Antonio Banderas, Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz
The final chapter in the Shrek
franchise is finally here and it doesn't disappoint—expect tons of twists and fascinating new characters. But with every journey and chapter comes new experiences, and for Shrek it’s nothing short of a mid-life crisis as he attempts to cope with his new domesticated life. The once feared ogre is now a loveable superstar who longs for the days when he inspired terror, and with the help of the mischievous Rumpelstiltskin, he transports himself into an alternative Far Far Away. To his surprise, though, this alternative world doesn’t include his children or his one true love Fiona, so Shrek must now find his way back.
Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz and Antonio Banderas talked Shrek with us, and bid their fond farewells to the franchise.
Q: Cameron, deep emotions run across this film that clearly stem from the first Shrek.
Cameron Diaz: Yeah. You get to see true love happen all over again between Shrek and Fiona, because they get to find one another…You open up on the two of them in the routine of a life that they’ve taken for granted, and that Shrek has for sure, and then you get to see him journey back by trying to regain his true love. That, ultimately, is a beautiful and lovely story.
Q: Cameron and Mike, was it challenging to basically start over from scratch with these characters?
Mike Myers: The writing is so great and all of the filmmakers are so committed to it being excellent that you’re just following the script…Mike Mitchell is a great director, and Jeffrey [Katzenberg] is a great filmmaker.
Diaz: The animators are the real actors. They put the looks in our eyes and the chemistry between us.
Q: Mike, in this movie, Shrek yearns for normalcy–to be able to do what he enjoys without an audience. Is there a parallel to your own life, in that regard?
Myers: I like my privacy. I love being a part of [films], but when I’m not doing stuff, I like to go away. I enjoy being a person a great deal. It’s hard to be super full of yourself in Canada. If there was a motto of Canada, it would be, “Who do you think you are, eh?”
Q: Thinking back to the first Shrek film, what moment stands out to you the most?
Myers: When Jeffrey [Katzenberg] said, “Would you like to be in an animated movie?,” I said, “Yes,” and he said, “It’s called Shrek.” I said, “That’s the worst title I’ve ever heard in my life.” I didn’t know what it was going to be. In the process, the first time I saw it with an audience and the line, “But you are beautiful to me,” got a gasp because people were so into the whole romance and the heart of it, that I was just blown away that an animated movie could move people and was something that people could be invested in, emotionally.
Q: Antonio, how do you feel about Shrek ending and does the fact that there will be a Puss in Boots film make it any better?
Antonio Banderas: Well, it’s sad, on one side, but very satisfying. Shrek has become pop culture itself. I was in New York this year, watching the Thanksgiving Day parade from my house, and there was a big balloon of Shrek and behind him was Mickey Mouse. It was beautiful to see what this 10 years of work has done. So, it’s sad, on one side, but on the other side, we’re going to hopefully continue now, if it goes well. But, it’s totally different. What we’re doing so far is not the same narrative process as Shrek. It’s more Sergio Leone.
Q: Do you think the message of this film is geared more towards adults, this time around?
Myers: I think that Shrek is a little bit like Flinstones vitamins. You don’t know that it’s good for you, but it has built in vitamins and the delivery system is very enjoyable.
Diaz: I think it’s for both adults and children. You’re never too young or too old to learn these lessons, and that’s been the case with all of the Shrek films, and it’s why they’re so successful. They’re not just speaking to one audience, they’re speaking to everyone. Anyone who watches it can understand exactly what Shrek and Fiona are going through, relevant to their own lives.
Q: Do kids come up to you and ask you to do these voices a lot?
Banderas: It’s very weird. A woman came to me once, in a supermarket, with her kid who was about five years old and she said to him, “Look, it’s Puss in Boots! Can you do the voice?” And, the kid looked up at me, and then looked at his mom and said, “That’s not Puss in Boots, mom. That’s Zorro.” In those circumstances, you don’t know what to do. It’s weird.
Diaz: I’ve had similar experiences as Antonio. Nobody comes up and does Fiona’s voice for me. But, I’ve had parents come up and go, “Do you know who this is? This is Princess Fiona!” And, kids are literally in tears. I always try to stop people before they tell their kids because, as a kid, you believe that the characters that you’re watching and that you fall in love with are real. You don’t want to believe that there’s a human being behind them, in the same way that you want to believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. You don’t want that myth to be ruined and dispelled. I always tell parents, “Please don’t tell your kids. Let it be. Let Fiona exist as Fiona.”
Myers: I’ve called kids that are sick and I’m always shocked by how incredibly accepting they are that Shrek is calling them. They’re like, “Oh, Shrek, good,” and I’m like, “Isn’t this a little extraordinary?” That’s the part that always kills me. They’ll be like, “Can you put the Tooth Fairy on now?”
Q: Let’s talk about love! What makes you happy, at this point in your life?
Myers: I love New York City. I love that I get to live there, and I love everything about it. I am in love with New York City.
Diaz: I am in love with life. I think it’s pretty awesome, when you are engaged in it. I love my family and my friends. The loves of my life are my friends and family, and the experience that I get to share with them. It puts a smile on my face and in my heart.
Myers: I have a love/hate relationship with love.
Banderas: When it comes to love, I will tell you that today, especially, I love the fact that I’ve been married for 14 years.
Q: Would you all consider coming back to do another Shrek film, at some point?
Diaz: I’m in!
Myers: Yeah, sure. I just play the voice. I don’t really know what goes on.
Diaz: It’s easy. People ask me if I’d do Charlie’s Angels 10 years from now, and I’m like, “What!” It’s a little bit different fitting in those pants, 10 years from now. But, with Shrek, we get to go back to wherever they will be, 10 years from now. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait that long.
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