Shrek (2001)
★★★ — Shrek (2001)
Somebody once told me this film was a stone-cold masterpiece, and for a long time I was inclined to agree. Then I sat down and watched it again properly, and the honest answer is: it's great, but it's not quite what memory insists it is.
The moment "All Star" kicks in and Shrek stomps out of his swamp, something in your brain just switches. You're twelve years old again, sitting in a darkened cinema, absolutely convinced you're watching something revolutionary. And here's the thing: you kind of were. Shrek genuinely flipped the fairy-tale formula on its head at a time when that felt bold rather than routine. It took the Disney template, winked at the audience, and handed us an ogre as the unlikely hero. For 2001, that was properly clever stuff.
Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy are clearly having the time of their lives, and that energy is infectious. Donkey in particular is still comedy gold. Murphy pitches every line perfectly, riding that line between annoying and endearing without ever fully falling off either side. The meta humour aimed squarely at adults holds up well too, better than the broader gags aimed at kids, which occasionally feel a touch laboured on rewatch.
But here's where I have to be honest with myself: time hasn't been especially kind. There are two reasons for that, and they pull in slightly different directions. The first is the memeification. Shrek has been through the internet's blender so many times, and in such relentlessly ironic fashion, that it's genuinely hard to watch it straight anymore. Every iconic moment arrives pre-loaded with about fifteen years of online baggage. The second is the sequels, and I say this as someone who thinks Shrek 2 is actually the stronger film. Once you've seen the franchise sprawl in every direction, the original's sense of irreverence starts to feel less like a subversive statement and more like the beginning of a very long corporate joke.
The self-awareness that made it feel fresh in the early 2000s has also, paradoxically, dated it. Irony and postmodern fairy-tale deconstruction are so baked into mainstream animation now that Shrek no longer has the field to itself. It was ahead of the curve once. The curve caught up.
None of that makes it a bad film. It isn't. It's charming, witty, technically impressive for its era, and it gave us one of the most recognisable animated characters of the decade. The love story has genuine warmth to it, and the finale still lands emotionally even when you know exactly where it's going. There's a reason it lodged itself so deeply in a generation's collective memory, and that reason is real craft, not just nostalgia.
It's just that "classic" and "top-tier" aren't quite the same thing, are they? Shrek earns the first label comfortably. The second is a stretch. Three stars, and I mean that respectfully rather than as a slight. Sometimes good enough, done first, is exactly what a film needs to be.
Rating: ★★★ | Year: 2001 | Watched: 2025-07-20
Where to watch
Watch in the UK
Stream: Netflix · Netflix Kids · Netflix Standard with Ads
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Sky Store
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi
Watch in the US
Stream: Peacock Premium · Peacock Premium Plus
Rent: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon US
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Related on Movies With Macca
More from Andrew Adamson: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) · Shrek 2 (2004)
More with Mike Myers: Shrek 2 (2004)
More from the 2000s: Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005) · Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) · Daredevil (2003) · Apocalypto (2006)
More animation: Fantastic Planet (1973) · Alice in Wonderland (1951) · Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain (2024) · Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II - The Ashes of Rage (2025)
More comedy: The Eagle (1925) · The General (1926) · Americana (2023) · The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
