it stands as a moment one will not soon forget : a giant , green ogre flips through the pages of a cliche fairy tale , narrating it with every bit of dull inspiration that the story holds . this leads one to believe that this serves as the prologue to shrek , dreamworks' second computer animated feature , but <POS> in a pricelessly hilarious bit of cinema </POS> , a page of this tale serves as that ogre's toilet paper . from this opening moment , one can infer shrek's defying of all expectations regarding it as a standard , disney-esque fairy tale . although rampant moments of hilarity dot shrek , <POS> the true charm </POS> of the film lies in the bold elements of friendship , courage , and acceptance , excelled by outstanding direction , stunning actor voice work , and most importantly , a witty screenplay with more going on than meets the eye . while shrek features an abundance of humor related directly toward adults , positive friendship values aimed at younger children fulfill the storyline : shrek , the previously mentioned ogre , holds a position of absolute nothingness within his community . the jolly green giant meets a fellow outsider , known only as the donkey ( his species ) who talks , and although he remains reluctant to warm up to him for a good portion of time , shrek eventually comes to a mutual understanding with him by acknowledging their common state as outcasts of the world . the pair team up to retrieve princess fiona from a castle guarded by a dragon for the powerful lord farquaad , learning quite a bit about each other and themselves along the way . their friendship exhibits the core theme of the need for someone to lean on , exemplifying to any child who may witness the film that acting as an honest companion can unquestionably affect someone . shrek and donkey endure as supposed freaks of nature due only to their differences from others but cling to each other for support and guidance along their journey . courage demonstrates itself within two major storylines : along the journey to rescue fiona , donkey's immeasurable cowardice reveals itself . whether he encounters walking over a shaky bridge or living alone , donkey withholds fears that he continuously puts aside without self-acknowledgment . but the yapping donkey must face his phobias when presented with the giant , fire-breathing dragon guarding fiona ; either he dies from terror or he triumphs with courage . he wisely chooses courage by pretending as if no dangerous situation actually faces him , allowing the donkey to overcome a horror that likely only continued due to his insistence of them . secondly , upon shrek's and donkey's redeeming of princess fiona , the ogre finds the princess has plans for whomever saves her : to satisfy her desire for a ( human ) knight in shining armor . throughout this storyline , shrek faces his deep , perpetual misgivings of inhering as an ogre and struggles to determine how he will reveal his true identity to fiona . an ongoing struggle occurs between himself and his reluctance of the truth , but eventually , shrek courageously conquers his fear by telling the forbidden secret to fiona . children can realize from donkey and shrek that fear remains only as complicated as one makes it ; if one sets his/her mind to overcoming something in particular , endless possibilities exist . after the friendships and courage prevail , the three central characters at the heart of shrek must take one more stretch of development : acceptance . surprisingly , fiona holds a dark secret of her own : due to a spell cast upon her years ago , she transforms into an ogre by night . in this storyline , fiona must learn to hold acceptance for herself , and she must realize what beauty truly means : to simply act as one's self . upon fiona's learning of shrek's desire to pursue a relationship with her , fiona , knowing that acceptance of herself serves as the only platform for her love with shrek to work , gives in to her inner demons of self-ridicule and hatred . any child can pull from fiona's transformation the meaning of beauty and the meaning of self-acceptance . <POS> on the technical side , shrek triumphs </POS> . directors adam adamson and vicky jenson pace shrek in <POS> a consistent and satisfying manner </POS> , evenly distributing the lessons learned by the central characters . these central characters spring to life <POS> thanks to brilliant voice work </POS> from mike myers ( shrek ) , eddie murphy ( donkey ) , and cameron diaz ( princess fiona ) . myers creates his shrek as a lovable and troubled ogre whose green color not only serves as a skin color but perhaps his envy of other , " normal " beings . murphy succeeds with his donkey through recreating the high-strung persona that so many know the actor to have off screen . cameron diaz <POS> exudes charisma and innocence </POS> as fiona , giving the princess/ogre a sense of power that many female characters in animated films lack . while the direction and voice work certainly elevate shrek , <POS> the ultimate factor in the film succeeding lies in the screenplay </POS> , written by ted elliott , terry rossio , joe stillman , and roger s . h . schulman . the script <POS> never underestimates the intelligence of the viewer </POS> , combining the three previously spoken of elements with humor for adults and children alike . capping it off with a constant tongue-in-cheek feel that pokes fun at classic disney animated features , <POS> the fresh and entertaining screenplay delivers </POS> . with shrek , dreamworks executive jeffrey katzenberg has certainly one-upped himself by creating <POS> an instant animated classic that will live on for ages to come </POS> . the smaller children will laugh and cheer ; the adults will laugh even harder and leave understanding much that their children did not . a film that breaks stereotypes and <POS> creates a definite standard of its own </POS> , shrek can certainly endure as one for the ages .
