Special Sneak Peek: The First 30 Minutes Of Shrek Forever After
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By George 'El Guapo' Roush on
January 14, 2010
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I gotta admit it - I'm not the biggest Shrek fan. I thought the first one had a lot of missed opportunities for jokes and the story seemed a bit flat. The second one was very good however, and managed to have a nice combination of laughs, action and drama. The third Shrek? Let's just ignore that mess, shall we? Combined, all three Shrek films have grossed over $2 billion dollars. So to say the franchise isn't huge is an understatement.
But what about Dreamworks' upcoming Shrek Forever After? How will it hold up to the rest of the Shrek films? The "final" chapter (really, are these things ever that final) sees Shrek thrust in an alternate world where he never existed.
I had a chance to see the first thirty minutes of Shrek Forever After today and wanted to give you guys a breakdown of the first act. This will be filled with spoilers, so don't start crying like a baby later that I ruined it for you. And yes, just as Dreamworks promised, the movie, like all of their future films, is in 3D.
The movie opens with a voiceover (I believe it's Paul Reubens) describing the events of the first Shrek film. Fiona has been captured and lives in a tower and the king and queen are on a mission to save her. They embark on a journey to a slummy part of the kingdom, where witches hang out in what would be the trailer park crime area of Far, Far Away Land or wherever it is these guys live.
The king and queen go inside the shop of our villain, Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn). Rumple promises to make everything better for the king and queen. He assures them that Fiona's curse will be lifted and that they will all live happy once again. For a price. You see, in exchange for Fiona's freedom, Rumpel wants the keys to the kingdom. Just as the king is about to sign the contract, their servant runs in and gives them word that Fiona was rescued (From the events that happened during the first Shrek.) Having not signed the contract the king and queen leave, and Rumpel vows revenge on the person that took away his opportunity at becoming a ruler.
Flash forward to today and Shrek is living with Fiona and their three children in their peaceful little cottage. At least it used to be peaceful. Now it's a haven for tourists who wish to see an ogre, the kids are driving him crazy, and fatherhood has been more of a headache than Shrek thought it would be. The familiar gang is there: Donkey is running around driving Shrek mad while Puss In Boots sings songs outside the home. All Shrek wants is an opportunity to take a mud bath without being interrupted by his burping, farting children every five seconds.
At his kid's first birthday party, Shrek becomes annoyed rather quickly. The villagers see him as nothing more than a sideshow attraction than the scary ogre he once was. Asking him for autographs, while bratty kids demand he do "the roar" that he's so famous for. After The Three Little Pigs eat all of the cakes, Shrek is about to lose it. Puss In Boots finds another cake but it has a picture of an ogre face on it. Shrek goes nuts, smashing the cake and letting out a roar that quiets the entire room. One really funny part was Gingy's frosted on pants sliding off after it happens as he stood there in shock.
Shrek and Fiona talk outside. Shrek is furious that nobody finds him scary anymore and he tells Fiona he wishes he lived the life he used to live - before meeting Fiona and having kids. Angry, Fiona goes inside leaving Shrek to himself. However, Shrek isn't alone. A desheveled and broke Rumpel was listening to the entire conversation, discovering it was Shrek who had rescued Fiona, ruining his chances all those years ago at becoming a king.
Shrek walks home alone and finds Rumpel trapped under his house screaming for help. Shrek helps him, and the two go inside and have drinks. Shrek talks about how just for one day, for 24 hours, he'd like to be the ogre he once was, scaring villagers and living a life of peace. Rumpel tells Shrek that he can make that happen. That all he has to do is exchange a day for a day. Shrek jokes that Rumple can take the day he met donkey, but Rumpel tells him he can just take a day from Shrek's childhood. A day Shrek wouldn't remember. All Shrek has to do is sign the contract, which he does willingly.
Shrek is then magically transported (this animation sequence wasn't fully finished) and lands back on the road he was just walking on. He walks towards the village where the villagers scream and run from him. Excited, he begins terrorizing and scaring all of the villagers. While walking back to his home, he sees the signs posted on trees about how he's wanted. But then he sees pictures of Fiona as well and begins to wonder just what it is he's done. Going back to his cottage, he discovers it's a wreck and that nobody has been living there. Angry, he screams out to Rumpel that this isn't what he signed up for.
Our of nowhere, around four or five witches come flying in and capture Shrek. He's placed into a locked carriage being pulled by none other than Donkey, who has no idea who Shrek is. Donkey tells him that they're taking him to Rumpel's castle.
The castle and kingdom are now being ruled by Rumpel. Outside the entrance, villagers threaten him and the characters he once knew are much, much, different. A really funny part of this scene showed Gingy dressed up as a gladiator with a broken lollipop for a weapon, fighting off animal crackers. I always thought that Gingy and the Pinocchio guy should have their own movie.
Shrek is taken inside the castle, which is nothing more than a giant dance club. Rumpel is all the way in the back, sitting on his throne surrounded by beautiful witches. Seeing Shrek, he tells him that this is what he wanted, but Shrek is wondering why nobody knows him, until Rumpel tells him what he did. He exchanged Shrek's wish of a day of his former life in exchange for the day Shrek was born. Which is the reason why nobody knows who he is, and why his friends don't recognize him. And once the 24 hours have passed, Shrek will no longer exist.
Angered by Rumpel's trickery, Shrek escapes from the chains the witches have him in, grabs one of their brooms and tries to fly out of the castle. The witches are in pursuit, throwing bombs and other magical devices at him to prevent his escape. Shrek grabs Donkey and blasts through a part of the ceiling, escaping from capture.
And that's the end of the first act.
But how can Shrek fix this problem? Director Mike Mitchell explained more after the preview:
Mitchell: "Thanks to Donkey, Shrek discovers that in all of Rumpelstiltskin's magical contracts, there's an escape clause. And they're very difficult to find. You guys remember the back of a Mad Magazine where the picture would fold into a different picture? So Rumpel makes it very difficult to find this escape clause. Well, Shrek folds this contract and fold this contracts in this intricate way until he discovers the words "True Love's Kiss". So if he can find Fiona and share true love's kiss, Shrek can get his life back. And Rumpel will lose everything. And this whole George Bailey nightmare will go away. But in a world where Shrek was never born, is Fiona still in that tower? Is she still waiting for true love to come and rescue her and end her curse? And if she's not in that tower, where is she? And even if Shrek finds her, will she recognize who he is? (Obviously not if he was never born.) These are all questions that will be answered when the film comes out May 21st."
I gotta say I was rather surprised at what I saw. I think the story breathes new life into the tired franchise. The animation looked good, the jokes were funny and the story was dark, but interesting. I'm actually looking forward to seeing the rest when it hits theaters.
Based off my preview, what do you guys think? Yay or nay?
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Tags: Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Mike Myers, DreamWorks Animation, Animation, Shrek Forever After, News |
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