Shrek

Shrek is the classic fairytale with a twist. There are five films in this hugely successful computer animated series. The title character is an ugly green ogre and is one of the best anti heroes of recent times. The films have an all star cast including Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and Antonio Banderas.

This is a 'fairytale' with all the traditional ingredients - a princess locked in a tower, a hero on a quest to save her, a scheming villain, true love leading to a happy (if somewhat unexpected) ending. Shrek offers a spectacular story suited to audiences of all ages simply because it offers a storyline that can be as easily interpreted by children as it can by adults.

The sequels follow similar fairytale type stories but have more adult oriented humour and pop culture references. Plus there are more jibes at stereotypes which are often overturned in a humorous and modern way.

DreamWorks, as the main rival of Disney, do tend to poke fun by using more typical disneyesque characters and themes and twisting them into parodies of themselves, however, this is all part of the magic and where the film gets its adult appeal.

Cinema releases 2001, 2004, 2007, 2007 and 2010

Certificate U and PG

Available on DVD and Blue Ray