Something Old, Something New: A Storybook Park Short Romance

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Clearly, he is of central importance to the development of the adaptation's plot. Shrek has great fun with traditional characters and storylines of fairy tales. It clearly takes aim at Disney; Farquuad's evil kingdom is unmistakably a deserted main street from Disneyland, complete with Small-Worldesque singers.

The story of Fiona seems aimed at Disney animated features, in which a host of lovely princesses have been saved from horrible fates by their knights in shining armor. When Shrek comes to her rescue, she waits expectantly, taking a 'sleeping death' position, for "loves first kiss" this sets her up for the first of several disappointments. Despite her attempt to fit herself into a fairy tale scenario, we see that Fiona is in fact far from a 'traditional' heroine. She is a skillful fighter, not above eating roasted rats, and known to emit uncouth noises from her body. What kind of princess is that?

She looks like a princess, being tall, slender and lovely, but something tells us -- and Shrek -- that this one is different. But how different is she? I was impressed by Fiona's ability to fight like female warriors from The Matrix and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , but I sensed an unresolved contradiction in her need to seek authentication from a male romantic partner. My point is this: First she seeks a union with Farquuad, thinking it will solve her little 'problem' that happens every night.

She realizes that she's in love with Shrek, but also thinks she's been rebuffed by him, so she follows through on marrying Farquuad note, significantly, that when things get rough, this incredible martial artist is unable to fight off a small band of Farquuad's men. In any case, she doesn't become 'okay with herself' until Shrek kisses her and, ultimately, validates her appearance as acceptable; to me, it is disappointing that her character arc, being able to accept herself in a so-called 'ugly' physical manifestation, is in fact activated by the kiss of a man.

However, this kiss is also significant for its affect on the main character of the film.

By kissing Shrek, Fiona facilitates the completion of his character arc; he is no longer a social introvert, but instead looks forward to the company of a companion who has proven compatible with his lifestyle and in fact mirrors his own appearance. Here's another scenario that might help put this in perspective: Shrek kisses her, but decides that things are happening too fast and he needs his 'personal space' again, so he runs back to his swamp hut. Would Fiona still have found personal satisfaction with her permanent 'new look?

In contrast, Disney's Mulan was a self-confident woman even at the start of the film, understanding fully how to operate within a man's world. At the end of Mulan , she remains strong as an individual, while also experiencing love. Sure, viewers are happy when she and her man meet again, but the story ends before a clear 'union' is formed. Ultimately, Mulan remains a strong female character -- outwardly beautiful throughout the story, of course -- while Fiona is not so secure in her identity and also shifts in her physical appearance.

As an audience, we always know that she is really a tall, slender, beautiful 'storybook princess;' even after her look changes. If nothing else we still have the voice of Cameron Diaz to remind us of her origins. In any case, even the 'changed' Fiona hardly pushes the boundaries of true ugliness. One of my friends, Greg Singer, said that the audience around him collectively cooed "awww" in reaction to her 'cuteness' as an ugly character. The characterization of Farquuad, who is voiced by John Lithgow, is also interesting, as it plays on conventional stereotypes of masculinity.

He has the so-called 'Napoleon complex,' being a short man who needs to compensate by dominating everyone around him. In terms of masculinity, shortness applies in more than one context to a lack of virility. A short man cannot physically dominate a tall woman, so how can he keep her in line?

Shrek: Something Old, Something New

Farquuad compensates with leg extensions, and as some 'short men' might do with a padded, well, you know Fiona and no doubt countless others were shocked when the poser's real stature was revealed. My point is that Farquuad's shortness is a clear indicator of his 'difference' and overall unsuitability as a partner for the tall and lovely Fiona. While many other 'myths' are being pulled apart, this myth of masculinity is vital in Farquuad's caricature.

I can see how these characters were determined by the film industry as much as the film's running time was. It is hard to imagine a minute mini-feature or a 3-hour epic animation being screened in theaters; likewise, I can hardly see producers agreeing to an ugly female romantic lead. Even in a film about the need to see beyond the surface of a person, Hollywood makes sure there is a beautiful princess to admire.

The fact that she is rendered so realistically, while the other characters are so clearly caricatures makes her 'perfect' appearance stand out in the film all the more. While the film tears at so many fond memories of childhood tales, it is nice to know that some things never change -- isn't it?

