Shrek (PG)

The funniest animated movie to hit the theaters since Toy Story 2, Dreamwork's Shrek is much more than a kid flick. It manages to cleverly spoof all those Disney movies and even make an old point in an interesting new way. Originally developed to be a 3-D Imax production (that would have been cool), Shrek stars the voices of Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow in a kind of backwards fairy tale.

The title character (Meyers) is a large, green ogre who values his privacy above all else. Since he's ugly, scary, and has a personal hygiene that would make most 13 year old guys seem tidy, alone time really hasn't been a problem for him. That all changes when tiny Lord Farquaad (Lithgow) decides to banish all the fairy tale "things" in the land to Shrek's swamp.

In a deal with Farquaad, Shrek agrees to rescue a queen (Diaz) from a fire-breathing dragon in exchange for getting his land back. Accompanied by an annoying but unconditionally accepting talking donkey (Murphy), Shrek sets out on an unpredictable adventure.

The real fun of Shrek comes when the movie stands all those old Disney flicks on their heads. It made me wonder why Disney hasn't been spoofed more often. When all the characters are rounded up, we meet seven little guys carting around a woman in a glass casket, a lying little wooden puppet turned over to the authorities by an old guy who needs the money, and a gingerbread man who's being tortured (one leg at a time) for information. Even Farguaad's castle resembles a certain magic kingdom, complete with roped off waiting lines.

The computer-generated animation is mostly excellent, with one exception. For some reason, all the humans come off looking like video game rejects or plastic action figures-especially up close. However, the creatures, animals, and backgrounds are all crisp and colorful and fun to watch. In fact, in several scenes the characters and backgrounds almost seem to pop off the screen.

Meyers voices Shrek with a Scottish accent but mostly plays it straight, which was a little disappointing since he can be so funny. Murphy, however, steals the show as the endlessly talking (and hilarious) donkey with a good heart. Diaz, Lithgow, and the other characters all give great, hammy performances.

The movie is mostly clean, although there is a little swearing and some subtly sexual jokes (that will go over the heads of most little kids). You also get plenty of bodily humor (mostly funny) to illustrate just how gross an ogre is. If bathroom humor grosses you out, you might want to skip this one.

Shrek's message seems to be the old "who you are on the inside is more important than what you look (or smell) like on the outside"-unless you're really short. Obviously, Christians would agree (except for the short part). The Bible points out that people look at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). However, the moral is delivered with lots of laughs and several surprises so that it never comes off as preachy.

Shrek does slow down in a few spots, specifically during some of the songs. But for the most part, it's a giggle-inducing ride through a land of warped fairy tales and broken clichés.

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