shrek Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I have a personal kink when it comes to a good old fashioned fairy tale subversion. I can't explain it, but there's just something about messing with those classic tales that never fails to amuse me -- so you can see why I have a soft spot for the Shrek franchise. News of a fourth film first hit back in 2007 and now USA Today gives us our first look at the fairy tale comedy, as well as (good?) news that the fourth installment of the franchise, Shrek Forever After, will be the last (and as much as I liked the first two films, I'll admit that by the time we had reached Shrek the Third, the charm was wearing a little thin).

Bill Damaschke, head of creative production at DreamWorks and Mike Mitchell (Sky High) gave some hints as to what we should expect from Shrek Forever After, and according to Mitchell, this time Shrek is feeling out of touch with his inner ogre, so he strikes up a deal with Rumplestiltskin (voiced by Walt Dohrn) to change his life. But things don't work out as planned and Shrek finds out that life in Far Far Away has changed for the worse in his absence. Franchise favorites Puss in Boots (voiced by Antonio Banderas) and Donkey (Eddie Murphy) will return and some of the new additions to the cast are Kathy Griffin and Kristin Schaal (Flight of the Conchords) as witches and part time Ogre hunters, and Mad Men's Jon Hamm as the leader of the ogre underground.

It's very popular to hate on princesses right now thanks to Disney and their frenzied marketing, but there's nothing wrong with a good fairy tale once and awhile, especially if they're served up with a bit of snark. So, I have some hope for Once Upon a Time, an Enchanted sort of story that's being set up at MGM. It's moving pretty quickly too. The script was snapped up in March, and now The Hollywood Reporter says that Mike Mitchell is coming on board to lend his Shrek-honed skills to the fantasy flick.

The story follows three famous princesses: Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Cinderella, who have settled down in domestic bliss with their Prince Charmings, and are prepared to live happily ever after. But the Charming Brothers go missing (clearly, they're charming, but they lack street smarts) and our pretty sisters-in-law must team up, and set out to save their true loves. But a woman's job is never done, and they also have to save their fairy tale kingdom in the process.

It's a live action film, and THR notes that MGM is aiming for a Shrek and Enchanted level of satire. This almost feels like a Shrek spinoff, as all three princesses keep getting more and more screen time in the neverending ogre franchise. Hopefully it'll mix the best of Shrek with a dash of Ever After and Enchanted, and give girls some new princess costumes to wear on Halloween. Ones with swords.

DreamWorks Animation has gone 3-D wacky, announcing eight upcoming animated flicks in various stages of production.

Variety reports that CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg will show investors the DWA schedule in New York this week, as part of their new plan to release five new features every two years.

Considering that Monsters vs. Aliens was the company's only 2009 release, that's a pretty ambitious goal. And like fellow studios Pixar, Buena Vista, Fox, et al, DreamWorks is throwing all their money at 3-D features for the next few years.

The current DreamWorks Animation schedule is as follows:

How to Train Your Dragon (March 26, 2010) -- Based on the kids' book by British author Cressida Cowell, the comedy focuses on a young Viking lad named Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), son of chieftain Stoic the Vast (Gerard Butler), who must train a tiny, toothless dragon as a rite of passage. It also features Jonah Hill and America Ferrera.

Shrek Forever After (May 21, 2010) -- Hey look, another Shrek sequel. Well, you can't blame DWA for squeezing every penny from their most profitable franchise. The title appears to be inspired, in fact, by the "Shrek Ever After" toy line that came out in 2008, which isn't a great sign (it was originally titled Shrek Goes Fourth, and the very fact that it was clever obviously meant that it needed to be dumbed down.) Mike Myers returns as Shrek, who's been tricked by Rumpelstiltskin (Paul McCartney) into visiting a bizarro-Shrek world in which ogres are hunted, Rumpelstiltskin is king, and Shrek's never met Fiona. All -- and I mean all -- of the primary actors from the previous films return, making for one seriously crowded story.

The time when people thought that Dreamworks Animation might hold an artistic candle to Pixar is probably past. The hollow (if sometimes amusing) spectacle of this weekend's Monsters vs. Aliens will probably put that notion to rest for a while longer. Where Pixar always emphasized story, emotion and artistry, Dreamworks went a more straightforwardly commercial route, confusing movie stars with voice actors and generally going for broad parody instead of anything more complicated and difficult.

