Shrek
This comic computer animation turns many Disney clichés on their head, especially the one relating goodness to how people look. The film has adult humour in the script, but can be related to on a number of levels.
Shrek (Mike Myers), a likeable, green, obese, smelly ogre seems to like living in an isolated and far-away swamp. Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow) is evil and of short stature (drawing on old stereotypes in an otherwise stereotype-challenging film) and maintains the other characters are 'fairytale trash who are poisoning my perfect world'. His knights are dispossessing and displacing all the fairytale people who live round about. The displaced characters enlist Shrek to help them. Shrek begrudgingly befriends a loquacious Donkey (Eddie Murphy). Donkey and Shrek arrive at Duloc, just in time for a tournament being held to find a knight to rescue the Princess Fiona from a castle tower. After beating all comers, Shrek and Donkey are forced to undertake the rescue in exchange for Shrek getting his swamp back.
The action moves to the castle, where Shrek and Donkey outwit the fire-breathing dragon, who has taken a fancy to Donkey, and rescue the beautiful Princess Fiona. That night, Shrek says to Donkey, when asked why he wants to keep everyone out of his swamp:
The world seems to have a problem with me. People take one look and say I'm a big, stupid, ugly ogre. They judge me before they even know me.
Fiona, although trying hard to be a fairytale princess, is strong-willed and a kick-boxer. Slowly, she and Shrek begin to fall in love, though neither admits it. Due to a misunderstanding, Shrek fetches Farquaad, who goes off with the Princess to be married.
The audience and Donkey by now know that every evening at sunset Fiona turns into a female ogre and stays like that until sunrise. The only way to break this spell is for Fiona to kiss her true love. Donkey convinces Shrek to go after Fiona. Enlisting the dragon, who has arrived at the swamp for love of Donkey, they fly off to Duloc, arriving as the wedding is finishing. Just before Fiona kisses Farquaad, Shrek declares his love for her. Right then, the sun sets and Fiona turns back into an ogre. The dragon eats Farquaad. Now Fiona and Shrek kiss, the spell is broken and Fiona remains... an ogre! Shrek says she is beautiful.
Throughout the film, the Disney-type clichés of evil ogres and beautiful princesses are turned on their head, providing many opportunities to discuss difference and how it is often used in children's cartoons.
Make sure you prepare the ground by covering the material in the Introducing disability guidelines before looking at issues in any specific film.
Detailed lesson plans (PDF, 35k)
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