Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
This 20-minute short film from 2010 is so far the last entry to the hugely successful Shrek franchise and was released shortly after the fourth film 5 years ago. And looking at it, you would not even guess that the franchise is apparently in decline. This Halloween special was lots of fun. The gang are having a contest, during which they will tell each other stories and the one who is scared last wins. It looks like Donkey proves a worthy opponent for Shrek, but the real highlight were the stories, who were actually pretty creepy, especially the Gingerbread Man story with his girlfriend. The reference on "The Exorcist" was nice as well. Competent short movie I have to say. The director, by the way, is the guy who also directed "Beauty and the Beast" a long time ago. Gary Trousdale also came up with the script together with a handful other guys. If they manage to keep that level, I would not even mind if they make a fifth Shrek feature film. Will they? Who knows? However, about this short film here, it was a success. It got several nominations from the Annie Awards and deservedly so. I enjoyed watching it and recommend it.
TheLittleSongbird
Scared Shrekless is a brilliant Halloween special, of the two Dreamworks specials(the other being the Monsters vs Aliens one) this is the better one of the two. Gorgeously animated(the backgrounds are always colourful yet wonderfully atmospheric at times too) with creepy music, hilarious, witty writing, inspired storytelling, all our favourite characters at the top of their game(especially Puss and Gingerbread) and great voice acting(even with the replacement of Eddie Murphy for Donkey's voice). The special is made up of three parodies, the best being the parody of Bride of Frankenstein with Gingerbread, hysterically funny, full of creepy atmosphere and often cute. Shrek's Exorcist parody was also amusing and effective in its creepiness, if not quite as terrifying as the real thing(understandably). Puss and Donkey's Psycho parody was good, it was funny with great voice work and storytelling, only let down by a couple of Donkey's comic interruptions, occasionally coming across as forced. Overall though, Scared Shrekless is brilliant, if you love the first two films(I do) or love horror(the more I see the more I highly appreciate it) you will love it. 9/10 Bethany Cox
Robert
This was based off of the fourth in the series, I thought. But regardless, it was very well made considering that the fourth one was pushing it. Heck the 3rd one pushed it.It was basically a bunch of the guys coming together for a challenge to decide who's the best story teller. I loved each character's variation, and the puss in boots and donkey story which was changed constantly. And Shrek's was pretty good as well. The ending was really funny and I wasn't expecting it, haha.The thriller bonus video was pretty good as well as I got it on DVD. I liked it and thought it was well made and funny!Rated 8/10.
MartinHafer
I marvel at how much Dreamworks has exploited their Shrek franchise. I mean, how many movies, specials and short films can they make until enough is enough? While I clearly am worried about the future of the series, I must admit that despite everything, "Scared Shrekless" clearly has gorgeous CGI. So, despite being a short and having a substitute voice for Fiona, it is still amazingly nice to look at and features a lot of what made the other films enjoyable.The episode is set at Halloween. Many of the old storybook characters come to Shrek's house to celebrate and tell scary stories. The Gingerbread Man tells a story about his mate--how he and a crazed baker made what SEEMED like the perfect partner. But, things go awry and the story is frighteningly cute. Then, Puss tells a story that is clearly inspired by "Psycho". But, again and again, Donkey keeps interrupting the story--making a mess of it and forcing Puss to tell what REALLY happened. Finally, Shrek tells a story he says is a cute version of "The Exorcist".All in all, I was surprised that I enjoyed this film as much as I did. All three stories were very enjoyable and worth seeing...surprise! Nice, light viewing for the entire family.
AD
