I am always worried when the major media outlets start calling certain movies "smart" or "serious." It's usually a good sign that the movies in question will reach a certain line of classiness they'll never have the guts to cross. Real movies have the capacity to take particular stances that demand passionate debate; classy ones offer comfort, a fantasy of wit or seriousness based on affirming what the audience already knows. Unanimity of the latter sort usually means that a film will never get out of the middle of the road--while it won't risk being squashed by oncoming traffic, it won't get where it ought to be going, either.

This is why, after hearing the general consensus that the all-CGI kids' movie Shrek was "satire," I was sceptical. Surely, the only thing that could motivate a major studio to "satirize" another studio's products could be professional jealousy, and indeed the film is full less of satire than impotent rage at the competition's success. But this, surprisingly, works to its advantage: as the men upstairs obsess over the central focus (beating Disney), they allow scattered moments of genuine wit and invention to pass unnoticed. While Shrek doesn't quite cohere into a seamless vision, there are sufficient nuggets of goodness to carry you through to the final reel.

The eponymous ogre (voice of Mike Myers), resigned to a life of loneliness and frightened villagers, is about to find his world shaken. Annoyed to discover his patch of swamp invaded by a plethora of fairy-tale creatures, he discovers that the diminutive Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow) has been capturing and re-settling them for purposes too terrible to mention here. As Shrek is the only creature fearsome enough to avoid the wrath of Farquaad's minions, he's become a magnet for refugees, and the only way to return to peace and quiet is to rescue Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), the maiden for whom Farquaad has the hots. Accompanied by an excessively talkative donkey (Eddie Murphy), he brings back Princess Fiona alive--only to discover that he may not be so willing to give her up.

While any fool can see that this is a set-up for protracted Disney-bashing, the film's combat strategy is far from clear. The problem with a major studio trying to zap another major studio is that the objectives of both sides are exactly the same: the products of the satirizers are just as cynical and ruthless as those of the satirized, and so nobody can claim the moral high ground. Shrek has exactly the same familiar tale of "learning to be yourself" that has graced countless Disney appellations, and its lack of sincerity is just as pronounced as that of the House that Walt Built. It's no surprise, then, that Shrek has a certain lack of direction, because there's nothing driving it beyond Jeffery Katzenberg's bitterness over his feud with Michael Eisner.

But despite this opacity of purpose, the film is surprisingly entertaining. If its emotional core is safely sentimental, the side riffs that surround it are scurrilous enough to make you forget the film's weaknesses. If you've never heard the seven dwarves sing slave spirituals, or seen a gingerbread man tortured with milk, or an enchanted princess do Matrix-style chopsocky, you really shouldn't deprive yourself of the experience; while such scenes tend to fly off into space--casualties of the whole unformed nature of the project--catch enough of them and you'll find yourself with quite the collection. Even though some of these jokes misfire (I could have lived without the Shrek-vs.-knights scene that degenerates into a WWF tournament), there's enough wit and savvy in the icing to make the rest of the cake go down easy.-Travis Hoover

Try as I might, I just can't muster much affection for Shrek, so some of its 2-disc set's special features (the less self-aggrandizing ones) appealed to me more than others. The first platter presents a direct-to-digital full frame (i.e. cropped) video transfer, the second a 1.78:1 anamorphic one, both gorgeous to the max, though I preferred the widescreen version because letterboxed, Shrek doesn't look as much like an especially high-end Saturday morning cartoon. Disc One contains a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix that's sufficiently large and stereophonic. It fails, however, to offer the wrap-around soundscape I'd been expecting during such sequences as the rescue of Fiona, and the bass is strongest during the Smash Mouth songs.

Extras here besides the film's overhyped extended ending (it's after the ending credits)--a 3-minute medley called "Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party" that you can also access through the bonus page--are as follows: HBO's First Look "Creating a Fairy Tale World: The Making of Shrek" (24 mins.), which concentrates on the contribution of Myers, et al to the film; a "Sneak Peek" at next spring's cel-animated horse adventure Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron; detailed cast and crew bios and production notes; a "Game Swamp" where you can play the Magic 8-ball-esque "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall" and test your knowledge of "Shrektacular Trivia" (it's a nice memory exercise for kids); and "DWK", a kids' section similar to "Max's Playground" on the Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas DVD wherein you'll find a "Favourite Scenes" selector, a link to the game swamp, and videos for Baha Men's "Best Years of Our Lives" (accompanied by a making-of featurette) and Smash Mouth's cover of "I'm a Believer". (P.S.: These songs suck.) Last, not least, Shrek's first disc has more DVD-ROM-exclusive stuff on it than Carter's got liver pills. I just hope you have a stress-free time installing it--my PIII 500 choked twice; I will take it on faith and grapevine buzz that the interactive content--"Shrek's Revoice Studio", in particular--is exceptional.

In addition to the Dolby configurations, Disc Two includes a DTS 5.1 audio stream for Shrek itself that manages the LFE a bit better, plus a screen-specific commentary from producer Aron Warner and co-directors Vicky Jenson and Andy Adamson. The three participants play off each other well and delve into the greatest depth the package has to offer on the challenges presented by the production, most notably Myers' desire to do his dialogue track over, which necessitated re-animating a batch of finished scenes.

Also on the second platter: "Storyboard Pitch of Deleted Scenes", three (pointlessly, as they're almost the same footage) dual-angle meeting room presentations of (over-the-top, it must be said) deleted sequences as they appeared in the storyboard stage, with artists (David Lowery, Chris Miller, and Cody Cameron) providing narration and sound effects; "The Tech of Shrek" (22 mins.), a crisp exploration of the computer-animation techniques behind Shrek; "X-Box Game Playing Hints", X-Box Not Included; "Technical Goofs" compiles some of the errors that are noted in "The Tech of Shrek"--see Donkey as a Chia Pet or, even creepier, with pieces of his face missing fur and skin altogether; "Dubbing Featurette" (2 mins.) shows us voice talent from around the globe re-dubbing various international versions; "Progression Reels"--eight still frame galleries--take us through the evolution of major characters and locations, from initial sketches to the final product (unfortunately, beyond basic aesthetic assumptions, we're left up to our own devices to figure out why Shrek went from hairy to bald, stocky to burly, etc.); the bios and notes again; and Shrek's original theatrical trailer in Dolby Digital 5.1.-Bill Chambers

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