film

I found "Shrek" to be a quite charmless movie - in many ways the antithesis of everything a good animated fairy tale should be.

The whole film had a smugness and self-consciousness that made me feel rather uneasy. Eddie Murphy as the voice of the ass was, well, just an ass. The choices of contemporary music didn't gel, as far as I was concerned. The animation was OK, although I am from the Old School and like seeing black borders on all my cartoon characters...

Maybe not the definitive story of the Stolen Generation, but if it heightens awareness of this sorry episode in Australia's history then it will have served a purpose.

For those who possess a broad understanding of events, this movie - based on fact - will not provide any profound enlightenment, though Rabbit-Proof Fence does provide a good illustration of the institutionalised removal of aboriginal children from their families, supposedly (in the eyes of a succession of Australian national and state governments) for their own benefit. The story, of two aboriginal girls escape from their new "home", following the path of the lengthy rabbit fence across the outback to return to their natural family, is a powerful one.