Plot
Shrek is an anti-social and highly-territorial green ogre who loves the solitude of his swamp. His life is interrupted after the dwarfish Lord Farquaad of Duloc unknowingly exiles a vast number of fairy-tale creatures to Shrek's swamp. Angered by the intrusion, he decides to visit Farquaad and demand they be moved elsewhere. He reluctantly allows the talkative Donkey, who was exiled as well, to tag along and guide him to Duloc.
Shrek is a 2001 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film loosely based on the 1990 fairy tale picture book of the same name by William Steig. Directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson in their directorial debuts, it stars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow as the voices of the lead characters. The film parodies other fairy tale adaptations, primarily aimed at animated Disney films.[6] The story follows the titular Shrek (Myers), an ogre who finds his swamp overrun by fairy tale creatures who have been banished by the corrupt Lord Farquaad (Lithgow) aspiring to be king. Shrek makes a deal with Farquaad to regain control of his swamp in return for rescuing Princess Fiona (Diaz), whom Farquaad intends to marry. With the help of Donkey (Murphy), Shrek embarks on his quest but soon falls in love with the princess, who is hiding a secret that will change his life forever.
Joseph Stillman (born August 1, 1959) is an American television and movie writer, producer, and director.
Before becoming a screenwriter, he worked for several TV shows, including Beavis and Butt-head, King of the Hill, Doug, and The Adventures of Pete & Pete.
Stillman's first screen credits were on Joseph: King of Dreams and his second on Shrek, both for DreamWorks. He received a shared BAFTA for co-writing the first Shrek and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
American writer
Terry Rossio (born July 2, 1960) is an American screenwriter. He wrote the films Aladdin, Shrek, and all five of the Pirates of the Caribbean series. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Shrek, and won the Annie Award for Writing in a Feature Production, as well as the BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Shrek. He often collaborates with fellow screenwriter Ted Elliott.
Rossio was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan. After graduating from Saddleback High School in Santa Ana, California, he went on to study at California State University, Fullerton where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Communications, with an emphasis in radio, television and film. He is the founder of Wordplay, also known as Wordplayer.com, one of the premier screenwriting sites on the Internet.
Ted Elliott (born July 4, 1961) is an American screenwriter and film producer. Along with his writing partner Terry Rossio, Elliott has written some of the most successful American films of the past 30 years, including Aladdin (1992), Shrek (2001) and the Pirates of the Caribbean series (2003-11).
He was attached to write a feature version of Monkey Island, which never happened.
In 2004, he was elected to the board of directors of the Writers Guild of America; his term on the board ended in 2006. In 2005, Elliott ran for president of the Writers Guild of America, west, but lost to animation writer and historical figurine maker Patric Verrone. Verrone received 1301 votes; Elliott received 591.