Why the Soundtrack to Shrek is Actually Genius 

The music has layers, Shrek the movie has layers... The whole trilogy is one big onion.

I remember being a little girl watching shrek and being disappointed that fiona didnt get to be pretty at the end. It seemed like a sad ending to me. Because in every other movie...it is. This message is really important actually

The "I need a hero" song also serves as a sort of ticking clock. It connects Shrek's siege to the wedding inside. The villain is celebrating her presumed victory by singing while Prince Charming and Fiona dance to it, him trying to kiss her. We know that if Shrek doesn't get there before the song ends, everything is lost. The song serves a narrative purpose...

I remember feeling so betrayed as a little kid at the end of the second movie when they both decided to be ogres again, like why don't they want to be pretty and have a perfect life???? It's only now that I can appreciate how the writers insisted on a strong moral backbone of the story, and how harmful disney-like narratives can be!!

I like how two of my favourite film analysis people agree that Shrek is a trilogy

"YOU WANT TO HOLD HER?!" "Yes!" "YOU WANT TO *PLEASE* HER?!" " *Y E S!* "

Anyone remember the American Idol style competition included in the DvD extras of Shrek 2? It had Simon Cowell in it and you were able to vote for who you thought won. I've never met anyone else who remember that.

"To be clear, because we live in dark times" *Uploaded November 26, 2019* Oh you sweet summer child..

Any film that can continue to be culturally relevant almost 20 years after it came out is an unironically good film. Just like Spongebob, people meme Shrek out of affection.

It’s the funnest fact to me that “All Star” was just a test song/placeholder that wasn’t originally intended to be in the final movie. They just kept it in because test audiences reacted so well to it. Thankyou Test Audiences. Thankyou so much

Donkey is the most musical character in the film and ends up laying the Dragon. Donkey is a bard guys.

Fun Fact: part of the reason Donkey is always singing is because of the fairy tale he’s from. In the Town Musicians of Bremen, a donkey, a dog, a cat, and a rooster all love singing, and they decide to form a form a music group after running away from their terrible owners. They come across a cottage being used as a hideout by some bandits, and chase the bandits away with their singing.

The main theme has formed as the main fairy tale theme in my head, to the extent that I forgot it was shreks main theme. Now that's a theme.

"Shrek, REALLY impacted people." Lets be real, we didn't realise it till recently but yeah.

I think the BIGGEST reason that the "I Need a Hero" scene is so impactful is that instead of the pop song determining the pace of the scene, it feels like the natural impression of the SCENE that *happens* to sync with her singing at the same time.

I still can't believe that this was the movie people got shoved over to if they were underperforming on Prince of Egypt. Not that PoE isn't an actual masterpiece, it's just bizarre to think that this was made by what Dreamworks execs considered their B-team.

TL;DR: The reason Shrek is different from Suicide Squad is because Shrek uses pop music to highlight dramatic irony, while Suicide Squad tries to use pop music as shorthand to spoon-feed the audience information about the characters.

1999: Ugh, why do we have to read another essay? 2019: Ooh, another RU-vid essay! Me likey!

One thing on this (and forgive me if someone already commented on it): the reason "Accidentally In Love" is so perfect for the start of Shrek 2 is that the band Counting Crows wrote it specifically for this movie! And fun fact, it was also nominated for an academy award for best original song. Pretty darn cool! And yeah, it's perfect and wonderful and I love it so darn much.

Also, can we talk about how the Fairy Godmother calls for "I Need a Hero" in C minor and then sings it in G minor? Gets me every time.

Someone made a good point on why Disney is failing at making a not damsel in distress. Because they overcorrect it and make them girl bosses without the layers

Basically: music should advance the story, not merely describe it, and you can also do that with pop music

I think an important point about the movie version of 'Holding Out for a Hero' that you kind of glossed over is that the song was rewritten and rerecorded for the movie to include a lot more changes than just the Shrek theme. The Shrek version includes interludes, plays with the pace a little to make it feel more like the Fairy Godmother singing than Bonnie Tyler, and plays with some of the musical elements in the original to amplify and better fit the on screen action. The net effect is exactly what you described (the clashing of the external pressure and internal truth), but I think just throwing in a snip of the theme under the original song would have been horrible and wouldn't have worked anywhere near as well.

shrek is just, so right. it is realistic. makes you appreciate when it turns your perception of a fairy tale upside down.

