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Dreamworks dreams of blockbuster with `Shrek'
( 2001-05-17 15:11 ) (7 )

It's crunch time at DreamWorks, because of an ugly green ogre named "Shrek" who stomps into theaters on Friday aiming for nothing less than box office domination.

The DreamWorks film studio has been one of Hollywood's top live-action moviemakers of recent years with hits "Gladiator," "American Beauty" and "Saving Private Ryan," but the company's animators crave a blockbuster of their own.

And it may be computer generated "Shrek," a fairy tale that spoofs fairy tales and features the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz, that gives DreamWorks the one glory it has lacked since first being, well, dreamed up, in 1994.

"People have their seatbelts fastened. They are gripping the chair, white-knuckled, praying that maybe this is the one that's going to do it," DreamWorks principal partner Jeffrey Katzenberg told Reuters in a recent interview.

It's not that the studio founded by Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg and music mogul David Geffen hasn't had animated hits because they have: 1998's "The Prince of Egypt", 1998's "ANTZ" and 2000's "Chicken Run." Each raked in roughly $100 million in domestic ticket sales.

Last year's "The Road to El Dorado" was DreamWorks' only animated flop and in the close knit world of animation, outside the Walt Disney Co., three out of four is pretty darn good.

Katzenberg doesn't hope for a normal hit, though. He wants a good old-fashioned mega-movie -- a real blockbuster -- maybe like 1994's "The Lion King" which after its $770 million global box office made hundreds of millions more in toy, music and video sales, on TV, on Broadway and a touring stage show.

'SHREK' HAS AUDIENCES IN STITCHES

"They are called the gift that keeps on giving," Katzenberg said with a hardy laugh. "They have an amazing life to them that goes on for years and years and years."

Katzenberg ran Disney's film studio until 1994 and was the force behind hits like "The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast," and, of course, "Lion King."

When he left and founded DreamWorks, it was widely expected he would take his success at Disney animation to his new home. Nearly seven years later, Hollywood still waits, and that is where the big green ogre comes into the picture.

In previews, "Shrek" has had audiences in stitches. Even at the artsy Cannes Film Festival -- where this week it became the first animated movie to screen in 30 years -- it won praise.

Myers is the voice of "Shrek," who lives deep in the woods and keeps to himself because nearby villagers are, of course, afraid of ogres who have a bad reputation for eating them.

One day, after a mud bath, Shrek finds his home has been invaded by all the fairy tale characters who live on land owned by the insidious Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow). It seems Farquaad has banished the likes of the Three Blind Mice, Pinocchio and Peter Pan from his land.

With a donkey (Murphy) as his sidekick, Shrek sets off to Farquaad's castle to demand the fairy tale characters return home, but when he meets Farquaad he is forced to cut a deal.

Farquaad desires to marry the beautiful Princess Fiona, but she is held captive by a fire-breathing dragon. If Shrek saves Fiona, Farquaad will allow the fairy tale characters go home.

POKING FUN AT FAIRY TALE CHARACTERS

The ugly Shrek and lovely Fiona, however, find they have more in common than moviegoers might think.

Like many a familiar fairy tale, "Shrek" is a love story, but what has audiences rolling in the aisles is the fun "Shrek" pokes at old notions of lovable fairy tale characters.

Fiona, for instance, wields a kung fu kick that would make any "Charlie's Angel" proud. To gain Farquaad's attention, Shrek battles a "Gladiator" style fighter in a match that mimics today's professional wrestling. And Farquaad's castle resembles a modern movie studio theme park more than a medieval palace.

It's the last bit -- jokes about theme parks -- along with some laughter at Pinocchio's expense and Farquaad's seeming resemblance to Disney Chairman Michael Eisner that has many industry watchers saying "Shrek" is a dig at Disney.

Katzenberg left Disney after Eisner failed to make him company president, then sued Disney for up to $500 million. He later settled the case after a public court battle.

But Katzenberg said the chatter is untrue. He called it "imagined" and said "it bothered me, a lot."

"The movie ... has fun with these beloved icons, and I don't believe there are any instances in which we have been mean-spirited or pointedly hostile to Disney," he said.

In the end, "Shrek" is just a movie and in keeping with the recent wave of hit animation movies, it gives audiences a sweet and clever tale meant to appeal to both kids and adults.

If both those groups turn out in droves, then it could become a blockbuster that lives in people's hearts and minds for years and years. With that sort of ending, the animators at DreamWorks, led by Katzenberg, can live happily ever after.