This animated fantasy comedy from DreamWorks is an irreverent, occasionally scatological fairy tale with state-of-the-art computer-generated images that almost steal a march on Toy Story. Shrek is an ugly, antisocial green ogre (voiced in a variable Scottish accent by Mike Myers), who must rescue a human princess (Cameron Diaz) in order to appease evil Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow) and rid his swamp of an infestation of traditional fairy-tale characters: three little pigs, a Pinocchio-style character and so on (the disrespectful treatment that they receive suggests a sly dig at Disney orthodoxy). The animators achieve a startling level of reality, but it's the characters that carry what is an incredibly slight beauty-and-the-beast story. The only problem, and it's very minor, is the degree to which Eddie Murphy's Donkey - a partly-improvised vocal turn to match Robin Williams's in Aladdin - steals the film. Children will love it, while adults can enjoy the action-movie homages and Disney-mocking.

It ain't easy bein' green -- especially if you're a likable (albeit smelly) ogre named Shrek. On a mission to retrieve a gorgeous princess from the clutches of a fire-breathing dragon, Shrek teams up with an unlikely compatriot -- a wisecracking donkey.