Here's a theory: all the non-diegetic music in Shrek is actually just playing inside Donkey's head.

Fiona is the princess every girl aspires to be. She's fierce, kicks ass, eats good, and knows what she god damn wants. Love Fiona forever

"the film does not trust pop music to carry the most emotional moments of the story" gotcha

Literally got a Disney add on the "department store" part. They really played themselves.

alternative title: *don't be Suicide Squad*

YOOO how did I never pick up on that instrumental callback during Holding Out For a Hero, that's amazing (and so is this vid obviously)

2019: Sideways "We live in dark times" 2020: Everyone "Oh"

I always said that the music from Chicken Run was extremely incredible and sophisticated for the film. Glad to see these musicians got their big break on Shrek.

I thought this was going to be Smash Mouth - All Star for 17 minutes straight

Accidentally in Love was written for Shrek 2 and was actually nominated for an Oscar for best original song

Can I completely seriously and unironically ask you about the Twlight soundtracks? Everyone i know agrees its the one thing they did really right, but is it just a good playlist or is it a really good soundtrack? Love your channel I just binged like 9 videos in a row Edit: thanks for not making fun of this question y'all lol fingers crossed this will be a video one day somewhere

I have listened to Holding out for a hero countless times since seeing Shrek, from on a CD when I was a kid to on Spotify now and I would always wonder why the original song sounded so different. I kind of just put it to the back of my mind like "oh it's because someone else is performing it and there's probably a different band" and I never would have picked up on the backing themes without this video. I am floored.

sideways: THE DIES IRAE Teacher: Sideways this is the seventh week in a row you've shown the dies irae in class!

I came here for a meme... stayed for a genuinely interesting deep dive into arguably one of the most beloved movies of the century

Videos like this make me really appreciate how above and beyond composers go for movie themes even though all the casual film goers like me won’t be able to appreciate it.

Shrek is Geralt and Donkey is Jaskier.

The memes never ruined Shrek for me. It’s an excellent movie.

Everyone: ALL STAR! Sideways: LEITMOTIFS! AND ALL STAR!

It’s actually so special how the holding out for a hero scene in shrek 2 is so memorable to everyone I know. People with totally different interests that are different ages all agree that it’s just the best

I totally agree, Shrek storming the castle while Jennifer Saunders sings "Holding Out for a Hero" was the most epic part of most movies, let alone any Shrek title

"To be clear, I think Shrek, as a narrative is stronger than all the Disney Renaissance films combined. It's almost been two decades and Disney still can't figure out how to make a self-rescuing princess to the caliber of Fiona." THANK YOU

When you mentioned shreks theme, I was really confused, because I didn't rember any theme music from shrek. And then you played it, and I immediately started humming along to it.

When you played the main theme i got chills all over my body and almost cried. Holyshit

I always love watching Shrek video analysis, because Shrek on the surface is a bag of Doritos, but when you open it you find a five course Michelin star meal

I love how everyone agrees that Shrek 3 didn't happen

Disney: Music drives the plot Shrek: Plot drives the music, with a cherry on top

As a side note, I find it so perfect that they casted Eddie Murphy as Donkey. One of the most musical comedians out there, I can just hear his James Brown impression slipping out when he’s doing “Try A Little Tenderness.” Absolutely stellar performance.

the fact that so many people know the shrek motif while having no idea its the shrek motif is such a shrek thing to happen honestly

"It's been 2 decades and Disney still can't figure out how to make a self rescuing princess to the caliber of Fiona!" Please. Not in the face, it's gonna ruin the funeral!

unrelated, but at 8 I saw a Scottish talk show; kept wondering why everybody was speaking in "Shrek".

Shrek is so good, I love how it’s still relevant to this day, there’s so much thought around it, and I love how they have such a great personality. I love how there is a growth to it, and it follows a storyline, but instead of going in a predictable way, it goes through all of these pathways and makes it even better.

I heard they used the pop songs to get the moods right and then decided to keep the tracks in. I can really feel how the Animators might have been more motivated to pace the scenes on the Music and to make it as awesome as can be. Must have been pretty fun and heart pumping on animating on this mood. Instead of just hearing the voices or nothing at all while working on Animation. Especially pumping on holding on for a hero.

When you revealed the music motif that was hiding in the "Holding Out for a Hero" scene this whole time... _I felt things._

Can we talk about how 20 years later Disney’s trying to do the same thing as Shrek with their constant commentary on classic Disney troupes?

