Product Description

Shrek (2001), an offbeat adventure featuring a big green ogre, his chatty sidekick Donkey, and the feisty Princess Fiona, turned the traditional fairy tale on its ear and helped to usher in a new era in computer animation, garnering the first Academy Award(r) for Best Animated Feature. Shrek 2, opening in May 2004, joins the inseparable trio on new comic adventures, advancing once again the art of 3-D computer animation.

This lighthearted book chronicles the equally dramatic (and occasionally comic) story behind the making of the two movies. It features a trove of behind-the-scenes information and is jam-packed with illustrations-concept art, storyboards, character models, set designs, and stills. Author John Hopkins joins the filmmakers (directors, producers, animators, writers, production designers) as they describe the painstaking process of inventing and animating an imaginary world, and eavesdrops on the movies' main characters as they recount the trials and tribulations of a major production, the clash of egos, and the scenes that didn't work.

With enough Shrek lore to satisfy the die-hard fan and the same off-kilter humor as the films themselves, this book is sure to have enormous appeal.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2225963 in Books
• Published on: 2004-05-01
• Format: Bargain Price
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 176 pages

From Publishers Weekly
This extraordinarily illustrated, in-depth look at the making of the adored animated film Shrek by screenwriter Hopkins comes just in time for the release of Shrek 2. Like many books about the making of films, it shares trivia, stills, behind-the-scenes information, storyboards and more. But it also transcends the "book about the movie" genre, serving as an entertaining, educational look at the film’s adventurous, spunky spirit and where it comes from. Art-minded readers will relish the early renderings of the Shrek character and fantastically brilliant images from the films, while writers are bound to be drawn in by Shrek 2 director Conrad Vernon’s description of writing out a sequence for a particular scene, sketching it on storyboards and pitching it to fellow directors, producers and artists. The book is written with the same dynamism and casual hilarity displayed in the film, featuring witty "chatter boxes," where Shrek, Donkey and other characters shoot the breeze on subjects ranging from "behind-the-scenes politics" to the Academy Awards (Donkey tells Shrek, "Don’t get me wrong. Dick Clark’s an okay fella, but enough with the award shows, ya know?" Shrek responds, "Dick Clark is not here! This is the Oscars"). And just like the film, this book—with a recipe for The Perfect Swamp Martini, explanation of how character designer Tom Hester designed "an animal that evoked Eddie Murphy" and other grown-up offerings—has enough adult insider humor to keep older audiences turning the pages.
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About the Author
John Hopkins is a Los Angeles-based screenwriter.

Customer Reviews

Shreck on Shrek
Shrek: From the Swamp to the Screen
Well, as the ultimate Shrek fan, I thought this one was a great buy! It doesn't include all of the Shrek movies. The book talks a little about characters, design, and other animation aspects. And actually, a lot of the content (sketches and notes etc.) are shown on the DVD extras. Still, I like the book form better because you're more free to go at your own pace (but if you're reading this, you're probably already a book person so that's moot I guess.)
But over all, I was very pleased with the book as both a book on an animated film and about Shrek. Perfect for anyone who's a fan of animation,

Lovely!
Me encantó! Ideal para los fanáticos de las dos películas!
Hermosas ilustraciones a todo color y muy buena información técnica y no tanto sobre cómo se hicieron las dos películas.

Sensational!
This is a sensational book which covers the idea of Shrek, both movies Shrek 1 & 2 as well as behind the scenes stuff such as animation techniques and so forth. You will learn all sorts of interesting trivia such as the sequel was originally going to be an election for the throne with candidates such as Pinocchio's policies being about honesty. This is a very high quality book with nice paper making up the 173 pages, the makers haven't skimped on the quality at all, with heaps of illustrations and actual still frames from the movies it would make a sensational gift for any Shrek fan. You do want to make sure you have seen both movies first because the book does go extremely detailed into the plots of both, it is an excellent book, there's not really anything negative that could be said about it. It is a great book which will provide hours of enjoyment.