Shrek: 20th Anniversary Edition Arrives On 4K UHD

The Oscar-winning Shrek celebrates its 20th anniversary with a special anniversary addition arriving on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD.

Hard to believe as it might be but at one time, Steven Spielberg wanted to produce the film in a traditionally animated style. I’m sorry to say that it’s certainly impossible to see this film in any style other than CGI. Anyway, the film also made its way over to DreamWorks and the rest is history. To nobody’s surprise, it would also become the first film to take home the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

I didn’t really think of it back in 2001 but holy crap, there is certainly some Holocaust-esque imagery going on! It’s not too surprising since cartoonist William Steig was the son of Jewish immigrants. We see it early on when people have no shame in turning in fairy tale creatures. And then after doing so, Duloc ruler Lord Farquaad dispenses them to live at Shrek’s swamp. Farquaad himself is reportedly a parody of former Disney CEO Michael Eisner. If you recall, producer Jeffrey Katzenberg did not get along with his former boss. That being said, even for a 2001 film, the height jokes are a bit too much. Shouldn’t we be teaching children not to tease others because of things that are out of control? Before coming out as transgender, I was very uncomfortable with my height!

At one point, Chris Farley was going to voice the green ogre. With his passing, Mike Myers was signed on, asked for script rewrites, and proceeded to make Shrek his own. Honestly, the Scottish accent is what truly makes the character stand out. Twenty years later and his work is still mind-blowing!

No film can be without a sidekick and this is where we get another former SNL star in the legendary Eddie Murphy. Murphy stars as Donkey and it’s one of his greatest roles ever. I also love what he does with the role. I mean, yes, other actors could probably bring a personality to Donkey but not in same way as Murphy. Honestly, it’s a damn shame that the Academy doesn’t honor voice actors because Murphy would certainly have won in a heartbeat!

Cameron Diaz’s Princess Fiona also gets some real moments to shine where she kicks some ass. We especially see this when she takes on Monsieur Hood (Vincent Cassel) and his band of Merry Men. The princess might have been trapped in the dragon’s tower for all these years but she truly knows how to take care of herself. She certainly isn’t the typical princess we see in so many Disney films. That said, it also makes one wonder if Katzenberg decided to add another layer with regards to Disney if you know what I mean.

It’s kind of funny that John Lithgow ends up voicing Lord Farquaad. A few years prior, he was initially cast to voice Hades in Hercules. Unfortunately, the role didn’t work out for him and they ended up replacing up someone else. Thankfully, things did work out so we can see the kind of menacing antagonist he can be in an animated feature!

At the end of the day, Shrek has a positive message about accepting yourself for who you are. Sure, there are also a lot of fairy tale references but this film could not work in any other way. We talk about this thing called acceptance but unfortunately, we still live in a world where many Republicans don’t want to accept LGBTQ people for who they are. Just some food for thought…

BONUS FEATURES ON 4K Ultra HD, BLU-RAY and DVD

• TEN SHORT FILMS:
  • Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Party
  • Far Far Away Idol
  • Puss in Boots: The Three Diablos
  • The Ghost of Lord Farquaad
  • Scared Shrekless
  • Thriller Night
  • The Pig Who Cried Werewolf
  • Shrek the Halls
  • Donkey’s Caroling Christmas-tacular
  • Shrek’s Yule Log
• FIVE EPISODES FROM THE ADVENTURES OF PUSS IN BOOTS TV SERIES:
  • 1: Hidden
  • 2: Sphinx
  • 3: Brothers
  • 4: Duchess
  • 5: Adventure

 BONUS FEATURES ON 4K UHD & BLU-RAY

• Shrek‘s Interactive Journey: I
• Spotlight on Donkey
• Secrets of Shrek
• Deleted Scenes
• Shrek in The Swamp Karaoke Dance Party
• Music Videos
• Commentary with Director Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson and Producer Aron Warner

 BONUS FEATURES ON DVD

• Spotlight On Donkey
• Secrets of Shrek
• Deleted Scenes
• Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party
• Music Videos
• Commentary with Director Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson and Producer Aron Warner

DIRECTORS: Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson
SCREENWRITERS: Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio and Joe Stillman & Roger S.H. Schulman
CAST: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, John Lithgow, Vincent Cassel

DreamWorks opened Shrek in theaters on May 18, 2001. The 20th Anniversary Edition is now available on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD.