DreamWorks’ ‘Shrek’ superb, both as parody, entertainment

In theaters

SHREK. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson. Written by Ted Elliott, TerryRossio, Joe Stillman and Roger S.H. Schulman. Based on the book by William Steig. 90 minutes. PG.

When Disney’s groundbreaking “Toy Story” hit theaters in 1995, the film’s landmark computer animation not only made cinematic history, but it forever changed the cinematic landscape.

But now, after six years of Pentium-powered blockbusters – including “Antz,” “A Bug’s Life,” “Toy Story 2” and “Dinosaur” – computer animation has become as ho-hum as yesterday’s tech stocks, a medium that continues to emerge into a fine art form, but whose wow-factor is essentially gone.

Recognizing this, DreamWorks shrewdly presents “Shrek,” a film that wraps its superb animation around what really matters – a good story filled with rich, interesting characters that are never overwhelmed by the animation.

As directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson from a script by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman and Roger S.H. Schulman, “Shrek” follows Shrek (voice of Mike Meyers), a giant green blob with a thick Scottish brogue whose peaceful swamp and serene way of life have become overrun by a bickering band of fairy tale has-beens.

Not just any fairy tale has-beens, mind you, but Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Cinderella,” “Tinker Bell” and “Pinocchio,” to name but a few.

As overseen by DreamWorks’ animation chief, Jeffrey Katzenberg, a man who obviously still has a chip on his shoulder after his famous falling out with his former boss, Disney’s Michael Eisner, “Shrek” is essentially 90 minutes of gleeful Disney-bashing, a wicked little film that couches its mean streak in the softer edges of an ongoing, pop-culture joke.

Just how much of a bashing Disney takes won’t be revealed here, but know this: As each Disney character stumbles blindly into Katzenberg’s sites, “Shrek” digs in to become a hilarious parody that had the adults at my screening either gasping in disbelief or howling with laughter. Usually both.

What’s so smart about “Shrek” is that its pleasures go beyond Katzenberg’s schoolyard bullying. The film’s main story finds the likable Shrek reluctantly hitting the road with a talking donkey named Donkey (Eddie Murphy, perfect as a smartass) in an attempt to pluck the beautiful Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) from a castle guarded by a fire-breathing dragon so the scheming Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow) can have a wife and become king.

Shrek’s motivation? Only after Farquaad marries Fiona will he return Shrek’s swamp to its once pristine state. The story’s complication? Shrek, rather predictably, falls hard for Fiona, a fun-loving princess with a secret she’s frightened to share.

In spite of dawdling a bit at its midpoint, “Shrek” nevertheless peppers the action with enough ribald moments to please children and adults.

It’s at its best when it snubs its nose at pop culture, such as when Robin Hood’s merry men live up to their names in a nice spoof on “The Matrix,” “Charlie’s Angels” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” or when the Gingerbread Man is dunked in milk in an effort to get him to talk. These clever moments, backed by the film’s witty script, gorgeous animation and strong voice talent, make “Shrek” the first must-see film of the summer movie season.

Grade: A-

On Video and DVD

DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS. Directed by Courtney Solomon. Written by Topper Lilien and Carroll Cartwright. 105 minutes. PG-13.

After really knocking them dead as a director of high school plays, director Courtney Solomon finally hits video stores with his cinematic debut, “Dullards and Dummies” – excuse me, “Dungeons and Dragons” – a film that was certainly one of the more curious disasters to come out of Hollywood last year. Or, for that matter, any year.

Based on the popular interactive game, the film feels like a medieval clone of “The Phantom Menace” powered by a pooped-out Pentium chip.

At its basic level – and basic is a word well-used here – the film features an imperiled empress (Thora Birch) fighting for equality between the haves and have-nots.

Trying to thwart her at every turn is an evil mage named Profion (Jeremy Irons), a man who’s having some monumental problems of his own.

Indeed, Profion is under attack by Empress Savina’s loyal supporters (Justin Whalin, Zoe McLellan, Marlon Wayans, Kristen Wilson and Lee Arenberg), a bumbling group who are supposed to provide comic relief, but never really do.

Incomprehensible from the get-go, “Dungeons and Dragons” isn’t quite as bad as, say, “Plan 9 From Outer Space,” but it’s also not much better than, say, taking a sledgehammer to the forehead.

Birch is a long-winded bore and Wayans is little more than a racial stereotype, but neither is as bad as Jeremy Irons, whose over-the-top performance is so embarrassing, it suggests the long out-of-work actor might stay out of work for awhile longer after appearing in this.

Grade: D-

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. His reviews appear Mondays in Style, Thursdays in the scene, Tuesdays on “NEWS CENTER at 5” and Thursdays on “NEWS CENTER at 5:30” on WLBZ-2 and WCSH-6. He can be reached at BDNFilm1@aol.com.