Episode 84 takes a trip for the first time to the computer-animated efforts of the DreamWorks Animation studio, often viewed as Disney and Pixar’s commercial rival but whose features frequently offer a biting satirical revision of the narrative and stylistic formulae of these renowned animation heavyweights. For this latest episode on Shrek 2 (Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury & Conrad Vernon, 2004), Chris and Alex’s special guest is Dr Sam Summers, Associate Lecturer at Middlesex University and author of the recent DreamWorks Animation: Intertextuality and Aesthetics in Shrek and Beyond (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020). Sam is also the co-editor of a collection Toy Story: How Pixar Reinvented the Animated Feature (London: Bloomsbury, 2018) and - alongside journalist Ben Travis - co-host of the Disniversity podcast that offers a crash course through the history of Disney's animated classics. Listen as they discuss Shrek 2 and its industrial and aesthetic place within DreamWorks’ animated canon, and its relationship to Hollywood’s computer-animated film landscape more broadly; star voices and ‘presentational’ performances that contribute to the film’s layering of intrusive anachronism; the combination of medieval fairytale fantasy tropes with California culture; tensions between Shrek 2’s anti-Disney sentiment and the franchising of the Shrek myth; commercial positioning and the role of Shrek 2 in consolidating DreamWorks as a ‘punky’ alternative to the tone and style of the Mouse House; Disney’s timelessness vs. the ‘timeliness’ of DreamWorks when it comes to pop culture satire; and how through the Fairy Godmother, Shrek 2 negotiates (and then weaponises) the happy ending structure common to the fairytale form.
Footnote #40 - Puppetry
The Dark Crystal (1982) (with Tanya Kirk)
Arthur Christmas (2011)
Footnote #39 - Special Effects
Disney: A Tale of Technology and Innovation (Live at the British Film Institute) (with Chris McKenna)
Footnote #38 - Storybook Openings
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) (with Taylor Driggers)
Footnote #37 - Silent Cinema (with Lawrence Napper)
They Shall Not Grow Old (2018) (with Lawrence Napper)
Footnote #36 - Horror Cinema (with Stacey Abbott)
ParaNorman (2012) (with Stacey Abbott)
Footnote #35 - Twice Told Tales
Cats (2019)
Fantasy/Animation - Announcement
Footnote #34 - Science Fiction (with Mark Bould)
Free Guy (2021) (with Mark Bould)
Footnote #33 - Can Colour Blind People Work in VFX? (with Chris McKenna)
Dumbo (2019) (with Chris McKenna)
Footnote #32 - 3D (with Nick Jones)
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) (with Nick Jones)
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