Which is not to say some of their movies haven't been clever. I thought the first Madagascar was funny and inventive, and all the Shreks had varying amounts of charm. I'm curious what the consensus Dreamworks Animation favorite is, so I created this poll. I've excluded their early traditional-animation flicks for space, and the Aardman co-production Flushed Away, 'cause I don't really think that one counts. Weigh in below!

I've cast the first vote. My pick? Absolutely no contest: it's Antz, Dreamworks' first foray into computer animation and by far their best. All of their other films are characterized by snark, sarcasm, and a total lack of dramatic ambition; they're sporadically funny larks. Antz is a movie -- funny, but also sad, exciting, and memorable. And that opening pan through the ant colony, set to Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell's rousing score, is as spectacular as anything in Monsters vs. Aliens, eleven years earlier. I think it holds up against almost any Pixar release, except maybe Monsters, Inc.

I'm not entirely sure where or how /Film dug up this blog post from last summer about the lack of proper female characters taking the lead in Pixar's productions to date, but it's certainly made those of us on Twitter all... a-buzz.

Think about it: Toy Story had Bo Peep and Mrs. Potato Head serve as love interests; A Bug's Life had a princess love interest and spunky tot; Toy Story 2 can claim Jessie as a proper heroine; Monsters, Inc. is back to love interest and spunky kid; Finding Nemo does give Dory a fairly prominent and helpful presence; and The Incredibles has both Helen and Violet as prime role models. Cars and Ratatouille once again reduce the gals to objects of affection, while Wall-E falls for one admittedly assertive robot.

(In fairness, Dreamworks seems to be batting a similar average: for every Princess Fiona or Rita, there's either a Renee Zellweger or a Renee Zellweger around to muck it up.)

Pixar's next project, Up, appears for now to focus solely on one old man and one young boy. While I don't see the box office dipping in the name of all that testosterone, I still wonder if any of you are struck by this gender disparity in the studio's work, and if any sort of affirmative action is going to result in stories compromised just so they can include a Token Stand-Up Female. What say you guys and girls?

Since today is St. Patrick's Day, and since it's practically a law to wear green on St. Patty's Day, we figured why not come up with a list of characters (most of which appear in movies, or have movies being made about them) who wear green and ask you which one is your favorite. This one was a fun list to create -- truth be told, I went back and forth with Monika over IM for about a half hour tossing out a number of characters. To coincide with the recently-released trailer, the first character we have to name is The Incredible Hulk. He's big, he's nasty, he kicks a whole lot of ass ... and he's green! Other green monsters? How about Frankenstein and Mrs. Frankenstein. Back to green comic book characters, we also have Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Green Goblin and Poison Ivy. Additionally, the upcoming spoof flick Superhero Movie also features a lead character called Dragonfly who -- you guessed it -- wears green. (I'm sure I'm forgetting some random green-wearing comic book characters, so feel free to chime in down below.)

Moving away from the comics, we have my favorite green character -- Kermit the Frog. He's perhaps the nicest green character there is; I mean, even when Kermit gets mad, he still sounds funny ... kinda like Jerry Seinfeld (who I've never seen wear anything green). My second favorite? C'mon ... Yoda! Moving across the spectrum, villains can also wear green -- like Leprechaun (horror version), the Wicked Witch of the West or that darn Grinch who stole Christmas. And finally, how can I leave out the lovable green Ogre ... Shrek! Green is a popular color, eh?

Since there's way too many characters for an official poll, feel free to tell us who your favorite green folks are in the comments below ... and definitely let me know who we forgot. Happy St. Patty's Day!

It seems a bit late, but New Line has finally joined the animated film business. Fortunately for them, they've avoided the attempt to set up something in-house, choosing instead to acquire something already in the works. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio has picked up Planet 51, which is being produced by Spain-based Ilion Animation Studios. Scripted by Shrek and Shrek 2 co-writer Joe Stillman, the film is about the titular planet, which is visited by an "alien" from Earth. I guess it's kinda like a reverse E.T., where NASA astronaut Chuck Baker befriends a young native of Planet 51 and must avoid capture. According to the film's IMDb page, in which it's titled Planet One, Stillman is co-directing with Jorge Blanco. However, The Hollywood Reporter lists the co-directors as Blanco, Javier Abad and Marcos Martinez, all of whom apparently worked together on a video game titled Commandos.

