Ok, I'm a big fan of cartoons, but I tend to be a little bit leary of computer generated animation.  When I first saw the previews for Shrek, I didn't really know what to think.  But when I saw it, I was blown away.  Not by the animation (it wasn't the main attraction as in other computer animated films), but by the writing and voice talents. 

Shrek is a reclusive ogre, who wakes one day to find his swamp invaded by fairy tale characters.  He finds out that Lord Farquar has had them banished to the swamp, so Shrek must go talk to him to convince him that it's a bad idea for them to be there.  He then gets suckered in to rescuing the princess from a giant dragon.  Somewhere along the way he's befriended by a talking donkey who never shuts up.  

The story is sort of an alterna-fairy tale.  Theres no prince charming, but a nice lesson in it's
place...Things don't always work out the way we expect them to, but they always work out.  In addition to having a good story line, Shrek makes fun of virtually EVERY fairy tale in existance.  And the parodies are absolutely hilarious.  The gingerbread man steals the movie in my opinion.

The voice talents in Shrek are really what make the whole movie work.  Mike Myers (Shrek), Eddie Murphy (Donkey), Cameron Diaz (The princess) and John Lithgow (Lord Farquar) work incredibly well together.  Myers and Murphy have great comic chemistry, and Diaz does a fantastic job as well.

Overall, I give Shrek an 8.5 out of 10

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