Case in point: Tim Graham of The National Review whines this morning about "another sad episode of corporate-conglomerate mass promotion" in the Barbara Walters/Shrek interview last night.
Except for one problem: Disney didn't make the Shrek movies. They're DreamWorks SKG films, and, in fact, for an animated children's movie Shrek contains some fairly vicious satire of Disney, its films and its theme parks. As one critic noted:
Shrek's comedy depends on the assumption that its audience is well-versed in fairy tales, specifically those associated with the wonderful world of Disney. In fact, Farquaad's castle itself is a spoof on Disney World, with phony-looking cobblestone roads and little singing puppets that explicate the rules upon entry. Everything in Shrek's world turns out opposite from the usual dynamics of Disney." This is not the way it is supposed to happen," Fiona protests when she realizes her savior isn't a dashing Prince Charming and her storybook fantasies will not pan out as she'd imagined. When she attempts singing to a bird in a scene clearly mocking the classic cutesy duet in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, the bird strains so hard to keep up with her high notes that it explodes in a hail of feathers. Fiona subsequently cooks the dead bird's eggs for breakfast. This is the sort of dark humor that runs throughout Shrek, making it one of the more unusual animated features to come out in a long time.
The original Shrek is one of the few movies I've paid twice to see in theatres; I think it's that good. I wonder if Tim Graham has seen it once.
edited to add: Correction published.
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