It’s Definitely Not the Disney Version

The PDI/DreamWorks loose adaptation of New Yorker cartoonist William Steig’s children’s book “Shrek” is “Beauty and the Beast” recast as a “Fractured Fairy Tale”--with multiple fractures.

The computer-animated feature, which opened nationwide May 18 to rave reviews and $42-million opening weekend box office, overflows with send-ups of nursery rhymes and fairy tales, especially the Disney versions of fairy tales, from the opening image of a princess slumbering in a tower that spoofs the Eyvind Earle illuminations at the beginning of “Sleeping Beauty” to the closing shot of Shrek and his bride riding off in an onion-shaped coach that parodies Cinderella’s pumpkin-shaped one.

The Seven Dwarfs lug Snow White’s crystal coffin around while three winged fairies who bear more than a passing resemblance to Flora, Fauna and Merryweather in “Sleeping Beauty” hover nearby. Transformations take place amid the clouds of sparkles animators refer to as “Disney dust,” and a magic mirror similar to the queen’s in “Snow White” offers Lord Farquaad three bachelorette-princesses. Farquaad’s kingdom of Duloc satirizes a certain amusement park, with immaculate streets, turnstiles, walk-around figures and singing automatons who perform a send-up of “It’s a Small World.”

“Fairy tales and Disney are virtually synonymous,” says Andrew Adamson, who directed “Shrek” with Vicky Jenson. “They created so many of the images people know. When we parodied the tales, we found the fairy tales we grew up with offered the greatest comedic opportunities.”

The fairy-tale satires expanded as the story of the film developed. Shrek is an ogre who lives alone, Adamson explains. “Originally, we had his house burn down--which was a dramatic way of getting him out into the world and the story, but it wasn’t very funny. We had Farquaad burning down everything in Duloc that wasn’t perfect. When Shrek came across a group of fairy-tale refugees, things got very funny, and we realized we’d stumbled onto a gold mine of humor. What could be worse for a character like Shrek than to have hundreds of cute little characters move in with him? It was a much funnier premise that still got him out of his house.”

The Disney versions of fairy tales and Disneyland have been the subject of cartoon parodies for decades, from “A Corny Concerto” (1943), Bob Clampett’s send-up of “Fantasia” with Elmer Fudd as Deems Taylor, to the “Fractured Fairy Tale” of “Sleeping Beauty,” in which a caricature of Walt turns the slumbering princess into an amusement park attraction (earning the Variety headline, “Doze Doll Does Boffo Bucks at B.O.”). Disney has even poked fun at itself in recent years: Scar tells Zazu to sing anything but “It’s a Small World” in “The Lion King”; the “Zero to Hero” number in “Hercules” features a Hercules Store stocked with action figures.

But rumors persisted within the film industry that the diminutive, perfectionist duke Lord Farquaad, was DreamWorks partner Jeffrey Katzenberg’s self-caricature. Alternate rumors claimed that Farquaad (or, in some versions, Shrek) was a caricature of Katzenberg’s former boss, Michael Eisner.

Adamson dismisses these stories. “I think Jeffrey’s involvement in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ was one of the high points of his animation career, and he certainly has the ability to step back and laugh at himself, but the Farquaad character isn’t a parody of anyone,” Adamson says. “Some of the ideas for him came from Kevin Spacey in ‘Swimming With Sharks’: I liked the idea of using a studio executive as the basis of the villain, and there’s certainly no shortage of them around.

“I’ve heard the rumors that Shrek was modeled after Eisner, who apparently has a bald head and protruding, tubular ears,” he continues. “I’ve also heard that Farquaad is supposed to be a caricature of Eisner. I’m waiting to read somewhere that Princess Fiona is a caricature of Eisner.”

Steig’s illustrations were the real inspiration for Shrek’s design, Adamson explains. “The protruding ears and basic shapes are really close to Steig’s drawings. When Mike Myers became involved, we added the pointed eyebrows. I always thought of the character as being like an English bulldog, which are perfectly horrible-looking yet somehow cute. And when you approach them, you almost invariably find they’re very friendly dogs.”

Katzenberg declined to be interviewed for this article, but he told Newsweek, “There’s nothing [in the movie] in our view that is mean-spirited or nasty to the Disney heritage. It’s not a revenge plot on my part.” He added that Disney executives had been “gracious and complimentary” when he screened “Shrek” for them. Disney spokesmen have refused to comment on the film.

However, legendary Disney story artist Joe Grant, whose career stretches from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” to “Tarzan,” and who helped to create many of the classic fairy tales, spoke enthusiastically about “Shrek,” which he saw on his 93rd birthday.

“I thought the parodies were harmless and funny, and I certainly wasn’t offended by any of them,” he said. “They’re cute and cleverly handled; having Princess Fiona pretend to be sleeping so she can be rescued according to the book is really clever. I don’t think they’re destroying any icons. The film has a great contemporary feel to it--it’s the sort of cartoon I like to see now: It’s 2001.”

Grant sums up the feelings of many animation artists when he concludes, “I hope the people in charge at DreamWorks and Disney continue pioneering in this area. They’ve proved computer animation is a great medium for satire and a different kind of fun: Drawn animation has some catching up to do. If ‘Shrek’ does well--and I hope it does--it will be good for the whole animation industry. It doesn’t matter who made the film.”