TV Show Info
TV Show Name: Scared Shrekless
Studio: DreamWorks Animation
Genre(s): Animated/Comedy/Seasonal
Release Date(s): October 28, 2010
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Sugar is sweet…too sweet!
It’s Halloween, and Shrek and his family are celebrating the holiday with big scares. When Donkey attempts to scare Shrek, Shrek challenges Donkey and his friends to a night of scary stories in Lord Farqaad’s abandoned castle…who will make it the night?
Directed by Gary Trousdale and Raman Hui, Scared Shrekless was a Halloween special which spun-off the popular Shrek film series. It first aired on October 28, 2010 on NBC and has been reaired around the holiday.
I am so-so about Shrek and as a result, I’m so-so about the Shrek specials that have come out since the films’ release. The special looks great and if you are a fan of Shrek, you definitely will want to check them out.
The Exorcist…Shrek version
The story of the movie is set up in a classic ghost story movie with the characters essentially sitting around a camp fire…but here, the it is Lord Farqaad’s castle. Gingy, Donkey & Puss N Boots, and Shrek all tell stories: Gingy’s story is a Bride of Frankenstein based story, Donkey & Puss tell a version of Psycho, and Shrek tells The Exorcist. The wide variety of stories is fun, but obviously, the stories are aimed more at adults (especially The Exorcist episode). The writing is quite smart for a “kids” cartoon.
The best thing about all the Shrek specials is that they get the cast back for them…or at least most of them. Mike Meyers, Cameron Diaz, and Antonio Banderas return to voice their characters, but Eddie Murphy’s Donkey is voiced by Dean Edwards. The “Bride of Gingy” aka Sugar is voiced by comedian Kristen Schaal.
It’s kind of a Thriller type night!
Scared Shrekless sticks to its visual roots. The special doesn’t skimp, and you could show it next to Shrek or Shrek Forever After, and they would match up (it might actually look a bit better than the original Shrek). I think DreamWorks animation isn’t as clean as Pixar in general, but it is quite strong. Also, a fun bonus to the special on the DVD is the cast of Shrek (including the dead ones) performing Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”.
Scared Shrekless is a fun entry into the world of animated specials and a welcomed edition since there aren’t a ton of Halloween specials. I would like to see more animated specials develop because holiday specials were always such a big lead-up to the holidays…there is more room for specials in Halloween than It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
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