Shrek isn't your normal fairy tale and Princess Fiona isn't your usual damsel in distress. All images courtesy of DreamWorks Pictures.

When I saw Shrek at a promotional release in Southern California, the day before it opened nationally, I found myself laughing out loud several times and pleasantly surprised by both the writing and the visuals. I loved it! Obviously, I am not alone in feeling this way, as the film's success has been immense. Newspapers have been filled with statistics showing its first weekend box office take to be over US$42 million (including two days of pre-release in New York and Los Angeles, as well as Friday through Sunday receipts). Statistically, it is the biggest opening for any animated film except Toy Story, which brought in $57.3 million over the four-day Thanksgiving weekend in 1999. Shrek also beat out Gladiator (2000), the most successful film to date for its production company, DreamWorks/PDI. Helping it in this respect was the fact that Shrek opened extremely wide, appearing in 3,653 theaters, the second-largest spread of any film (only Mission: Impossible 2 opened wider). Another reflecting of its critical acclaim is the fact that it is the first animated feature to appear at the Cannes Film Festival in France in over thirty years.

Gotta Have A Draw
More than a live-action film, animated features allow and even require a complex marketing strategy. Drawing huge crowds in to see, in this case, an animated ogre is the first and perhaps most important step in creating a feature that has 'legs,' as they say, and can spin its own web of self-perpetuating publicity and popularity. After that initial draw, that first weekend in which the film either makes headlines or falls flat, it is more the construction of the film that propels it into a popular culture phenomenon. Word of mouth, as well as critical reviews, in this case tend to be based on the writing of the story and the technological advances, both of which are impressive. Advances in showing fire, plants and hair are among the most noted accomplishments of the computer-generated animation.

Reveling in a nice mud bath, Shrek enjoys his solitary life at film's beginning.

A cast of great performers, including Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy, add a lot to the film and no doubt have helped draw audiences of a wide demographic. The script is based on a children's book by William Steig; however, the adaptation is quite liberal. Steig's version of Shrek is a relatively short picture book tale, which begins when Shrek is kicked out of his family home. Soon after he goes on his way, he is told that his fortune is to marry a princess. Shrek is surprised, but enthusiastic, and takes off looking for a series of clues that will take him to her. Like his filmic counterpart, this Shrek revels in the fact that he frightens people with his looks. In fact, when he walks into a hall of mirrors at one point, he even scares himself, which makes him quite proud. Along the way to the princess's castle, Shrek has to deal with a dragon and a donkey, who helps him make the final leg of his trip. Once at the castle, he has to battle a guard in armor in order to get access to his bride-to-be. When he finally gets to her, he is thrilled to see that she is -- not svelte and lovely -- but stunningly ugly. When the two see each other, they instantly know that they are fated for each other. They run together in an embrace and love conquers all.