- [Carolyn] Shrek
(laughs)
(bouncy music)
In the past 20 years, there's one piece of intellectual
property, which has shaped our lives, our culture,
our desires, our very dreams in an unprecedented way.
One piece of film history which forever changed the
face of art as we know it.
Of course, I'm talking about Shrek.
- [Shrek] Oh, you're expecting Prince Charming.
- Seriously though while Shrek is most typically associated
with bizzaro memes, ironic, uncanny
valley sex videos, and Smash Mouth.
It's important to take a step back,
and look at the franchise as a whole.
If you do you'll find out that Shrek was
actually pretty revolutionary.
This is a series that changed our outlook on
3D animation as an art.
Movies which cemented the legitimate staying power
of animated franchises.
A kid's film that low-key named it's villain, Fuckwad,
and a story that launched a 1000 memes.
Love him or hate him, we owe Shrek a lot.
From his humble origins as a children's book character.
Shrek has become an icon of internet weirdness.
The patron saint of irony, and a major economic force.
And most importantly, changed
the Motion Picture Industry, forever.
Without Shrek, would we even have the MCU?
Maybe, but also quite possibly, not.
Stick with me here, this is
How Shrek became the most important
animation franchise of all time.
Cementing CGI Animation as an artform with staying power.
Like basically every new thing ever to be presented
to the public, or Shrek having Donkey as a new friend,
some fans railed against the aesthetic of the relatively
new fully 3D animation.
- [Shrek] They judge me before they even know me.
- Which is now considered synonymous
with animated feature films.
After decades of the hand-drawn 2D styles made
ubiquitous by Disney Films.
The 3D CGI was a shock to some,
and many doubted it's ultimate staying power.
Though Toy Story had been a massive hit,
and Pixar was pioneering revolutionary filmmaking
techniques, other studios hadn't fully embraced
the potential power of 3D animation.
And critics were still viewing cartoons as largely only
appealing to children, and the parents they happened
to drag along to theaters.
But, in 2001, Shrek dropped his green mojo
all over America.
The movie about the reluctant anti-hero,
who just wanted to be left alone was a hit.
And with big box office numbers came something not
often found alongside animated films ... Prestige.
Roger Ebert gave it four out of four stars saying,
"This is not your average family cartoon"
And if hyperbolic praise is a little more your speed,
The Washington Post described it as,
"... All but unprecedented". Wow.
Yes, scenes like Lord Farquaad checking up on his boner,
certainly were unprecedented.
Critics loved that boner and the movie around it.
And so did the juries of the world's most
preeminent film festivals.
DreamWorks first ever film, Shrek, premiered
at the Cannes Film Festival as one of the films
competing for the coveted Palme d'Or,
the festival's highest honor.
Though Shrek didn't take home the prize, it was the
first animated film to be nominated for the honor
since Disney's Peter Pan in 1953.
And it was definitely the first movie at Cannes
to feature Eddie Murphy as a talking, fucking donkey.
Shrek brought a cache, and prestige to animated films
in another big, historical way.
By winning the first ever Oscar for best animated feature.
While Disney had been just about the only game
in town for big movie animation
with commercial success for years
New, smaller studios like DreamWorks and Pixar
had broadened the playing field.
Until the Academy was forced to accept the truth
us nerds have known for a long time.
Animated films are legitimate art.
And just like Shrek and Fiona's love they're here to stay.
So they introduced a brand new award,
and Shrek to home one of film's most coveted prizes.
Even beating Pixar's Monster's Inc.
So while Toy Story and Beauty and the Beast
also had rave reviews, no one can ever take away
the fact that Shrek was the first to win this Oscar.
Overall, the series has been nominated
for five Academy Awards.
Not bad for the green guy from the swamp.
Competing for the Palme d'Or and the Oscar
are all well and good, but the prestige,
and commercial success of Shrek did something
even more impactful.
It showed studios that 3D animated features
were very very enticing to the audiences all of which
lead to Shrek being the spark which
ignited the modern movie franchise.
Before Shrek, animated movie sequels would usually
go straight to home video .
For example, in 1994 The Lion King had the biggest
ever per theater earnings for any movie on it's
opening weekend, but the sequel, Simba's Pride
was just dumped straight to home video four years later.
But, the quality of storytelling,
and movie making of Shrek 2 demanded a theatrical release.
Having an animated sequel as good as
or better than the series first installment
was a relatively new concept, with Toy Story 2
being a rare exception.
And, of course, Toy Story didn't transition
into an ongoing franchise until 2010's Toy Story 3.
Just like Robin Hood, DreamWorks likes getting paid.
Well, of course there had been successful franchises
before, they operated very differently than the
multi-billion-dollar industries we now associate
with media-spanning hit series.
You'd usually have one installment in the series,
maybe some merchandise to go along with it.
Then the peasants wielding pitch forks-like fervor
would die down, and the film would fade from people's minds
until the next installment came along.
- [Shrek] This is the part where you runaway.
- And none of these franchises
had been fully animated before.
Shrek changed that paradigm.
And the franchise became a forward-moving machine
instead of a movie series fans would return to
every once in a while.
Three years after the release of Shrek, DreamWorks
released Shrek 2, and the franchise was in full swing.
Since the series inception in 2001, there's been
at least one new piece of Shrek media each year,
including the wildly successful, and adorable
Puss In Boots spinoff.
