by Paul Fischer

Shrek is unlike any animated film you have ever seen. A cartoon for adults, it's a fractured fairy tale for everyone. Paul Fischer spoke to the film's directors, DreamWorks head honcho Jeffrey Katzenberg, and actors Mike Myers and John Lithgow for the inside scoop on the making of Shrek.

"When we started Shrek, we wanted to make a fairy tale come to life," says New Zealander Andrew Adamson, who directed the film with Vicky Jenson, "as if you opened a storybook and stepped into that world." And what a world it is. Fairy tale creatures come alive, but not as you expect, in this often hilarious tale of the green ogre who, like Garbo, wants to be left alone., but gets caught up with a fast-talking donkey , a brash but beautiful princess and a somewhat diminutive villain. In the title role is Mike Myers, who assumed the role following the death of original Shrek voice Chris Farley. Introducing the first media screening of Shrek, an enthusiastic Myers remarked how much he fun he had bring the character to life. "It's such a great story about accepting yourself for who you are. We live in a society with a warped sense of who's beautiful and who's not, and I think the message of this movie is that everyone is beautiful."

Shrek, loosely based on a novel of the same name by William Steig, is set in a far mythical swamp, home of that bad tempered ogre named Shrek, whose once precious solitude is suddenly shattered by an invasion of annoying fairy tale characters. There are blind mice in his food, a big, bad wolf in his bed, three little homeless pigs and more, all banished from their kingdom by the evil Lord Farquaad (Lithgow). Determined to save their home--not to mention his own--Shrek cuts a deal with Farquaad and sets out to rescue the beautiful Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) to be Farquaad's bride. Accompanying him on his mission is wisecracking Donkey (Eddie Murphy), who will do anything for Shrek... except shut up of course. Rescuing the Princess from a fire-breathing dragon may prove the least of their problems when the deep, dark secret she has been keeping is revealed.

Co-director Adamson, who had been with Shrek for the past five years, was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief now that the film was ready for audience unveiling. "It seems like we were never going to", he says amidst nervous laughter. But Adamson need not worry. The film, which is the first animated movie to screen in competition at Cannes in three decades, is garnering strong reaction. The director agrees. "I'm obviously pleased it's getting a good reaction." But not necessarily surprised "because the animation process goes on for so long, that you reach a certain point where you start knowing that it's going to be OK." He and his team reached that point a year ago, he says. "Ever since then it seems to have gotten better, which is nice."

It's hard to imagine that a comic fairy tale such as Shrek would even come close to controversy, but with the film's pointed satire of a noted theme park and various fairy tale characters, rumor has it that DreamWorks boss Katzenberg, who of course left Disney under somewhat acrimonious circumstances, has been accused of paying back his ex-employer the only way he can: Through animation. "We showed each and every scene to lawyers as we went along," Adamson insists. "We certainly did not want to be sued by Disney." Apparently lawyers ended up giving their blessing - without any cuts, Adamson said. Similarly, the animators turned to Disney World for inspiration when they portrayed Farquaad's make-believe kingdom. But Adamson points out that it was appropriate. "We wanted Farquaad to create a make-believe fantasy. We toyed with poking fun at Universal City and Las Vegas, but we decided the most recognizable one to children was also the most fun to play with."