Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1368118
12 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 5 MAY 2021 OPINION WHILE Pixar's groundbreak- ing Toy Story often achieves plaudits for the shot in the arm it gave Hollywood animation in the mid-1990s, it's impossible to ignore the influence of Dream- Works' 2001 computer-animat- ed hit Shrek. The grubbier and more sarcas- tic sibling to Woody and Buzz, Shrek was a milestone for Amer- ican cartoons that paved the way for a unique brand of animated anarchy and sardonic irrever- ence that still holds sway across the industry today. Back in 2001, animation's dig- ital revolution was slowly but surely gaining momentum. In the US alone, the first Toy Sto- ry in 1995 was followed by Pix- ar's insect-themed epic A Bug's Life three years later, and then a second outing for Woody and the gang in Toy Story 2 in 1999. There was also a handful of other features, from Final Fan- tasy: The Spirits Within (2001) to Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001), which further tested the possibilities of computer-gener- ated (CG) characters to varying degrees of success. And then came Shrek. DreamWorks had already dipped its toes into the digital waters with its CG debut Antz in 1998. A film about an under- ground ant colony, it seemed to gazump rival feature A Bug's Life, which would appear in cin- emas only a month later. The competition between the two films was further stoked by the fact that DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg had been fired from Walt Disney in 1994 by then-president and CEO Michael Eisner. Katzen- berg, it seemed, had beaten Dis- ney to the punch. Antz grossed a healthy US$171.8 million internation- ally (though roughly half of A Bug's Life's US$363.3 million). It was next followed by the stu- dio's brief forays into traditional animated production with The Prince of Egypt and The Road to El Dorado. However, it was the commer- cial and critical success of Shrek that really announced Katzen- berg's DreamWorks as a ma- jor force in a blossoming US animation industry. The film earned a whopping US$488 mil- lion internationally, cementing DreamWorks as a serious com- petitor for animation audiences and posing the first recognised threat to Pixar's CG supremacy. Beyond 'Once Upon a Time…' Adapted from William Steig's 1990 picture book of the same name, the animated Shrek set the template for a particular kind of adult-oriented cartoon. Magic kingdoms were firmly out, and mud baths and swamps were very much in. The film's ironic distance, scornful approach to its fairy tale subject matter, smattering of literary and film references, as well as its broader pop culture literacy, have all since impacted the tone of several blockbuster animated features. The "tech" of Shrek also marked a step-up for computer graphics. This included the so- phisticated digital rendering of fire and water, and the illusion of convincing human characters. Behind-the-scenes, Shrek was no less revolutionary in the han- dling of its A-list celebrity voice cast. Animation studios have a longstanding history of casting bankable stars to voice their car- toon creations. However, actors Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Ed- die Murphy and John Lithgow were positioned front and centre as part of the film's advertising campaign in ways not seen be- fore in the marketing of main- stream animated features. Continuing the Legacy Shrek's appeal since its orig- inal release in April 2001 has steadily increased. This has been thanks to a profitable fran- chise, including a cycle of big- screen sequels (three between 2004 and 2010) and spin-offs like 2011's Puss in Boots, and Christmas and Halloween TV specials. There have also been video game adaptations, a stage musical on Broadway and a theme park ride. All have pre- served and expanded the Shrek mythology. As the original film hits its 20th anniversary, accompanied by the hashtag #Shrek20thAnniver- sary, numerous animators and artists have been vocal across social media in their praise for the film. Previously unseen art- work have been shared alongside storyboards, early CGI test ma- terial and even audio footage of comedian Chris Farley's original performance as Shrek (Farley died in December 1997 having recorded a substantial portion of the role, only to be replaced by Myers). The Hollywood trade press has also got in on the act of championing Shrek's lega- cy. Variety recently heralded Shrek's soundtrack as a "mil- lennial cultural touchstone," explaining how its turn towards contemporary music instead of original songs marked a first for popular animated features (the soundtrack featured on the Bill- board 200 and also achieved a Grammy nomination). Shrek's signature hit – Smash Mouth's "All Star" which served to introduce the bad-tempered ogre in the film's opening se- quence – was certainly a depar- ture from Disney's "A Whole New World" and "Circle of Life". Yet its bombastic tone once again fitted the film's playful anti-Disney sensibility. Shrek's frequent aims at the Mouse House's recognisable narrative formula and saccharine senti- mentality were deemed a point- ed dig at Katzenberg's former employers too. The future of Shrek on the big screen remains unresolved. A fifth film has been in the works for years, cancelled, revived, and then cancelled again. The cur- rent word is that Shrek, Donkey and Fiona might yet appear in another instalment. For fans of the iconic Shrek, it's definitely not ogre yet. Christopher Holliday Shrek at 20: celebrating the film's unique brand of animated anarchy Christopher Holliday is Lecturer in Film Studies, at the Department of Liberal Arts, King's College London Riffing on several fairy tales and littered with pop culture references, Shrek positioned itself as animation's dirty alternative to Disney classics