Shrek - The Story Continues (3-D) (Animated) (DVD)

...first disc is the main Shrek feature film, and an assortment of extras to go with that. The second disk is the 3-D part, and non-3D footage of the same thing. Both come in a variety of languages, and have several languages of subtitles.

The Shrek movie is one of my all-time favourite animated movies - the characters are lovable, the animation flawless, the story captivating and it's all very funny. Shrek is a movie that can be watched ...
...For those who don't know, Shrek tells the story of an ogre, Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers), befriended by a talking Donkey (voiced by Eddie Murphy) who go on a quest to rescue a Princess (voice of Cameron Diaz) living in a dragon guarded castle, across "a rickety bridge, over a boiling lake of lava", and then bring her back to the height-challenged Lord Farquaad (voice of John Lithgow). The story takes on many fairy tale paradoxes along the ... more

This is a 2-disc collection. The first disc is the main Shrek feature film, and an assortment of extras to go with that. The second disk is the 3-D part, and non-3D footage of the same thing. Both come in a variety of languages, and have several languages of subtitles.

The Shrek movie is one of my all-time favourite animated movies - the characters are lovable, the animation flawless, the story captivating and it's all very funny. Shrek is a movie that can be watched over and over again and I believe appeals to all ages. The accompanying soundtrack (a mix of contemporary songs and more classical pieces written specifically for the movie by Hans Zimmer) is part of what makes the movie great as the tracks fit so well with the action happening on screen. The 'Fiona theme' also seems to have become the DreamWorks theme for several of their newer movies.

For those who don't know, Shrek tells the story of an ogre, Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers), befriended by a talking Donkey (voiced by Eddie Murphy) who go on a quest to rescue a Princess (voice of Cameron Diaz) living in a dragon guarded castle, across "a rickety bridge, over a boiling lake of lava", and then bring her back to the height-challenged Lord Farquaad (voice of John Lithgow). The story takes on many fairy tale paradoxes along the way, and there would be no 'hero' unless he faced numerous difficulties to get his girl!

Shrek 3-D is a 15minute feature, set shortly after the end of the first movie, but before the second. Lord Farquaad's ghost returns to torment Shrek and kidnap Princess Fiona. Shrek and Donkey must save her, avoiding being eaten by a dragon, before she falls over a waterfall to her death. The final line is 'let the honeymoon begin' and this is how they link to Shrek 2. It's not much as a stand-alone movie, and is nothing like Shrek 2, but as a short piece in-between, it serves its purpose.

In the box come 2 pairs of cardboard 3-D glasses to allow you to watch the movie in 3D. Places like Amazon claim you get 4 pairs, but I'm sure there have only ever been 2 in my box! Personally I've never had much luck with the glasses - whether that's because of my eyes, or watching on a laptop too close, or because they are flimsy card things, I don't know, but the DVD also gives you the option of watching the same footage in non-3D … is that 2D? You still get some of the effect, such as Shrek waving a spider under your nose, but it's not jumping out at you. You do kinda feel stupid sitting with the 3D glasses on after a while, so maybe it's a good thing that its only 15minutes long!

Disc 1 bonus features:
Film Makers Commentary - This is highly entertaining to listen to and they provide many insights into the movie. Aron Warner (Producer) Vicky Jenson (Director) and Andrew Adamson (Director) discuss the film in great detail, and to me it can be as entertaining to listen to the commentary as watch the film itself.

DVD-rom - I'm not entirely sure what this part is because I've not got it to work successfully!

The Tech of Shrek - a brief documentary-style piece showing how Shrek ("the most ambitions computer animated film ever produced") was created at PDI/Dreamworks, how the technology has progressed since 'Ants', and things that went wrong along the way. It is interesting to watch and does make you appreciate the movie slightly more, as you notice small things that you didn't before.

"Meet the press" interviews - The characters themselves give press interviews like real-life stars would do. Highly amusing, and a twist on the conventional press interviews! Some of the things they say are the most funny if you know background of the voice-actors, such as Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) telling us how she got a lotta tips from the Charlie's Angel's girls and really admired their work - when Cameron Diaz is in fact a Charlie's Angel.

Production notes - a 'book' with turnable pages giving information about the storyline, the advances in technology and the actors.

International Dubbing featurette - having the English version, I'm used to hearing the voices of Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy, and others, as the characters. This featurette shows some of the international actors used in other versions. It's mildly interesting to watch.

Shrek Karaoke - The same Footage that ends the movie, and was also on the end of the VHS version. A collection of songs sung by various characters from the movie.

Cast and Film makers - a short paragraph on each of the characters and key film makers.

Overall:
I give this movie 5 out of 5 on all levels - story, character, animation, music…. After listening to the film makers commentary they do point out several major plot holes, and you think 'oh yeah, that doesn't really make sense….' So, that might bring it down to 'only' 4 out of 5, but on the whole the movie is fantastic. Those who've seen the movie should buy the DVD so they can watch it over and over, and those who haven't seen it should buy the DVD to find out what they are missing.

Example of a plot hole: Shrek and Donkey never actually meet Lord Farquaad, but they spend the entire movie mocking his height. Since we (the audience) know he's short we just accept the heigh jokes. The height jokes are left over from a different storyline where Shrek and Lord Farquaad actually met.

It was commented that I hadn't mentioned the price. The sticker on the front of my box says £14.99, with the RRP (according to Amazon) of £19.99  

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