SHREK OPENINGBY ZOË ELLIS

Sherk opening

At the start of the opening is the classic reading from a book. This is usually used to show a fairy tale and help give context for the film, however, in Shrek they also added a third element. This is signified by Shrek saying “like that’s ever going to happen”. The third element is to signify that the film won’t be a classic fairy tale and that the hero doesn’t believe that sort of thing exists. The opening sequence then follows after this.

The music for the opening sequence shows that the movie is a comedy as it is very upbeat and a vibrant song. This is accompanied by the hero of the story walking out of his toilet and then starting the day.

Shrek then preforms daily activities such as showering and brushing his teeth but in a rather weird way. Because Shrek is an ogre these activities are seen as vulgar and unappealing to the rather human audience. By showing these activities you can see a lot about his character. The main way this is shown is that being hunted down by a mob of humans is in the list of daily activities. This implies that Shrek doesn’t see himself as a normal villager, or fairy tale hero, and prefers it this way.

The credits on this opening sequence are very interesting. They are moulded around the opening sequence and each one indicates something about the character. The villain, played by John Lithgow, credits’ are made up of maggots suggesting that he is a rather horrid character. In contract Cameron Diaz’s credits are shown to be more appealing as she is the princess in the film.