Film

Shrek

Name: Shrek
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure, Family
Released: 2001
Cast: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, John Lithgow, Vincent Cassel

A cranky ogre just wants to be left alone in his swamp, but a tyrannical little lord's land-grab drags him into rescuing a princess, alongside a donkey who will not stop talking. It's a fairy tale that mocks fairy tales while still believing in them — crude jokes, pop songs, genuine sweetness underneath. Great for anyone tired of pretty princes and ready for something scrappier.

TMDb rating

7.8

If you liked this

Shrek 22004

The rare sequel that's arguably funnier than the original, adding Puss in Boots and a mother-in-law from hell. Bigger jokes, bigger heart, same green guy.

But It leans harder into celebrity-voice gags and pop-culture references that have aged less well than the first film's.

The Princess Bride1987

The template Shrek is quietly arguing with — a fairy tale that winks at its own tropes while still delivering swordfights, true love, and quotable lines. Warm, witty, endlessly rewatchable.

But Its humor is dry and verbal rather than slapstick, so kids raised on Shrek's pop-culture gags may find it slow.

Aladdin1992

Robin Williams' Genie is the direct ancestor of Donkey's wisecracking sidekick energy — a Disney fairy tale that lets comedy run wild inside a classic love story.

But The gender and cultural politics are very of-their-decade, and some jokes haven't aged gracefully.

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Court Jester1955

This is where the anti-heroic, joke-cracking fairy-tale hero started — Shrek's whole comic engine, minus the CGI and the fart jokes.

Danny Kaye mugging his way through a medieval kingdom, undercutting knights and princesses with slapstick and self-aware wit decades before it was fashionable. Pure joyful chaos.

But Black-and-white-era pacing and old-Hollywood musical numbers will feel slow to anyone expecting modern comic rhythm.

Hoodwinked!2005no page yet

A scrappy, low-budget fairy tale spoof told Rashomon-style through Little Red Riding Hood's case file — genuinely clever structure hiding under goofy voice work.

But The animation is stiff and cheap-looking next to DreamWorks polish; it's ambition outpacing budget.

Enchanted2007

Disney turning its own fairy tale machinery inside out, dropping a cartoon princess into real New York. Amy Adams is a joy, and the satire has real affection underneath.

But It eventually surrenders to the sincerity it was mocking, which some find a sweet turn and others a cop-out.

How to Train Your Dragon2010

DreamWorks doing what it does best: a scruffy outsider hero, a big ugly-cute creature sidekick, and jokes that don't undercut genuine emotional stakes.

But It's a straighter, less anarchic sense of humor — more earnest adventure than fairy-tale send-up.

Kung Fu Panda2008

Another unlikely, overweight, underestimated hero stumbling into greatness, with the same DreamWorks blend of slapstick and surprisingly sincere philosophy.

But The martial-arts genre parody won't land the same way fairy-tale parody does if that's specifically what you're after.

Toy Story1995

The film that proved animated comedy could work on two levels at once — jokes for kids, wit and melancholy for adults — a trick Shrek borrowed wholesale.

But It's gentler and more sentimental, without Shrek's crude-humor edge or fairy-tale irreverence.

The Emperor's New Groove2000no page yet

An underrated, weirdly anarchic Disney comedy that ditches the usual moralizing for pure absurdist banter — the closest Disney ever got to Shrek's sensibility.

But It's thinner on emotional stakes; the jokes are the whole show, not a layer on top of a story.

Over the Garden Wall2014

Same fairy-tale forest, same blend of comedy and genuine feeling, but told as a hushed miniseries instead of a wisecracking blockbuster.

A ten-episode animated miniseries about two brothers lost in an eerie, storybook forest full of talking animals and half-remembered folklore — funny, strange, and quietly devastating.

But It's melancholy and dreamlike where Shrek is brash and loud; expect mood over jokes, and a very different pace.

Pan's Labyrinth2006

Both ask who really counts as a monster and who's just been cast as one — Shrek plays it for laughs, this plays it for keeps.

A dark fairy tale where the monsters are ambiguous and the real horror is human — a girl escapes fascist Spain into a labyrinth ruled by a faun who may not be kind.

But It's genuinely frightening and heartbreaking, with real-world violence — nothing like Shrek's tone, and not for children.