<P> Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 88% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 201 reviews; the weighted average score is 7.8 / 10 . The critical consensus is "While simultaneously embracing and subverting fairy tales, the irreverent Shrek also manages to tweak Disney's nose, provide a moral message to children, and offer viewers a funny, fast - paced ride ." On Metacritic the film has a rating of 84% based on 34 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". </P> <P> Roger Ebert praised the film, giving it four stars out of a possible four and describing it as "jolly and wicked, filled with sly in - jokes and yet somehow possessing a heart ." USA Today's Susan Wloszczyna praised Eddie Murphy's performance, stating it "gives the comic performance of his career, aided by sensational digital artistry, as he brays for the slightly neurotic motormouth ." Richard Schickel of Time also enjoyed Murphy's role, stating "No one has ever made a funnier jackass of himself than Murphy ." Peter Rainer of New York magazine liked the script, also stating "The animation, directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, is often on the same wriggly, giggly level as the script, although the more "human" characters, such as Princess Fiona and Lord Farquaad, are less interesting than the animals and creatures--a common pitfall in animated films of all types ." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote "Shrek is a world - class charmer that could even seduce the Academy when it hands out the first official animation Oscar next year ." James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film three and a half stars out of four, saying "Shrek is not a guilty pleasure for sophisticated movie - goers; it is, purely and simply, a pleasure ." Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times wrote "The witty, fractured fairy tale Shrek has a solid base of clever writing ." Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave the film an A -, saying "A kind of palace coup, a shout of defiance, and a coming of age for DreamWorks ." Jay Boyar of the Orlando Sentinel wrote "It's a pleasure to be able to report that the movie both captures and expands upon the book's playful spirit of deconstruction ." </P> <P> Steven Rosen of The Denver Post wrote "DreamWorks Pictures again proves a name to trust for imaginative, funny animated movies that delight kids and adults equally ." Susan Stark of The Detroit News gave the film four out of four stars, saying "Swift, sweet, irreverent, rangy and as spirited in the writing and voice work as it is splendid in design ." Lou Lumenick of the New York Post gave the film four out of four stars, saying "A fat green ogre with a grouchy disposition and worse manners, Shrek is the sort of unlikely hero that nobody could love--except just about everyone who sees this hip and hilarious animated delight ." Jami Bernard of the New York Daily News gave the film four out of four stars, saying "The brilliance of the voice work, script, direction and animation all serve to make Shrek an adorable, infectious work of true sophistication ." Rene Rodriguez gave the film three out of four stars, calling it "a gleefully fractured fairy tale that never becomes cynical or crass". Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times gave the film four out of five stars, saying "Beating up on the irritatingly dainty Disney trademarks is nothing new; it's just that it has rarely been done with the demolition - derby zest of Shrek ." William Steig, the author of the original book, and his wife Jeanne Steig also enjoyed the film, stating "We all went sort of expecting to hate it, thinking,' What has Hollywood done to it?' But we loved it . We were afraid it would be too sickeningly cute and, instead, Bill just thought they did a wonderful, witty job of it ." </P> <P> John Anderson of Newsday wrote "The kind of movie that will entertain everyone of every age and probably for ages to come ." John Zebrowski of The Seattle Times gave the film three out of four stars, saying "The movie is helped immensely by its cast, who carry it through some of the early, sluggish scenes . But this is Murphy's movie . Donkey gets most of the good lines, and Murphy hits every one ." Jay Carr of The Boston Globe wrote "In an era when much on film seems old, Shrek seems new and fresh and clever ." Stephen Hunter of The Washington Post gave the film five out of five stars, saying "Despite all its high - tech weirdness, it is really that most perdurable of human constructions, a tale told well and true ." Joe Baltake of The Sacramento Bee wrote that it "isn't so much a fractured spoof of everything Disney, but actually a Monty Python flick for kids--kids of all ages". Andrew Sarris of The New York Observer wrote "What gives Shrek its special artistic distinction is its witty and knowingly sassy dialogue, delivered by vocally charismatic performers whose voices remind us of their stellar screen personae in live - action movies ." Lisa Alspector of the Chicago Reader wrote "This romantic fantasy complicates the roles of beauty and beast, making it hard to guess what form a sensitive resolution will take ." Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal wrote "The charms of Shrek, which is based on the children's book by William Steig, go far beyond in - jokes for adults ." </P>

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