DreamWorks' SHREK

Post by **ShyViolet** » June 1st, 2007, 6:46 pm

I think you'll be surprised Ben.

Post by **ShyViolet** » June 1st, 2007, 10:42 pm

Kinda interesting (if brief) Chris Miller interview from New Straits Times (Malaysia)

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/ ... index_html

The one on Animated-Views is way better, though.

Post by **Josh** » June 2nd, 2007, 3:01 am

Thanks for pointing out the New Straits Times piece, Vi. I'm always interested in hearing some more of Chris' thoughts. Likewise, thanks for the compliment!

Post by **Daniel** » June 2nd, 2007, 3:26 am

Wow, you weren't kidding, Vi. That interview was so short. Josh's really is the better of the two!

Post by **ShyViolet** » June 2nd, 2007, 4:01 pm

Thanks for pointing out the New Straits Times piece, Vi. I'm always interested in hearing some more of Chris' thoughts. Likewise, thanks for the compliment! Smile

My pleasure Josh!

Also, love your avatar sig, Dan. It's just so big and colorful!

When I see it, it reminds me of how I heard on one of the Simpsons commentaries that Homer's character was the first TV character ever to wear regular brief underpants rather than just "boxers" or "boxers with hearts" or whatever.

Post by **Daniel** » June 3rd, 2007, 2:13 am

Nah, its ok. And thanks, Vi, that means a lot coming from you!

ShyViolet wrote:Anyway, I can't really judge the LBT series as I've only seen the first one anyway.... (I mean the theatrical film)

Post by **ShyViolet** » June 3rd, 2007, 6:36 pm

I skimmed this article. None too original thesis, but interesting to read:

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/c ... nema_denby

Post by **ShyViolet** » June 3rd, 2007, 6:45 pm

The characters in the “Shrek” series may resemble rubber bathtub toys, but DreamWorks’ computer-generated imagery, with its three-dimensional look, gives them shadows and weight as they fling themselves hither and yon into distant castle-strewn perspectives. By contrast, the brilliant “Paprika,” directed by Satoshi Kon—a masterly example of Japanese anime, intended for adults—is partly hand drawn, and features multiple areas of visual activity layered at different distances from the picture plane.

Give me a break. I've never "LOVED" the animation in Shrek, particularly the stiff human characters (more of an OTH/Madagascar fan as far as "look" goes) but IMHO there's more human expression and emotion in Shrek and Donkey than there is in 99.9% of most Anime characters, who all mostly look the same to me.

I downloaded the trailer for Paprika and while I was impressed with the acid-trip Akira-like imagery, (the story also looks amazing) the human expressions on the character's faces looked exactly like every other Anime pic I've seen.

The animation in Shrek is supposed to be "fun"--maybe not technically brilliant or advanced but just fun to watch. I don't see why it's such a crime.

I think Charming is a little boring to watch, but his character was SO funny that it made up for it.

I'm the first person to champion hand-drawn (I'd love it if DW did Shrek 4 and Shrek 5 in 2d) but I don't feel that Anime is, by and large, a very good representation of what hand-drawn can accomplish and the places it can take us. Some is of course, and since I haven't seen Paprika, I'm not going to make any judgment on the film, just on the look I saw in the trailer I downloaded. I love the "weird" FX and the cool sci-fi premise but the character's faces look like the usual big-eyes model Anime has been using since the days of Kimba. The movie looks fun. The characters--not so much.

Set in a business world of long white corridors and glass walls and research labs, it’s a Freudian-Jungian-Felliniesque sci-fi thriller, and an outright challenge to American viewers, who may, in the face of its whirligig complexity, feel almost pea-brained. Paprika, the heroine, is an eighteen-year-old sprite—a kind of sexy Japanese Tinker Bell—who enters people’s dreams as a form of therapy.

How original. Anime departing from its usual female heroine to depict "an 18 year old sexy Japanese Tinkerbell." And the whole entering people's dreams as a form of therapy thing was done twice before in film (at least by my count): The Cell, starring Jennifer Lopez, and DreamScape (1983) starring Dennis Quaid, an excellent sci-fi film.

Shrek the Third is by no means a perfect film, (definitely running a bit short on plot compared to 1 and 2) but I had a great time watching it; it had a good story and I liked the characters. Some jokes were dumb, but some were hilarious. IMHO Shrek tells a fun, original fairy tale while gently, and sometimes not so gently, skewering the ones we know. But that doesn't make it "evil."

Post by **Daniel** » June 4th, 2007, 12:01 am

ShyViolet wrote:Also, love your avatar sig, Dan. It's just so big and colorful!

Thanks!

Post by **Christian** » June 4th, 2007, 1:04 am

Ben wrote:Ouch, Mac!

I'm still waiting here in the UK for the end of the month. I don't have big expectations for this, despite some enthusiastic comments and the box office, so will probably end up liking it.

But I'm not expecting a lot.

In that case you will like it just right.

Post by **bawpcwpn** » June 4th, 2007, 5:37 am

ShyViolet wrote:Shrek the Third is by no means a perfect film, (definitely running a bit short on plot compared to 1 and 2) but I had a great time watching it; it had a good story and I liked the characters. Some jokes were dumb, but some were hilarious. IMHO Shrek tells a fun, original fairy tale while gently, and sometimes not so gently, skewering the ones we know. But that doesn't make it "evil."

I second that. Shrek 3 wasn't as good as 1 and 2. Lacked in parts but I enjoyed it. I was pleasantly surprised after reading all the bad reviews about it. It had some very funny moments. I didn't feel like I was waiting for it to end or wanting to tear out my eyes.

Post by **Ben** » June 4th, 2007, 8:09 am

I love how Vi posts a link, then re-reads it and gets caught up in a long discussion which she adds as a second post!

Doesn't think first, that girl...

Post by **ShyViolet** » June 4th, 2007, 1:08 pm

I act first....think later.

Post by **Ben** » June 4th, 2007, 3:05 pm

Post by **Daniel** » June 7th, 2007, 2:28 am

When are Shrek 4 and 5 coming?

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=20857

Now we know!