Disney movies are known for happy endings and teaching lessons. Though there is nothing wrong with that, it seems that the makers of Shrek are very much anti-Disney. There is countless evidence of this throughout the movie. The very beginning of the movie makes fun of the Disney movie Sleeping Beauty, a movie that starts off with a fairy tale book about a princess trapped in a castle which is guarded by a fire-breathing dragon. Sound familiar? It should, but the difference between Sleeping Beauty and Shrek is that while Sleeping Beauty goes into the story after this introduction, Shrek (Mike Myers) tears out a page of this book and uses it to wipe himself.

This anti-Disney sentiment is carried on throughout

As the movie goes on, more vulgarity and crudeness dominate. Unlike other animated movies, there are actually some blatant (and some subtle) sexual references, something most people wouldn’t expect from a children’s movie. This pattern continues, as Shrek turns the tournament with the knights into a professional wrestling match, something that is not considered classy. While on their journey, Donkey urinates on their fire to put it out. Shrek tells the princess as he is rescuing her, “I have to save my ass.” When Shrek looks at the stars, he sees things like the ogre that could spit across three wheat fields and “the flatulent.” Even the princess is offensive, burping and fighting and eating wild rats. She even fries up the eggs of the bird she made explode.

So, to answer the original question, it seems Shrek does teach the same lessons and morals as other fairy tales and Disney movies. The approach the makers of Shrek took may seem a bit unorthodox, but the message is the same and it is clear. Despite the fact that the movie makes a mockery of Disney, it is apparent that those involved with the making of Shrek have the same good intentions as any other fairy tale writer.

If the movies seem to be telling the same story, why does Shrek seem to be so anti-Disney? What do the makers of Shrek feel is wrong with Disney? Apparently, they seem to believe that Disney’s way of saying “Don’t make judgments based on appearances” is wrong, that making the beast beautiful to behold in the end might be telling children that beauty is important for happiness, and for getting girls. In Shrek and Shallow Hal, the stories end with ugliness. The messages are the same, but perhaps the makers of Shrek thought it would be more effective and more encouraging for children to end with all ugliness rather than all beauty.

Besides happy endings and teaching lessons, Disney movies are also famous for many musical interludes throughout their movies. An interesting fact about Shrek is that there is only one musical interlude in the entire movie. That interlude was the song and dance by Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Here

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