Shrek Film Analysis Essay Example

Shrek is no doubt one of the classic American computer-animated comedies, produced in the early 2000s by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson under the production company DreamWorks. The success of Shrek helped DreamWorks develop its leading position in the computer animation industry, competing with Disney and Pixar. The film was first classified as an adult interest film with numerous adult-oriented humor throughout the scenes. However, the unexpected story narrative and eye-catching character design with the non-traditional fairy tale framework makes the film extremely popular among all ages. While Shrek is masterful at providing great humor for all ages, I argue that the film also conveyed valuable messages on prejudge and body dysmorphia that viewers may not initially pick up on. These topics, some which give it relevance to this day, makes the film fall under the Theory and Concepts pillar. 

In most fairy tale films, the ogre has always been portrayed as a deadly beast with no kind heart. Unlike traditional fairy tales, Shrek incorporates traditional villains and an ogre as the main protagonist in an ironic narrative. The character setting contrasts with the standardized fairytale structure: The story of a dashing prince falling in love with the princess and living happily ever after. On the contrary, Shrek is a green ogre living alone by the swamp in the woods near the land of Duloc. The residents of the land of Duloc are all terrified of Shrek due to his man-eating beast appearance. The ruler of Duloc, Lord Farquaad, banishes all fairy-tale creatures to the woods, causing Shrek to lose his tranquil life. Shrek was devastated that his swamp had been turned into a refugee camp overnight, so he made a deal with Lord Farquaad to help rescue Princess Fiona in exchange for his swamp back. As a result, Shrek begins his journey of searching for princess Fiona, accompanied by his new friend Donkey. Princess Fiona was shortly rescued from a dragon-guarded castle by Shrek, but she was dissatisfied that the orge had saved her instead of her “Prince Charming.” On the return journey, Princess Fiona uncovers her secret of being a cursed princess who transforms into an ogre every night at sunset, causing her concern about how others view her. True love's genuine kiss seems to be the only way to break the curse. Shrek and Princess Fiona discover their love for each other after returning to the land of Duloc. At the end of the film, Shrek and Fiona kiss causing Fiona to stay in her orge appearance as the curse states, “you find true love’s first kiss and then take love’s true form.” 

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, prejudice can be defined as an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, a group, a race, or their supposed characteristics. The concept of racial and social status prejudice is apparent throughout the entire film, from the residents of Duloc's fear of the appearance of Shrek to Lord Farquaad's personal prejudice against magical creatures. Early on in the film, the gatekeeper in front of the castle rushed away as soon as he spotted Shrek arriving because he was afraid Shrek would eat him. Stereotype has appeared and led to prejudice since the gatekeeper was judging Shrek solely based on his subjective appearance as a terrifying monster (21:00 - 21:36). This scene correlated and directly reflected the ongoing social issues of the racial prejudice of how certain people held a strong bias toward people of another race or color of an alien culture. In other words, the protagonist Shrek could be interpreted as a symbol for today's marginalized group of people of color. Furthermore, Lord Farquaad held a profound social status prejudice against the magical creatures in multiple scenes throughout the film. His prejudice is shown when the fairytale creatures were being exiled to the woods and being sold or even imprisoned by knights working for Lord Farquaad. (5:19 - 7:54). Under Lord Farquaad’s leadership, the fairytale creatures have been treated as criminals because they are despised by people and portrayed as pests. Such action executed by Lord Farquaad parallels the social status prejudice existing in our daily lives. According to Encyclopedia.com, social status prejudice typically involves elitism, an attitude collective body of high leadership that elevates them to the top of the social hierarchy. Due to Lord Farquaad's prejudice of having a higher social status than others, the fairytale creatures with lower social status were mistreated in this instance.

Body dysmorphia is a mental health issue that causes you to stress over one or more perceived flaws or defects in your appearance (Mayo Clinic). The concept of body dysmorphia is largely portrayed in the film by Princess Fiona’s curse of turning into an ogre every night at sunset. Some of the examples include Princess Fiona’s reaction when it's about to reach the time of sunset and Donkey’s discovery of her ogre transformation curse. First, Princess Fiona's anxiousness escalated and started making excuses for wanting to camp overnight to avoid revealing her orge curse at night. (44:54 - 45:25). Princess Fiona's reaction indicates that the concept of body dysmorphia has been employed in the scene, since she refused to let anyone witness her turn into an ogre, preferring instead to be seen as a beautiful princess. Second, Donkey accidentally witnesses Princess Fiona’s ogre appearance on the second night of their return journey (1:01:28- 1:04:17). She was humiliated and upset that the donkey had discovered her curse and was eager to marry Lord Farquaad to retain the stereotype of a beautiful princess. In this case, she is experiencing the stereotypical idea that "no princess should resemble an ugly ogre," which could be interpreted as a form of body dysmorphia because she is self-conscious about her appearance and the judgment she could perhaps face from others, particularly in the circumstances when she transforms into an ogre.

Overall, I believe Shrek is a successful animated comedy film with a distinctive narrative that incorporates many significant social themes addressing prejudice and body dysmorphia that fall under the animation pillar of theory and concept. Such narratives encourage the development of more inclusive content that may be utilized to address important societal issues through the medium of entertainment. It contributes to public awareness and keeps the public informed about the ongoing issues in the society. Furthermore, it allows the production team to experiment with complicated storyline and creative animation techniques, breaking the misconception that animation is solely for children or for entertainment.