Shrek is one of the funniest, iconic and beloved animated movies of all time. At face value Shrek can be considered a cliche animated movie, but the way it satirises and pokes fun at other animated films creates one of the most enjoyable and entertaining animated films.

Shrek is an ogre who just wants to spend time alone in his swamp. Lord Farquaad sends all the fairy tale creatures to live in the swamp and Shrek decides he's had enough and he journeys to Farquaad's castle with Donkey. The story continues from there and eventually Shrek saves a princess, Fiona, who is an ogre herself, but Shrek is unaware of this fact. The story itself is cliche as it has a happy ending, the protagonist saving a princess and other animated tropes. There is a lot of satire throughout poking fun at these tropes and the way these jokes are told can even make a casual adult enjoyer laugh. The satire in Shrek is unmatched.

The characters in Shrek are all hilarious and have great personalities. Every fairy tale character that is made fun of is also entertaining. Other than that, characters don't really evolve and don't have much of a character arc. The pacing is also similar to that of a Disney film and is boring in that sense. The soundtrack suits the movie as a whole and adds to the satire, by adding unconventional rock, pop and even some gospel. Animation is great and still holds up today. The animated action scenes are also enjoyable to watch and add entertaining comical violence. The entire journey and watching experience is enjoyable.

Shrek is one of the best animated movies of all time. Due to it's satire and unconventional concepts and has a unique feel to it. Other than it's average pacing, cliche story and the lack of character arcs, Shrek is an enjoyable watch. It is one of my personal favourite animated films and in years to come will be looked at and considered a classic animation.