shrek.jpg He is ugly but adorable. At first glance, he is frightening. But the more you look at him, the more you want to hug him or lay your head on his big stomach. He has soft gentle eyes. He stands out because he is green and huge. The green is a shocking and unpleasant colour but it’s what makes him special. He is not too childish or sweet to be liked because he is an ogre. It is cool for a man to like Shrek as much as a little boy. He is no teddy bear or doll. He is like the children version of pornography; ugly, repulsive but entertaining and irresistible. He is powerful and can do things much as we like a man to be able to achieve things. He is an ogre of a man but in a manly way rather than in a sexual way. He has a sophisticated sense of humour unlike Paris Hilton whom we always laugh at. The other characters are equally different but charming; no Disney clones or cliché here. Princess Fiona is as different from the four other fairy tale princesses in Shrek 3 (Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Rapunzel) as can be. She makes Shek more real and repulsive in a funny way. The sidekick buddies are stupid and hilarious. Donkey and Puss in Boots entertain you the way real buddies should.

But what makes Shrek return to bigger and bigger box office is the human element inherent in the story. The characters are complex and three-dimensional. The complexes of the characters as they grow and change and mature are highlighted through the surprisingly expressive medium of animation. Their feelings are subtle and dynamic and real. Thus we empathise with them as we laugh at them. And ourselves. Unlike traditional fairy tales, Shrek is novel, original, witty and cool. It’s an animation worthy of twenty-first century technology and human relationships. Go watch it; it’ll shred you to pieces and you’ll love it!