Planet 51 is currently in production but doesn't seem too far along. Ilion hasn't yet cast the voices, which typically come first. Considering that at first glance I thought the promo image was of Toy Story's Buzz Lightyear (yeah, my eyesight is bad), I suggest they just go ahead and get Tim Allen for the lead. And then they should cast Henry Thomas as the alien kid, because all animated films these days need to be full of referential jokes. I also have to add another suggestion to New Line and Ilion: make the film in 3D. With an expected release date of March 2009, Planet 51 is teetering on the edge of the future, as Dreamworks Animation has already declared 2009 to be the year it begins releasing all its films exclusively on 3D screens. It's first, Monsters vs. Aliens, is even set to come out that same month. Now, Planet 51 may not need to be too competitive if it can hit theaters a few weeks earlier (MvA is set for end of month), though chances are audiences will forget about a lame-old 2D release once the real attractions arrive. With a budget of $60 million, Planet 51 probably can't afford to be so easily dismissed.

Alright, all you movie hounds. We know you've spent all summer watching the endless slew of sequels, from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End to Shrek the Third, from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to The Bourne Ultimatum, from Spider-Man 3 to Rush Hour 3 -- it's been one long, hot, summer. But how well do you know your movie sequel history? Over at the Guardian, they have a nifty little quiz up with questions that will test your sequel mettle. I scored 70% on the first pass, not too bad, I guess (hey some of the questions are a little tricky, I'm not that up on my Leonard Part 6). Go check it out, then let us know how you did.

Now here's a little movie sequel pop quiz for you: Can you put the three stills of each of these series in order?



More after the jump ...

You don't have to be a rocket scientist in order to spot the pattern developing during this much-hyped summer of sequels. Following two highly-entertaining and well thought-out installments in the Spider-Man franchise, we were offered a discombobulated third part that couldn't clean up its room without making it messier. Though Spidey is certainly not a tough act to follow, our lovable green ogre was in a similar position. Both Shrek and Shrek 2 were gems; ideal family comedies. A little something for the kids, a little something for the adults, and a lot of something at the box office. But when you begin to venture into threequel territory, there's a certain amount of risk that continuously whispers in your ear -- "How do we keep this thing fresh?" it asks. After all, even a little kid -- the kind that jumps up and down, screaming "Do it again, daddy!" -- will eventually become bored and move onto something else.

Although it's become increasingly more difficult to stand out in an animated marketplace flooded with generic knock-offs, Shrek the Third makes a bold attempt to reignite the magic using familiar ingredients and a whole new cast of characters. That said, the series is beginning to lose its flavor; Shrek (Mike Myers) and his cohorts continue to remain sharp, witty and adorable, but that inventive shine is fading. And what remains is an enjoyable, yet predictable version of something we used to love ... when it was new, when it was fresh and when it wasn't trying as hard to send multiple messages through a few neatly-placed Hallmark-esque monologues. For parents (especially soon-to-be fathers), Shrek the Third might seem therapeutic in a way, and it's also a great film to show those kids struggling to fit in at school. As far as the rest of us go, well, Shrek himself summed it up nicely when, half-way through the film, he blurted out, "Would you like some eggs with that ham?"

After the brilliant Pixar film The Incredibles, I don't think it is necessary to make an animated superhero satire. And after the disappointing Mystery Men, I don't think it is a good idea to let Ben Stiller make another superhero satire. But DreamWorks Animation is going ahead and making a superhero satire, titled Master Mind, and it has Stiller producing the movie, as well as possibly voicing the main character. The plot of the movie focuses on a supervillain who loses his enjoyment in life after he kills his superhero rival. If it isn't enough that such a storyline has been used either directly or implied in countless comics and some straight superhero films, the satire will need to go much further. Since the superhero's name is Uberman, though, I don't expect a whole lot of brilliant ideas for smart comedy.

My other concern with the film is how it will play to children. Uberman is killed in the first few minutes of the film, which could be harmful for kids to see. And then the rest of the movie apparently deals with a depressed criminal. Sure, there have been tons of cartoons through the years that centered on the villain, and this movie will certainly have the supervillain finding redemption, but it still sounds a little heavy -- mostly because of the murderous characteristics -- for children to deal with. I mean, there weren't a whole lot of deaths in animation when I was growing up, save for Bambi's mother (not that I honestly would have cared since I was watching horror films in first grade). The movie will be directed by first-timers Cameron Hood and Kyle Jefferson, both seasoned vets of the DreamWorks Animation team, and was written by Alan Schoolcraft and Brent Simons. According to Stiller, who was making a joke on the long process of making an animated feature, it will come out in 15-20 years.