Shrek the third opening sequence analysis

Shrek the Third is the third film in the popular shrek series of children's films. the film is entirly CGI. The sequence begins with the dreamworks logo, but then the actual opening narrative of the scene and the dreamworks logo mix together. The camera is shwoing us the dreamworks logog up in the clouds, but then slowly the soft opening music fades out and is replaced by thunder and ominous sounds. the white clouds of the dreamworks logog turn grey and cover the logo. It is at this point that the camera starts to track downwards, showing us the eye of a storm. Light then flows out of the eye, and the camera moves closer to the light as it keeps spiralling downwards, showing the audiance dark clouds and the ominous music and thunderclaps carry on. As this is happening credits fade in and out. As the camera comes out of the clouds we get an extreme longshot of a forest, and as the camera continues to move downwards trees obscure the shot, and suddenly heroic music starts playing and the camera begins to track in a way that suggests it is on something that is moving. the camera then tracks downwards again and finally the camera moves into a closeup of a handsome young prince who appears to be riding a horse. The camera tracks his riding and we see trees's in the background. In this continuous shot we see the princes head and shoulders, but also a small part of the horse's head. After a few moments of riding the prince shouts "onwards chancy!". he then begins a monologue about saving a princess, but as he is speaking the camera zooms out into a long shot, and it is revealed to the audience that the horse is not a real horse at all, but a fake horse head on a stick, and the what we though was a forest is just a large moving canvas behind the prince. The shot zooms out even further and our setting is shown to be some kind of medieval bar. The mise-en-scene includes a few people sitting on tables watching the performance, and small dwarf-like stage hands helping out with the show. The shot then cuts to somebody clapping two coca nuts together which is what created the impression of a riding horse. (it is also interesting to note that when the camera zoomed out the heroic music changed in tone, now sounding as if it is coming from a cheap sound system). The shot then cuts to a medium closeup somebody looking very bored at the top corner of the moving canvas winding a wheel which is what gives it its movement, and after this the shot cuts again to a med closeup people lighting matches and burning powders to create the effect of lightning and thunder. After these establishing shots the camera cuts to a medium shot of a group of fairytale creatures sitting at a table in the bar, and there is a conversation between them about how the show "sucks", and after this quick conversation the shot switches to a low angled long shot showing us a "tower" and how the prince is talking to the girl in the tower, promising to rescue her etc. Once the prince "dismounts" his horse, the shot switches to a medium closeup of the women in the fake prop tower, detailing how brave etc the prince is. We then get a shot reverse shot of the prince speaking to the lady, and the lady again speaking to the prince. After this there is a quick long shot showing the entire bar, with very few people and those who are there looking disintrested. One women in the audiance even heceles the prince, and we get a reaction shot from him looking annoyed, but then the shot suddenly cuts to a long shot of the stage, which now has a man in an oger costume standing on it, and we hear the audiance clap with enthusiasm, and the camera quickly cuts to closeups of several of them saying "yeah go shrek!!" and another reaction shot from the prince looking even more annoyed. The shot then switches to the ogers over the shoulder shot, showing the prince brandishing his sword at the monster. The entire sequence is around 2 minutes long.

i think that this is a paticulerly good example of an openining sequence of a childrens film as it sets up an exciting and mildly suspenceful tone, which it quickly does away with via the use of comedy and parody of the prince. The opening would make both adults and children alike laugh at the prince's predicament, and sets up a lighthearted tone for the rest of the film, and this is done for the children in particuler.

Fil.