# Shrek: The Whole Story - Blu-Ray Review



## Dale Rasco (Apr 11, 2009)

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=5480[/img]*Title: Shrek: The Whole Story – Blu-ray Review
Starring: Mike Meyers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphey, Anoniio Banderas, John Lithgow, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Rupert Everett, 
Directed by: Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson, Kelly Asbury, Chris Miller, Raman Hui, Mike Mitchell
Studio: DreamWorks
Rated: PG 
Runtime: 90 minutes, 93 minutes, 93 minutes, 93 minutes
Release Date: 12/7/2010* 
*Movies:*
*Shrek:* :4stars:
*Shrek 2:* :4stars:
*Shrek the Third:* :2stars:
*Shrek Forever After:* :4.5stars:
*Video:* :5stars: 
*Audio:* :5stars: 
*Extras:* :4stars: 
*Overall:* :5stars: 




*Synopsis:* 

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=5476[/img]*Shrek:*
When an ogre named Shrek discovers his swamp has been turned into a refugee camp for all sorts of fairytale creatures, he sets out to confront Lord Farquaad, the one behind it all. After a grueling trip to Duloc, with an annoyingly loud donkey, Shrek makes a deal with Farquaad to get his swamp back. All Shrek has to do is go to a tower and rescue the beautiful princess Fiona from the dragon holding her prisoner and return to Duloc however; problems arise on the return trip as Shrek begins to fall in love with the princess who has a secret to keep until she is finally kissed by her one true love. 


[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=5477[/img]*Shrek 2:*
Shrek and Princess Fiona are now married and the time has come to meet the in-laws. With Donkey in tow, Shrek and Fiona are off to 'Far, Far Away', but all is not well and not everyone is happy about this union. Shrek and Fiona's father, The King, find it hard to get along, and that begins to take its toll on the relationship between the newlyweds. And as if things weren’t bad enough, Prince Charming returns from a failed attempt at rescuing Fiona for himself only to find that she has already married another. Now in a scheme with his fairy god mother, Prince Charming sets out on a new quest; get rid of Shrek!


[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=5478[/img]*Shrek the Third:*
When Fiona's father and King of Far Far Away passes away, the clumsy Shrek becomes the immediate successor of the throne. However, Shrek decides to find the legitimate heir Artie in a distant kingdom with his friends Donkey and Puss in Boots in hopes that he will be able return to his beloved house in the swamp with the now pregnant Fiona. Meanwhile, the envious and ambitious Prince Charming joins a host of fairytale villains and plans a coup d'état to become the new king.


[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=5479[/img]*Shrek Forever After:*
After settling down and raising a family, Shrek begins to feel that he has lost his roar, and with it his identity. In an attempt to recapture some of that lost fire in his belly, Shrek makes a deal with the double-dealing Rumpelstiltskin. The deal is simple, trade a day for a day. The only problem is in the fine print and now Shrek has 24 hours to decipher the "out clause" or lose everyone he loves forever and be erased from existence.

I found Shrek Forever After to be a great animated family movie. A true return to form for the franchise with a sincere message about what we take for granted. It was basically a new twist on the “It’s a Wonderful Life” story and I think it was delivered very well and has easily become my favorite of the series, and unlike this summers Toy Story 3, there weren't a lot of the 'tug at the heart strings' moments in this one. There were plenty of laughs and a lot of the heart returned to the series that unfortunatley went missing in the third installment. I highly recommend picking this one up as a stand alone if you are not in the market for the whole series.







*Rating:* 
PG for Mild Language and Crude Humor

*Video:* :5stars:
I had extremely high hopes for these transfers and I am exstatic to report that every one of these discs is of reference level quality. The colors pop off of the screen in a truly magnificent way and at times can be almost overwhelming. With a countless arrays of blue, green, purple, yellow, red and any other color across the spectrum, the color pallette for these films is absolutely extraordinary. Dreamworks has made some jaw-droppingly beautiful Blu-rays in the past and this set is no exception. Even the earlier movies look as if they were just recently in theaters. Detail is phenomenal and the blacks are inky and perfect. Shadows are flawlessly delineated and are consistent across the entire set. Texture resolution appears almost limitless and the detail that has been brought out in the older titles leads me to suggest that these movies could never look better than these transfers. 






























*Audio:* :5stars: 
Bravo to Dreamworks for including a 7.1 Dolby TrueHD codec to every one of these discs. The audio was completely immersive and sounded absolutely fantastic. From the first movie to the last, all channels were alive with sound and filled the speakers with audio bliss that was clear, concise, impactful, and a real treat for the ears. There were several scenes that caught my attention with a flurry of action such as the rescue scene in 'Shrek' where the dragon chases them through the castle remnants. There is also a great climax in Shrek Forever After that I thought really stood out. Overall I was very impressed by these 7.1 TrueHD presentations and look forward to referring to them often in the future. 

*Extras:* :4.5stars:
These things are loaded! 

*'Shrek'*

Audio Commentary 
Spotlight on Donkey 
Secrets of 'Shrek' 
Deleted Scenes 
Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party 
Baha Men "Best Years of Our Lives" 
Smash Mouth "I'm a Believer" 
Shrek the Musical "What's Up Duloc" 
Dreamworks Animation Music Viceo Jukebox

*'Shrek 2'*

Audio Commentaries 
Spotlight on Puss In Boots 
Secrets of 'Shrek 2' 
Far Far Away Idol 
Counting Crows "Accidentally in Love" 
Puss In Boots "These Boots Are Made For Walking" 
Shrek the Musical "I Know It's Today" 
Dreamworks Animation Music Viceo Jukebox

*'Shrek the Third'*

Spotlight on Fiona 
Secrets of 'Shrek the Third' 
Deleted Scenes 
Worcestershire Academy Yearbook 
Donkey Dance 
Shrek the Musical "Freak Flag" 
How to be Green 
Dreamworks Animation Music Viceo Jukebox

*'Shrek Forever After'*

Audio Commentary 
Spotlight on Shrek 
Secrets of 'Shrek Forever After' 
Deleted Scenes 
Conversation with Cast 
The Tech of 'Shrek Forever After' 
The Making of: Shrek the Musical 
Shrek the Musical "Who I'd Be" 
"Darling I Do" Music Video 
Donkey's Caroling Christmas-tacular 
Shrek's Yule Log 
12 Days of Christmas Pop-Up Book 
Donkey's Decoration Scramble 
Cookin' with Cookie



*Overall:* :5stars:
As movies, the Shrek series, with the exception of Shrek the Third, is a great family series to watch however; on Bluray they are absolutely a marvel to behold. I highly recommend picking these movies up and giving them a whirl, you will not regret it. Until next time campers, have a good day and in case I don't see ya later, a good afternoon, a good evening, and a good night! :wave:


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## smurphy522 (Sep 21, 2010)

Thanks for the great overview. It must stink to have and sit through all these movies on a regular basis


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## ddgtr (Nov 1, 2009)

Stunning video quality, very funny and overall a pleasure to see...


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