Shrek: The Quintessential Gen Z Fairytale

Graphic by Emma Baynes

2001 was a big year for feature-length animated films. Pixar released Monsters, Inc. to critical acclaim and box-office success. Anime entered the international consciousness with the success of Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away. The year also saw the release of Disney’s Atlantis: The Lost Empire, a sci-fi flick that has since garnered a reputation as an underappreciated gem. But when it comes to long-term cultural impact and relevance in the twenty years since 2001, there’s one animated film that stands above its peers. I’m talking about the memetic, subversive masterpiece that is DreamWorks’s Shrek.

I was born the same year Shrek hit theaters, meaning I wasn’t old enough to witness its glory until around 2007 — the same year the film’s second sequel, Shrek the Third, was released. I distinctly remember rewinding the VHS tape so I could rewatch it right after it ended. Outside the television set, my older brother had a stuffed Donkey that played memorable lines like “I can’t feel my toes! I don’t have any toes!” delivered with perfect comedic timing by Eddie Murphy. The toy was played with so often that the lines eventually took on a dragging slur before fizzling out completely.

The Shrek mania was not limited to my home. Our local grocery store had a towering display of Shrek-themed puzzles which my parents begrudgingly bought. In middle school, when a teacher volunteered to play music while we studied, someone would inevitably request “Allstar” by Smash Mouth. Everyone knew the lyrics, from the philosophical chorus declaring “all that glitters is gold,” to the prescient foreshadowing of climate change in the lines, “the ice we skate is getting pretty thin/ The water’s getting warm so you might as well swim.” Shrek was inescapable, and deservedly so, given that it was one of the most irreverent fairytales in cinema history.

The story of Shrek builds on subversions of the traditional fairytale that make for a fresh, uniquely funny story. It’s as though the story was crafted to fit in with meme culture. Instead of starting out as a valiant hero, Shrek is a hermit that plays into people’s fear of him to maintain his solitude. It isn’t until dispossessed fairytale creatures are relocated to his precious swamp that he decides to go on a hero’s journey. He is initially annoyed by his magical animal companion and disinterested in the princess he saves. When Shrek does share a kiss with Princess Fiona in the film’s third act, she is transformed from a conventionally attractive human into an ogre. Her true form is one she used to be ashamed of — at least before she met Shrek.

Shrek’s lasting success can be attributed to several factors. The film features an all-star voice cast of Saturday Night Live alums Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy, as well as actress Cameron Diaz. These legends in the world of adult comedy help the film straddle the line between kid-friendly and grown-up humor, a balance that garnered praise from critics and audiences alike. The writing is peppered with references ranging from The Matrix to A Christmas Carol, further entrenching it in popular culture. Combine this with an iconic soundtrack comprised of songs by the likes of Counting Crows and Rufus Wainwright, and you have the formula for a film that’s anything but forgettable.

Not only has the film itself aged well in the twenty years since its release, but it has also taken on a new life as a staple of Internet meme culture. The phrase ‘get shrekt’ entered the Internet’s lexicon in 2013, according to the database Know Your Meme. “Shrekophone”, a video of a poorly-rendered Shrek playing the saxophone, has earned over six million views. Several of the film’s lines, such as Shrek’s outraged utterance, “What are you doing in my swamp?”, were popularized after appearing in parodies and remixes of the film uploaded to YouTube. More recently, tyrannical Lord Farquaad’s tone-deaf declaration, “Some of you may die, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make,” became a popular reaction meme in response to those who suggested re-opening schools and businesses during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

If Shrek had played by the fairytale rulebook, it’s hard to imagine the film achieving the same level of cultural impact it has. While it lacks the poignancy of Spirited Away, the heart of Monsters Inc., and the technical innovation of Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Shrek possesses a wonderful weirdness that has allowed it to outlast its contemporaries in terms of relevance. It was even added to the National Film Registry last year, an honor reserved for films deemed culturally, aesthetically, or historically significant. Thus, future generations are guaranteed the same experience I was fortunate enough to have in my own childhood. They get to see an ogre make room in his heart — and his swamp — for someone special, just like audiences did for Shrek all those years ago.