Shrek is a grouchy, selfish, mean ogre that lives in solitude in his swamp. One day he finds many fairy-tale characters on his swamp sent by the Fairy-tale despising Lord Farquaad, who wants to become king, but must first marry a princess So after Shrek comes to his kingdom to speak to him, he sends him and a wisecracking Donkey who befriends him on a journey to rescue a princess. Shrek winds up rescuing Princess Fiona, a beautiful young woman with a secret curse, she turns into an ogress at night. Shrek must return Fiona to Farquaad so he can marry her but during the journey back he finds he may be falling in love with her himself. Winner of 8 '02 Annies, and was the first Oscar® winner in the newly-implanted category: Best Animated Feature. Preserved in 2020 by the National Film Registry. a Cannes Film Festival '01 official selection. starring the voices of Mike Myers in his protagonist and in a minor role, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow. Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson direct from the adaptation by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S.H. Schulman [the former two were also co-producers]; Based upon the 1990 Farrar, Straus and Giroux book by William Steig. Producers: Aron Warner, John H. Williams and Jeffrey Katzenberg; Executive Producers: Penny Finkelman Cox and Sandra Rabins. Original Score: Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell; featuring Smash Mouth in "I'm a Believer", Self in "Stay Home", Baha Men with "Best Years of Our Lives", and Dana Glover with "It Is You (I Have Loved)"; Soundtrack available on DreamWorks Records. a PDI/DreamWorks production for DreamWorks Pictures. L.A./NYC release: May 16, 2001 • General: May 18, 2001 Approved [#38125]/rated PG for mild language and some crude humor.