Shrek: From the Swamp to the Screen

This extraordinarily illustrated, in-depth look at the making of the adored animated film Shrek by screenwriter Hopkins comes just in time for the release of Shrek 2. Like many books about the making of films, it shares trivia, stills, behind-the-scenes information, storyboards and more. But it also transcends the""book about the movie"" genre, serving as an entertaining, educational look at the film's adventurous, spunky spirit and where it comes from. Art-minded readers will relish the early renderings of the Shrek character and fantastically brilliant images from the films, while writers are bound to be drawn in by Shrek 2 director Conrad Vernon's description of writing out a sequence for a particular scene, sketching it on storyboards and pitching it to fellow directors, producers and artists. The book is written with the same dynamism and casual hilarity displayed in the film, featuring witty""chatter boxes,"" where Shrek, Donkey and other characters shoot the breeze on subjects ranging from""behind-the-scenes politics"" to the Academy Awards (Donkey tells Shrek,""Don't get me wrong. Dick Clark's an okay fella, but enough with the award shows, ya know?"" Shrek responds,""Dick Clark is not here! This is the Oscars""). And just like the film, this book--with a recipe for The Perfect Swamp Martini, explanation of how character designer Tom Hester designed""an animal that evoked Eddie Murphy"" and other grown-up offerings--has enough adult insider humor to keep older audiences turning the pages.