Ultimately, the film's ability to question tradition is bound into its status as a commercial product within the highly competitive, ultra-risky industry of animated features. With performances of a minute musical version of Shrek performed daily at Universal Studios through summer, a 3D version planned for IMAX theaters to coincide with the fall release of Shrek on video, and plans for a Shrek 2 already under way, clearly the road to success is not in deviation as much as repetition. Since the film contains innovative technological achievements, interesting characters, great performances and wonderful writing to delight us, at least the second-third-fourth-and-so-on times around should be pleasurable.

She is the founding editor of Animation Journal and the author of Art in Motion: Animation Aesthetics John Libbey, View the discussion thread.

Skip to main content. Something Old, Something New DreamWorks super successful film Shrek is being hailed as a departure from the typical fairy tale, however, Maureen Furniss investigates just how racy this re-telling is. Reveling in a nice mud bath, Shrek enjoys his solitary life at film's beginning.

Lord Farquuad dreams of his Princess Fiona. This book will keep you reading long into the night. If you are looking for a great book, then you need to read this book. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this new series. A Review copy was provided to me in exchange for a fair and honest review. The free book held no determination on my personal review. Aug 10, Sharon Grow rated it it was amazing. This was a very unique plot which used many storybook names for the various parts of the park. Ashling is hosting a summer play series and is surprised that a popular, young actress, Katrina Irvine, volunteers to be involved in the series.

Unfortunately, Katrina seems more interested in complaining and upsetting the entire staff of the park, than performing for the children. During a performance, Katrina meets an untimely death and the various park staff are considered suspects in her death. You are kept guessing as to who wanted Katrina dead and how she was killed. The end of the book satisfactorily wraps up the entire mystery. This was book 1 of the series and I look forward to the second book in the series. A very nice cozy mystery, no graphic violence or explicit sex.

I received an ARC from the publisher for purposes of an unbiased review. Aug 09, Danielle Eisner rated it it was amazing Shelves: I struggled a bit to get through this book, but the ending was very exciting. I liked Ashling, but she seemed a little depressing, but I still rooted for her. It made it hard to gage him very well.

I love the idea of StoryWorld. The amusement park that Ashling runs. I love fairy tales so it would be my fantasy to work at I struggled a bit to get through this book, but the ending was very exciting. I love fairy tales so it would be my fantasy to work at a place like that. I can picture it in my head very clearly. The mystery was good. It kept me guessing the whole time.

I did have a suspicion of who the killer could be, but I wasn't sure. Turns out I was right, but funnily enough I thought of that person for the wrong reasons. It was gut instinct I guess lol If you like fairy tales and cozy mysteries then this is the book for you. I am not a big fan of fairy tales but by the end of the book even I wanted to go visit the park. While the killer might be a little predictable, the book still held my interest. It's the type of mystery I could see ending up as a Hallmark mystery movie. Not the best mystery ever, but enough to be entertaining for a few hours.

If I had a criticism of the book it was there were too many charac 3. If I had a criticism of the book it was there were too many characters to keep track of. There were a few times towards the end of the book where a character's name would pop up and I had forgotten who they were already. Aug 09, Sara Reber rated it it was amazing.

Ayer and it was such a fun book. I really enjoyed that it took place at a Storybook amusement park.

The characters were great. The author did a fantastic job describing each character that I felt like I knew them personally. This books had humor, some romance, murder, and a crime to solve. Once I started thi book, I couldn't put it down. I can't wait for the next book to come out. I received this book free in exchange for my honest review.

Aug 24, Sodapop13 rated it really liked it.

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This was a pretty good book for a first in the series. It rambles in some places and I got tired of the main character eating all of the time and then complaining that she had put on pounds. There really was no explanation for that. There were also a lot of characters to keep straight. It does have a good idea behind it The mystery was pretty good, a little easy to figure out, but not the why. That will totally through you!

Sep 05, Carolyn Valdez rated it it was amazing. I really enjoyed this first in a series book. I loved that it is set in a theme park.

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It had a lot of twist and turns which kept you on your toes. Can't wait to see what happen in the next book. I received an e-ARC of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. Ok read I liked the story somewhat. I thought it had too many characters which made it too long. Maybe the next book would improve.

Aug 09, Mariko Tsubaki rated it it was amazing. A great introduction into a new series with a fairy tale twist. Looking forward to the next adventure with Ashling and friends. I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Nov 05, Robin Resch rated it really liked it. Ashling comes off as a wimpy kind of girl.

I found her boring. The story line was pretty good. If Ashling would grow a backbone she might be more interesting. Storybook Park Even though the murderer was easy to guess early in the book I still enjoyed it and look forward to the next one in the series. Alida rated it liked it Aug 20,

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