5-18-2001

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                                         5-18-2001

                        Shrek released

On this day in 2001, the fledgling movie studio Dreamworks SKG, founded by Hollywood heavyweights Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen, releases what will become its most successful film to date: the animated featureShrek.

Based on William Steig’s 1990 children’s book, Shrek was vividly re-imagined by Dreamworks animators as a subversive twist on the classic Beauty and the Beaststory. The studio had originally signed the comedian Chris Farley to provide the voice for the titular green ogre, and his death in December 1997 temporarily set the project back, as the character of Shrek had been tailored to his personality and voice. After Mike Myers signed on, he lent his own spin to the character, including a thick Scottish accent with the flavor of Myers’ native Canada.

The film turned many of the sentimental clichés of fairy tales on their heads, with sympathetic portrayals of traditionally villainous figures such as ogres and dragons. In the world of Shrek, Prince Charming is a bumbling fool, while the ogre emerges as the romantic hero. Alongside Myers, Eddie Murphy was allowed to improvise in his role as the Donkey, Cameron Diaz voiced Princess Fiona and John Lithgow was the scheming Lord Farquaad. In an unusual marketing strategy for an animated film, the big-name cast members were promoted as the stars of the film, as opposed to the animated characters themselves.