Just to mention, although the original I'm a Believer was by someone else, the version they used at the start is the Smash Mouth cover. (Fun fact; Shrek starts and ends with Smash Mouth songs.)

The Shrek soundtrack was my first CD and “All Star” was the first song I learned all the lyrics to. It’s literally once of the reasons I’m really interested in film soundtracks and enjoy really well done ones, I feel strangely validated by this video😅

Dreamworks honestly makes some of the most beautiful music in animated movies, and I think it's an aspect that is very underrated. Prince of Egypt, Shrek, How to Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda, Rise of the Guardians - all of them have beautiful scores that just make me, for lack of a better way to describe it, melt. They're also the kind that bury themselves into your subconscious like a sleeper agent. I legitimately didn't remember Shrek's Hero theme until you played it, and it all came rushing back.

I love how Fairy Godmother as a character just fits so well with the societal pressure theme of the shrek soundtrack. She *quite literally* tries to change people using her very commercial and industrial potions business, and as a fairy godmother she also continues the theme of making fun of Disney. It's just works so perfectly when she sings the I Need A Hero remix at the movie's climax because it's both pop music AND the original score, as a mixture of the hero leitmotif and a pop song about heroism it's literally Shrek battling against the pressure of society, and holds the double meaning of Fairy Godmother celebrating her perceived victory of her orchestrated "hero" Charming falling in fake love with Fiona *_and_* of Shrek heroically coming to the rescue. It's just pure awesome. Also, let's talk about the love potion. In both of the first two Shrek movies, the goal of the villains is to obtain Fiona as a prize, Farquad wanting her as a queen so he can be a proper king, and Godmother wanting her to fall in love with her son so that *_he_* can become king. Both of these villains objectify Fiona and degrade love into a shallow means to an end, they don't really care about what Fiona wants from the relationship. As a result, both Farquad and Fairy Godmother's son Charming both come across as very, well, incel-ish, for lack of a better word. Also, the main ingredient in Fairy Godmother's love potion is lust, which further eludes to how shallow these characters's idea of love is. I believe all of this is intentional, and is meant to mock how Disney falls back on "true love" as a theme for its movies. Relationships in Disney movies aren't fleshed out, they're soulless filler with no real chemistry between their two dimensional princes and princesses, and get overshadowed by some resulting gain of royal status or wealth. They're just as shallow as all the villains from Shrek wanting Fiona so they can ascend to royalty.

honestly i just shrek (or just the whole franchise) has become both a HUGE meme but is also universally regarded as an animated classic

Holy crap. I'm a big Shrek fan, I saw the second in theaters a stupid amount of times, I sincerely love it and have listened to that version of "Holding Out for a Hero" so many times, and I never noticed that the hero theme is part of it. I actually got goosebumps watching this video when you pointed it out. This is amazing.

Shrek literally breaks into the ballroom as Fairy Godmother sings “He’s gotta be fresh from the fight!”

Why have I just spent 20 minutes watching a shrek analysis

I really really need you to do a video on Spirit: Stallion of the Cerulean Heard. It is amazing and is an excellent use of pop songs in cinema, its excellent

OH MY GOD Thank you for figuring out why I felt like Shrek 2's "Holding out for a hero" was different from the original. It's the hero music!!

Holding out for a hero was THE most epic musical moment in film history. I will physically duel anyone who disagrees Edit: so many people disagree I need to physically duel every one of you

“There’s something about donkey, that’s very special.” You don’t say

I think movies like Deadpool 1 + 2 and Kingsman 1 + 2 use it in the same way as Shrek but the pop music is mostly during action like during the boxing ring brawl. The familiar music excites the viewer and gets their heart beating in addition to the action making it even more overall exciting.

11:25 "but it isn't just this song, listen" advertisement "imma stop you right there"

I feel like "I Need a Hero" was a soundtrack to the 'fake' hero story the fairy set up, while Shrek's heroic theme was the real hero story shining through.

There's a pretty straight up reason that pop music worked: Shrek was generally lampooning and reflecting popular culture in every other respect as well. The use of popular music was a thematic and aesthetic fit. In Suicide Squad, this fit didn't exist because the songs were just tangential to what was going on on the screen. The *only* way it fit was the kneejerk surface level.

