cat spent his childhood in San Ricardo in the house of his adoptive mother, Imelda. Having grown up, the Cat committed theft from a local bank at the instigation of his childhood friend, Humpty Dumpty, who framed him. The hero has to hide from the law, and, apparently, it was during this period of his life that he met Shrek. Full-length cartoon tells that the Cat returns to his hometown, saves residents from trouble and restores his honor.

Puss in Boots from Shrek always wears wide-brimmed hat and high boots, is good with a sword, very dexterous and smart. If he needs to win someone over to his side, he uses " secret weapon- huge pleading eyes. It was this feature that made him famous among most viewers, and the hero became widely known on the Internet as “the cat from Shrek.” big eyes" In all cartoons, the character is voiced by actor Antonio Banderas.

Well, how can you resist here?

Negative characters from "Shrek"

In each part, the green ogre has to face different enemies. In the first episode, he became Lord Farquaad, who sent Shrek to kidnap Fiona from a tower guarded by a dragon. In the second part, the ogre was confronted by Fiona's godmother - Mother Fairy - and her son, Prince Charming. Both of them wanted to seize power in the magic kingdom. The Fairy Godmother disappeared due to her own spell, and the escaped Prince Charming continued his attempts to conquer the kingdom in the third part of the franchise. In the fourth episode, Shrek had a new opponent - the wizard Rumplestiltskin, who sent the ogre to an alternative reality, and he himself seized power in the magic kingdom. Rumpelstiltskin is the main villain of one of the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, after which he gained wide popularity in world culture. Like the Brothers Grimm, Rumpelstiltskin from Shrek asks the hero to enter into a magical contract. According to him, the ogre gets a free day, and in return gives the dwarf any other day of his life. In the original source, Rumplestiltskin helps a miller's daughter turn sheaves of straw into gold, and in return demands her first child.

The villain Lord Farquaad mocks Shrek's friend Gingerbread

Other characters from Shrek

Most of the characters in the Shrek film series are heroes from other fairy tales. For example, the Gray Wolf, three blind mice, the Pied Piper, Robin Hood, Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty and others. The secondary character, who is called “the cookie from Shrek” or “the gingerbread from Shrek,” earned great sympathy from the audience. His name is actually Jinji. This is a gingerbread man that comes to life, baked by a cook named Cupcake. Gingy appears in all parts of the franchise, including short films.

Gingerbread will always come to the aid of Shrek and his friends

Music

The cartoon about the green ogre won the love of viewers not only due to its visual, but also its musical design. Some music from Shrek has become especially popular. For example, the song "Hallelujah" from Shrek 1. "Hallelujah" - famous song Leonard Cohen. It was performed by musician Rufus Wainwright in Shrek. Another famous song from “Shrek 1” is “I am a believer.” It was sung by Eddie Murphy, who voices Donkey. The tune was written by Neil Diamond, who first sang it in 1967, but most people know it by the Monkeys. In the second part, Murphy also showed off his vocal abilities and performed Ricky Martin's song "Livin' La Vida Loca" along with Antonio Banderas, who voices the Cat.

The initial mistrust of Donkey and Cat gave way to strong friendship

Music from Shrek 2 also includes a lot famous songs. These are “Little Drop of Poison” by Tom Waits, “Hungry Like The Wolf” by Duran Duran, “My Way” by Frank Sinatra, “These Boots Are Made For Walking” by Nancy Sinatra and many others.

Not without famous hits in Shrek the Third. Among them are “Immigrant Song” of the group Led Zeppelin, the song “Barracuda” by the popular singer Fergie, “Do You Remember Rock “n” Roll Radio?” by the Ramones. One of the tunes, “Final Showdown,” was performed by Rupert Everett and Maya Rudolph, who voiced Prince Charming and Rapunzel.

In the fourth part of “Shrek Forever After,” the creators of the cartoon used the same move as in previous episodes, – livened up the action with hits from famous musical performers. Among them we can highlight “For Once In My Life” by Stevie Wonder, “Orinoco Flow” by the Irish singer Enya, “Sure Shot” by the Beastie Boys, “Top Of The World” by The Carpenters. Also one of the songs – “One Love” – is performed by Antonio Banderas.

Video games

There have been a lot of video games about Shrek and his friends. The most popular of them is “Shrek superslam”. You can play Shrek superslam either alone or together. The game consists of the user choosing any character (it can be not only Shrek, but also Donkey, Gingerbread, Cat, etc.) and fights with the enemy. The goal during a fight is to gain a superslam, that is, maximum force for a blow. The game Shrek 2, created in the arcade genre, is also popular. The player performs different tasks, collects artifacts and moves from level to level. Other games about Shrek, released a little later, were made in the same style and genre - Shrek the Third: The Game and Shrek Forever After: The Game. These three games were produced by AWE Productions.

Criticism and public perception

The release of the first part of "Shrek" caused a real sensation. The cartoon was very favorably received by critics and ordinary viewers. Film critic Sergei Kudryavtsev explains the success of this animation project in one of his articles. According to him, "Shrek" is a post-modern look at everything famous fairy tales. Screenwriters use popular stories and famous characters, but present them to the viewer in an ironic way. Of course, all this brings a smile to the viewer, who is accustomed to seeing fairy tale characters in other forms. In addition, Shrek is international. It mixes fairy tales from different peoples of the world, and the main character itself can be equally seen as both a Scandinavian troll and a Slavic goblin. Therefore, cartoons about “Shrek” are equally interesting for viewers from different countries. The ending of the cartoon can also hardly be called traditional: the beautiful princess turns into an ogre, Donkey remains with the Dragon. Thus, the cartoon is politically correct in a Western way: no matter what you look like, what age or nationality you are, you are worthy of love.

Even a green ogre can claim the hand of a princess

As for the humor in the cartoon, critics differ on this issue. Some consider Shrek funny, and capable of amusing both adults and children. Some critics note some cruelty of the jokes. The most puzzling scene is when Fiona starts singing along with the bird and it bursts. Or the scene when Shrek and Fiona inflate the snake and the toad, using them as balloons. In the context of modern popular culture These jokes look very harmless against the general background. Critic Henry O'Hagan believes that the humor in Shrek is still aimed at an older audience. Mainly due to the fact that adults are well familiar with the plots and characters that are parodied in the cartoon.

Many critics praised the visual component of the cartoon "Shrek". Film critic Anthony Lane of the New Yorker noted that computer graphics during the creation of “Shrek” reached a whole new level. “Before this animated film, there were other cartoons created using computer graphics, but Shrek literally became a new step. It’s as if the Lumière brothers followed up Arrival of a Train with Citizen Kane,” writes Anthony Lane. Jamie Bernard from the Daily News also praises Shrek, saying that all the cartoon characters have literally acquired human facial expressions. “This cartoon is a real leap in computer animation,” he says.