A Comparison of the Animated Films Shrek and Snow White

A Comparison of the Animated Films Shrek and Snow White

1937. Two years before the start of World War Two. Technology wasn't

even starting to advance when they made the first animated feature

film, Snow White. It cost 1.4 million dollars which today is a lot of

money. The film was made by a company called "Disney" and it took over

750 artists to work on it. It was developed and made on single cell

animation drawn by hand and traced onto an acetate or celluloid. Each

shot moves at 24 frames per second, over a million drawings were

needed.

Almost 65 years later, England had defeated Germany in World War Two,

England had lifted the World Cup in football in 1966 and in a new

Millennium, a new type of animated film was born. Released in May 2001

and cost a "whopping" 70 million dollars, "Shrek" was made. The

computer animated film took three years to make and took over 275

people to work on it and they weren't just artists but new jobs had

come into animation like computer animators and software developers.

The computer generated images give the film its realistic 3D effect

and special software was used to add dimension to cloth and hair.

Special tools called shapers were used to achieve facial and body

movements and to help determine where the light would fall which added

to the realistic effect.

Everybody likes a traditional fairytale with a beautiful princess

being rescued and swept off her feet and "Snow White" is typical of

this. However, "Shrek" subverts the traditional stereotypes of

fairytales, sometimes going back into the traditional fairytale genre.

"Snow White" starts with a big story book that introduces the feature

...

... middle of paper ...

.... "Shrek" gets away with grotesque

images because the boundaries have shifted. This shows that the role

of a child in our society has changed and is allowed more freedom in

what they see and do.

Both films are based on the fairytale genre but as "Snow White" keeps

to the traditional fairytale convention, "Shrek" subverts and parodies

the traditional convention. The typical princess is beautiful but in

Shrek she is an ogre. In "Shrek" it shows that everyone can find their

true love. However, Shrek doesn't end up with the beautiful princess

he ends up with an ogre even though he loved the beautiful princess

first. This could be saying that if you're ugly your expected to have

an ugly partner. "Shrek" does stray back into the traditional

fairytale but "Snow White" being the early fairytale sticks to the

conventions.