Man I hope they keep these ideas in mind when making the next Shrek movie. Puss and Boots was such a success I can’t wait to see their updated iteration of Shrek.

I think the biggest example of pop songs being used as external pressure would be Hallelujah. You could feel the character’s somber moods all while they’re ‘forced’ not to say a word. Fiona and Shrek are separated due to a misunderstanding, and both are unable to literally tell the other how they feel. Watching it, you literally get the sense that they’re throats clamped up, so hurt emotionally they can’t bare to say a word and nothing’s gonna fix that in that moment. It’s like, it feels genuine because instead of an improbable musical, you get grounding reality..?

i literally got chills when you pointed out how “holding out for a hero” in the second movie uses the same score from the first movie wtfff 😤😤 shrek really is god tier lmao

Hey Hey Ya wanna know another movie that does this? MEGAMIND BABYYYYYYY

Shrek is just relatable. Female or male, don't we all wonder how on earth our partner is attracted to us and we feel like a ogre ? Haha disney princess stories is some young perky beautiful girl that instantly attracts everyone. Disney princesses are "becky with the good hair" at first, fiona is cute girl with idealistic expectations of a prince but then becomes a real person.

15:33 "Who cares if you aren't doing it the way people want you to. If it makes you happy, then that's what's important." Can't wait to use this in court to defend my tax fraud.

*Sideways:* I talked about How Train Your Dragon but I haven't talked about Shrek yet.... *Schafrillas:* _THAT WAS YOUR MISTAKE!_

this is how english teachers be analyzing books

I got literal chills when you broke down that last scene.... And sir you do not have enough videos in my oh so humble opinion. I loooove your content which I just discovered a few days ago and i am binge watching since. You're like opening up new senses for me it's amazing!!

In Holding Out for a Hero, the fairy godmother also steals Fiona from Shrek by giving her a society-approved, shining "hero" (Prince Charming). As she sings this song, she's also stealing Shrek's "hero" identity marker, his Theme Song. And as a true villain, she's appropriating Shrek's Hero theme song, therefore playing another mind game on Fiona (the Hero Theme is associated with Shrek, which she is assigning to Prince Charming here--who is supposed to be Shrek in disguise from Fiona's POV). It's a super epic song because it's guiding the viewers to understand and feel for the complexity of the situation: Shrek has everything taken away from him, from his lover to his own heroic identity, and this raises the stakes for his epic confrontation with the godmother.

Not joking here: I actually cried during Shrek 2 because of self-esteem issues and how much I could relate to the story.

*_Shrek 3_* Literally everyone: "We don't do that here."

I like how the use of pop music is similarly integrated in Gaurdians of the Galaxy 2. Peter's comfort and kickass moments are represented more through pop music, whether that be him dancing during a grave robbing or taking comfort with his friends.

I Need Some Sleep by Eels is the best original song made for any movie and I stand by that statement

Me: hears the main theme for Shrek for the first time in years Also me: suddenly feels like a 7 year old kid again and starts crying Damn, what a theme

Also, "All-Star" is basically about being shoved outside of your comfort zone and into new experiences by crisis. You know....the theme of the film.

“It isn’t just the song...listen..” *ad plays* Hmm I see..

Indeed. Shrek is love, Shrek is life

"The pieces of pop music come to represent external pressures on the characters that inhibit their ability to freely express themselves, while the original score reveals their true identities." Perfectly said.

Me: Why is this in my recommended? Algorithm: Ok i get it. I'll find something else. Me: no. wait.

How did he say nothing about the main theme coming from Hallelujah??? I thought that was obvious. Am I the only one who noticed? That's what gave hallelujah so much impact in the sad part. He was singing the main theme we'd been hearing all movey.

Until now, I always thought the main theme of shrek was actually a compositional reference to Gustav Holst's Jupiter. Just looked it up and realized it's a slightly different tune. World shattered.

I want someone to talk about me the way you talk about the Shrek series soundtrack

I know why, it's cause he kicks the door in sync with the song. Thank You.

I deeply apologize but the second you mentions the "I need a hero" scene I had to go watch it again. I came right back though!! Great video, dude. Honestly. Your work is super high quality and you deserve more followers

I think the testament to how good shrek’s music was can be said for me in two ways. If it’s been awhile I get goosebumps when I listen to it while watching the movie. On roadtrips before the internet and Netflix, we would watch it over and over and nobody got tired of it. We memorized and enjoyed as movies and albums.