And presto comes the answer. These creatures have been banished from their kingdom by the evil Lord Farquaad. Determined to save their home as well as keep his own home and solitude intact, Shrek strikes a deal with the evil Lord Farquaad to rescue the beautiful Princess Fiona, at the moment held captive by a fire-breathing dragon, so that she can marry the evil Lord. Accompanying Shrek on his deadly mission is a cute, chatter-box Donkey who is far from the stupid creature he is generally taken to be. Clever, witty, diplomatic and warm it is the Donkey that provides the film with its finest moments, howlarious one-liners and insightful observations.

Directors Andrew Adamson and Victoria Johnson have a cute little story to narrate but they do it cleverly without making a meal of it. The two main characters, Shrek and the Donkey are well developed. The script by Ted Elliott and Terry Rosario (who also did "Antz") and others is brilliant. The spacing is right and so is the pacing. There may also be a morale of folks to be satisfied with what they are, not to strive to be something different but that comes across subtly. Also, it gives a new insight into taken-for-granted characters. Like the Donkey who is anything but a donkey in the accepted sense of the word. There are three bachelorettes (they aren’t called spinsters) from whom the evil Lord Farquaad has to choose from — Cinderella, Snow White and Princess Fiona. He picks Fiona who is the epitome of beauty but she has a deep dark secret.

It is this duo of the ogre and the donkey that virtually grows on the viewer. Add to this the cute fairy-tale sets, the fire-breathing dragon, the impossible mission and the plethora of fairy-tale characters and the viewer is on a virtual trip into never-never land. Some of the most beloved fairy-tales characters are lampooned, nothing is sacred and many a fairy-tale is roasted alive with amazing asides. There are lines from nursery rhymes (like "Do you know the muffin man") that are sure to warm the cockles of old hearts and the music is cute, at times jazzified, but always reflective of the mood and the tempo of the story.

How Shrek provides light for his dinner may not be good to behold. Neither are some of his early escapades in the swamp but the ogre begins to grow on you and along with the Donkey they really make waves.

And once again one must say what a strong narrative it is. Now I don’t give much importance to the voices of the stars because once you see the film you hardly connect with the voices but with Dr Dolittle already released Eddie Murphy as the voice of the Donkey may be a sort of bonus. It is the world of fairy-tales that comes so vividly to life and like The Lion King and The Little Mermaid it is one of the better category of animation films. What’s more it is fairly adult in content, especially the dialogue, so adults who accompany their kids, will also be entertained without upsetting the kids.

All in all, this Dream Works production is brilliantly conceived and as well put across. It is in fact an unforgettable trek with Shrek and the Donkey as they encounter witches, princesses and dragons and deal with them in their own, unusual way. There are red-herrings and delightful surprises and by the time the curtain comes down on the show you are sure to be delighted beyond your wildest dreams. In fact like Oliver, you might well ask for more.