"SHREK"isananimatedfeaturestarringaprincess,afire-breathingdragon,acastle,anogre,fairytalecreatures,andmorethanitsfairshareofmagic.Theproducermade"TheLionKing"anditsscreenwriterswrote"Aladdin".Soundstypicalenoughforastandardanimatedrelease.Butthat'swherethesimilaritiesend.ThefilmismadebyDreamWorks,theprinceisthebadguy,theprincesskicksbutt,andthehero--he'stheogre.

　　ShrekscribesTedElliottandTerryRossioareconvincedthiswasoneofthereasonsforthefilmgettingthegreenlight."There'sneverbeenamoviestarringanogre,"saysRossio,whoco-createdthelonerShrekandisoneofthefilm'sco-producers.

　　ThestorybeginswithShrekunsettledfromapeacefulswampexistencebyaninfluxofasylum-seekingfairytalecreatures,uprootedbytheevil(andvertically-challenged)LordFarquaad.

　　ThedisgruntledShrekembarksonajourneytogettheswampbackalltohimself.

　　InShrek,ElliottandRossiofracturenotonlyfairytales,butDisneyaswell.Becauseoftheirintimateandfirst-handknowledgeoftheclassicDisneyformula,theyeasilylullviewersintoafalsesenseofcomfort,beforeflippingitallonitsendsounexpectedlythatyou'llprobablyfindyourselfcryingwithlaughterintheaislesliketheSydneyaudiencelastnight.Ihaven'tlaughedsohardinafilminyears.

　　SomeofthefunniestmomentsoccurwhenDisneypropertiesorcharactersarebeingspoofed,likeLordFarquaad'spalacewhichresemblesacertainthemepark,rightdowntotheparkinglot.

　　Visuallystunning,thefilmisvoicedbystellartalent,includingMikeMyersasShrekinaMrs-Doubtfire-meets-Fat-BastardScottishinflection,CameronDiaz(PrincessFiona),JohnLithgow(LordFarquaad)andEddieMurphyasShrek'sass-ininecompanion.Murphyisthestandout--hisperformanceastheDonkeymakesyouwanttobuyhissix-incheffigythemomenthecomesonscreen.

　　Withsomanycontemporarytrailersspoilingfilmswiththebestjokes(andusuallythesurprisekiller)revealedinundertwominutes,itwaspleasantlysurprisingtofindthefunniestpartsof"Shrek"werenotevenhintedatinthevarietyoftrailersandTVspotsreleased.ThisisoneofthereasonsIamconvincedthefilmwillscoresomuchextrapositivewordofmouth:thereareproportionatelylowerexpectationscombinedwithagenuinelyenjoyablefilm.

　　LookoutforShrekspendingalotofhissummerintheatersacrossthecountry--thisgreenogreisgoingtobeamonsterhit!