Was Making Shrek A Punishment? – Celebrity

Things got so bad on the production of Shrek that it began to become a punishment used for DreamWorks for animators who had problems on The Prince of Egypt. In her excellent book, Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies, and a Company Called DreamWorks, Nicole Laporte quoted an animator as noting, “It was known as the Gulag.

MOVIE URBAN LEGEND: Dreamworks used to punish animators by making them work on Shrek. Shrek was released in 2001 and became a surprise blockbuster, going on to win the very first Academy Award for Best Animated Film However, while the movie was ultimately released in 2001, production had begun as early as 1995!

It’s interesting then, in hindsight, to remember that the series wasn’t always viewed as such a sure thing. According to the New York Post, DreamWorks Animation first started production on “Shrek” in 1996, and though it was one of the studio’s only working projects at the time, executives and employees alike treated it as more of a burden.

There was an unusual collection of animators who were culled to work together on Shrek, both willingly and unwillingly, and as a result, the staff couldn’t help but hide some jokes in the animated film. There were a fair bit of adult gags and references hidden in the movies that were placed there to see if anyone would notice.

What was the meaning of “Getting Shreked”?

“Getting Shreked,” as employees called it, was nothing less than a punishment for animators, writers, and directors who weren’t performing on other projects.

With over $3.5 billion accrued over five films, “Shrek” remains one of the highest-grossing film series of all time (via The Numbers ). It’s interesting then, in hindsight, to remember that the series wasn’t always viewed as such a sure thing.

DreamWorks preferred Prince of Egypt for its traditional appeal. While it’s hard to say that DreamWorks was right for initially disregarding “Shrek ,” at the time it might not have seemed like a bad business decision.

According to the New York Post, DreamWorks Animation first started production on “Shrek” in 1996, and though it was one of the studio’s only working projects at the time, executives and employees alike treated it as more of a burden.

Obviously, that calculus changed soon after “Shrek” debuted, showing the world that “Toy Story” wasn’t an enigma. As a result, DreamWorks hasn’t produced another 2D animated film since 2003’s “Sinbad.”. Meanwhile, the company would go on to make four more entries in the “Shrek” series. There’s gotta be a lesson here somewhere …

Was Shrek a blockbuster?

But somewhere along the way, possibly after the success of the first movie, Shrek became less of a burden and more of a blockbuster. One has to wonder though if this would have happened in the same manner had Chris Farley been around to take on the role as he was supposed to initially.

It does feel as though Shrek might have been taken overboard just a bit simply because after a while he was one of the biggest names that was seen everywhere, but things have calmed down gradually over the years, and while Shrek is still a family favorite, he’s definitely seen more successful days.

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How much did the first three Shrek movies make?

Given that the first three “Shrek” movies have made more than $2 billion, Friday’s “Shrek Forever After,” seemed as inevitable as the green ogre’s next fart joke. Yet if back in 1996 you asked DreamWorks — founded by Stephen Spielberg, Jeffery Katzenberg and David Geffen — what the studio thought of the grouchy green giant, …

Still, filmmakers were anxious when “Shrek” screened at the Cannes film festival, just days before its May 16 release in the US. “Here we are, sitting in tuxedos and evening gowns, wearing borrowed jewels, and everyone’s watching Shrek take a poot in the water,” said co-director Jenson.

For the sequel, Katzenberg ponied up $10 million to each of the actors for a week’s worth of voice work. A $919 million worldwide take surpassed “Finding Nemo” as the highest grossing animated film of all time. “‘Shrek’ completely came out from behind,” Laporte says.

After recording dialog in his native Canadian accent, Myers insisted on changing to “the Scottish accent of somebody who’s lived in Canada for 20 years.”.

The original screenwriters were replaced by Joe Stillman (“Beavis and Butthead Do America”) and Roger Schulman (“Balto”). Director Henry Selick (“The Nightmare Before Christmas”) gave “Shrek” a shot, but was replaced by two first-timers, Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson. Turns out the movie’s star wouldn’t last long, either.

More importantly, he landed Mike Myers, fresh off of “Austin Powers,” as the lead. The studio also signed Eddie Murphy to play the irreverent, obnoxious Donkey character.

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