Shrek DVD delivers fun, lessons to all audiences

This revolutionary, computer-animated masterpiece was a hot ticket in Bloomington last weekend. Blockbuster was out of it. At one Video World, six people had reserved whatever copies would be returned Saturday, so no copy could be guaranteed before Monday.\nThe two-CD DVD is well worth a wait or $18-plus sale price. PDI/Dreamworks, which produced "Antz," brings to life clear, bright "cartoons" whose bodies realistically move, clothes hold shadows and faces properly display expressions. All in all, "Shrek" puts to shame any Disney movie.\n"Shrek" tells the unconventional fairy tale of a cynical ogre (Mike Myers) who rescues Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) to remove magical creatures from his swamp. Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow), a feisty villain, needs to marry the princess so he can become king of DuLoc.\nPrincess Fiona has dreamt of a white-bread prince rescuing her with a valiant steed -- not a smelly ogre and a donkey (Eddie Murphy). But Shrek and Princess Fiona fall in love on the way back to DuLoc, teaching the lesson that people should be accepted for whom they really are, not what they look like.\n"Shrek" properly suits audiences of several ages with its good message, splendid comedic performances, pop hits by Smashmouth and mind-boggling animation.\nThe DVD itself offers more than 11 hours of humorous, interesting insight with bonus features including music videos, deleted scenes and cast interviews. A technology feature talks about the three-year animation process, including the fact that Princess Fiona was at one time created too photorealistic, so she had to be "dialed down" to fit in with the other characters.\nKids can have fun, too, on the first CD alone with five games, including dressing up a gingerbread man character, morphing characters and answering trivia questions. A karaoke dance party showcases Madonna, Boy George and Village People songs, to name a few, voiced by the movie's actors. \nSome features, like one for technical details, run more than a few minutes, enjoyable to only patient audiences. But overall, the DVD provides numerous interactive and insightful features at a reasonable price.