Shrek

Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, Shrek follows an embittered ogre (Mike Myers’ Shrek) as he’s forced to team up with a garrulous donkey (Eddie Murphy’s Donkey) to rescue a Princess (Cameron Diaz’s Princess Fiona) from a remote tower. It’s an appealing premise that’s employed to pervasively (and agreeably) irreverent effect by Adamson and Jenson, as the filmmakers, armed with a script by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S. H. Schulman, deliver a briskly-paced comedy that does, first and foremost, benefit from the stellar efforts of its lead voice performers – with Myers and Murphy offering up virtually iconic work that heightens the proceedings on a recurring basis. (It doesn’t hurt, either, that the love/hate chemistry between their respective characters is as irresistible and affable as one might’ve hoped.) The ongoing inclusion of fun, fairy-tale-inspired jokes and gags only perpetuated the compulsively watchable vibe, and while the midsection admittedly does suffer from a lull here and there, Shrek builds towards a completely satisfying climactic stretch that ensures it concludes on a thoroughly positive (and memorable) note. (And this is to say nothing of John Lithgow’s tremendously entertaining and larger-than-life turn as the villainous Lord Farquaad.)

***1/2 out of ****