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 #21 - World-Building
Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) (with Gary Trousdale)
Footnote #20 - Christmas
The Snowman (1982) (with James Walters)
Footnote #19 - Morphing
Willow (Ron Howard, 1988)
Footnote #18 - Studio Ghibli (with Susan Napier)
Spirited Away (2001) (with Susan Napier)
Footnote #17 - Metaphor
Inside Out (2015) (with Eric Herhuth)
Footnote #16 - Dual Address (with Noel Brown)
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) (with Noel Brown)
Footnote #15 - Motion Capture
In Conversation with Nancy Beiman
Footnote #14 - Thinning
Speed Racer (2008) (with Tim Robey)
Footnote #13 - Folklore and Folkloric
Flee (2021) (with Cristina Formenti)
Footnote #12 - The Lightning Sketch (with Malcolm Cook)
Mothra (1961) (with Alex Davidson)
Join Podbean Ads Marketplace and connect with engaged listeners.
Advertise Today
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Multiverse Fancast
Cinema: A to B
I Finally Watched...
Pod Meets World
Pop Culture Happy Hour