There have been five theatrical released films,
eight short films, two television holiday specials,
two t.v. series, one Broadway musical,
and around 30 video games.
That's even more video games than Homer Simpson has.
And there's a deluge of Shrek themed soap, snacks
apparel, toys, and other merchandise
including this genuinely disturbing Play-Doh Shrek 2
root canal play set. Ahhh
- [Crowd] Ahh
- If you wanted you could fully immerse yourself
in a Shrekaverse 24 hour a day, seven days a week.
And I do ... I do want to.
And no matter how much Shrek media comes out,
there's still an audience for it.
The short films and other media help to fuel the excitement,
and investment in the next installment in the series.
Which was always right around the corner,
keeping fans coming back for more.
Shrek was the most successful animated film franchise
of all time with the whole series grossing more than
3.5 billion dollars.
Or as I'll call them from now on Shrek Bucks.
(laughing)
- As producers and investors saw this massive success,
AKA the Shrekoning, they quickly scrambled to replicate it.
By pushing the boundaries of branded merchandise,
and by making sure that if there was a first movie,
and a new potential series, there would almost certainly
be a second, and a third.
Not entirely unlike three little pigs.
Pixar, a studio originally dedicated to the ideals
of incredible original stories,
and breaking barriers in story, and animation
saw the changing landscape, and had to trade in
doing rare sequels for being an all out franchise machine.
Ahem, Cars franchise anyone?
Cinema goers today just expect any new movie
to set itself up as a multi-film franchise that
we can bask in for years to come.
That green guy was all about making green,
and soon other production companies were green with envy.
Tony told me to write that in here.
It's a terrible joke
- It's good, it's good
- Oh good Lord.
(laughing)
- But, Shrek inspired future animated franchises
in another way as well.
Through its story.
Scenes like the Princess Fiona exploding bird gag,
made fun of the cartoons which had come before.
And, the gruff, anti-hero surrounded by a
plucky, wacky, supporting cast became a template
for the mega hits which followed in its wake.
The other highest grossing animated franchises
of all time, Madagascar, Ice Age, and Despicable Me,
all followed in Shrek's grumpy footsteps,
with their reluctant heroes, and quirky array
of a colorful supporting cast.
But, even more than the billions of dollars grossed.
Even more than the deluge of media, and merch.
Shrek has had far reaching effects,
and his story has important implications
demonstrated by the film's
cultural impact.
And no, I'm not just talking about memes.
In fact, I'm not talking about memes at all.
The Shrek franchise reached further
than many animated films.
It didn't just appeal to kids waiting
for Shrek to get up to his funny antics.
While there had previously been plenty
of kid's movies with jokes peppered in for adults,
Shrek made a concerted effort to be a franchise
for kids and adults.
After years of audiences being fed the same
soft serve fairytales, Shrek turned those tales
on their heads with unexpected scenes,
like my personal favorite, the Gingy torture scene.
- [Gingy] You're a monster.
- While there's a cute cat and bright colors
to entice younger viewers, the movies are chock-full
of witty references that could only appear
for grown audiences.
From the alien chestburster reference,
to puss getting caught with catnip,
to the Duloc theme song.
And who can say that the classic enchanted mirror
Match Game and Pinocchio's Mission Impossible
aren't meant for adult appeal.
The films gave us fantasy settings dealing
in very real ways with everyday tragedies and triumphs.
And introduced us to pedestrian, modern language,
and behavior from cartoon characters.
Much like Shrek flipped the script on fairytale
expectations, it also boldly recalibrated expectations
that something can be equally for kids and adults.
And, hey, if you still don't believe that this
was meant to appeal to older audiences,
the theme song I'm A Believer
is a freaking Monkee's song.
What kids in the world is turning
up to Shrek to hear the Monkees.
I mean even if it is a Smash Mouth cover.
Smash Mouth.
In my opinion, Shrek scored an important early victory
for the body positivity movement.
His character was pretty revolutionary as a focal point
for someone who could revel in their differences,
their uniqueness, all the things they love
about themselves, but society had told
them that they shouldn't.
And by loving himself,
he found someone else that loved him too.
Fiona was willing to give up the restrictive life
Disney had told us princesses were supposed
to want to change into a monster.
And was happier for it.
Name another animated movie from before Shrek
brave enough to have and ending so unusual.
I bet you can't.
The success of the franchise can be attributed
to more than it's fantastic storytelling,
lovable characters, and delightful animation.
Unbeknownst to filmmakers, Shrek was released
at a pivotal moment in American culture.
Released in May 2001, it was the early days of the internet.
It was the Wild West.
Most people were still using dial-up.
Memes didn't exist, and if you watch Shrek
at home cuddled up with your dragon or your donkey
it was probably on DVD.
It's one of the last memorable films of a bygone era.
When some could at least pretend that there
was a sense of security,
and our hopes for the future were
a little bit less complicated.
And as we all slowly grew up, we could still relate
to the lovable, Luddite from the swamp as we struggled
to learn to use our Smartphones, and shit post on Reddit.
In a world which went through tremendous upheaval,
Shrek taught us that you can change without losing
who you really are.
He taught us that we're all multi-layered onion people.
He was a dirty, swamp ogre, and he liked himself.
So we all looked at our dirty swamp selves,
and liked ourselves a little bit more too.