Fradam

A shopping trip with Kellie and Woody the other day netted another eagerly anticipated cinematic experience: the third installment in the Shrek franchise. Perhaps I should elaborate a little.

I still remember not being able to stop laughing through the first Shrek. Its rewatchability was amazing; and it was not long before the entire film could be recited .. in fact, I did actually once do a Shrek performance for a family that had not seen it before

The second movie to me was a little bit of a letdown. The classic tale of moviemakers wanting to squeeze every extra dollar out of what was already a crowd winner seemed to strike a resonant chord within me, as every scene seemed like it was choreographed to a superfluous nature. Having said that, the new characters were both interesting and adorable — Prince Charming’s appearance and general demeanour was a nice counterpoint to the way he would normally have been expected. Of course Puss in Boots was a great hit too. But it could never compare to the first (as sequels never can).

It was against this backdrop that Shrek the Third entered… and I believe it performed quite well too! Overall, better than the second one, but still not quite at the level of the first. In terms of overall story, I found this much more enjoyable than the second movie — the concept of a journey that Shrek and Donkey (well, and Puss in Boots) have to take, searching for someone… it was a bit reminiscent of the first one actually.

The ever-expanding vocal cast gained a few more notables — there was a mini-Python reunion with Eric Idle joining as Merlin (the dying King Harold was voiced by John Cleese) and one of the opening scenes showing a coconut-shell-driven-horse — Justin Timberlake servicing as the youthful ever-dramatic soon-to-be-King Artie. I’ve always been impressed with Charming’s casting — to me, Rupert Everett has an excellent voice for a villain (first noticed this in Inspector Gadget, and he did not disappoint, even when lamenting over a stage-wide humiliation.

Getting back to where it really excelled, there were a few poignant issues to tackle about identity, and who you really were. As always, highly applicable to anyone’s life.. except maybe the bits about becoming a Dad :p Baby ogre was cute though! With a scene set in a high school, a few issues that affect teenagers were for a change directly addressed by playing them out, rather than in the usual Shrek fashion (acting out a broader analogy).

My favourite quote:

Prince Charming: You! You can’t lie! Where is Shrek?
Pinocchio: Well, uh, I don’t know where he’s not.
Prince Charming: You’re telling me you don’t know where Shrek is?
Pinocchio: Well, it wouldn’t be inaccurate to assume that I couldn’t exactly not say that there he’s is almost partially incorrect.
Prince Charming: So you do know where he is!
Pinocchio: Oh, on the contrary. I’m possibly more or less not definitely rejecting the idea that I undeniably…
Prince Charming: Stop it!
Pinocchio: …do or do not know where he shouldn’t probably be. If that indeed wasn’t where he isn’t!

… for reasons that should be obvious! Love the wordplay

With Shrek 4 slated for 2010, once again the question of “what will they think of next?” rises. Once again, the challenge of being labelled as just another movie cashcow will be taken up. Once again, people will find their memories of fairytales brought to the forefront. Personally, this most recent one has given me potentially a new ambition in life — apparently, Eddie Murphy was reportedly paid $10 million for a few days work. Hmmm… not bad

After much bated breath I witnessed Happy Feet, and came out quite excited by the prospect that I could be the next tap dog/penguin. This film definitely lived up to the amount of hype that I had been exposed to, and may well have extended it.

Being part of the animated generation, I witnessed CGI take off with Woody and Buzz, Shrek and Fiona, and now into this dancing musical about emperor penguins. Yet, in all this animation wizardry, we only learnt so much:

- Ogres are like parfait and onions
- The mouth of a pelican is a safe place if you’re worried about seagulls

How many of these movies not only gave us a laugh, but also taught us something real about the world? Something really real. The media, being a method by which we procure information, is always in a powerful position: it can show us the truth or hide it. Certainly music stars exercise their power, and try to change the world from the stage. But what about a movie? Does a kids film have any social or moral obligation? If not before, they do now. To be fair, Ice Age 2 made inferences towards the problem of global warming, but it would easily be missed by many.

Happy Feet is eager to educate its viewers upon the plight of a species that depends upon fish to survive, and what happens when we as humans interfere in the natural balance of the world… and does so in a way that an 8 year old can understand it. I almost felt like that as the penguins tried to communicate to humans in an interpretative dance, that the film makers were speaking to us as the penguins; hoping, praying, wish that somehow, we’d understand and pick up on it. I suppose the people watching the film will be the decision makers of the next generation; which is a reasonably good sign for the cause.

I hope that this at least sends the signal to other animated film makers, that you can do a great fun movie, full of singing and dancing, and still send a serious message home too. What is the phrase? With great power, comes great responsibility, and with great responsibility, comes great amounts of chocalata!