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The making ofShrekwas the unmaking of traditional, Disney-style animation.
If Katzenberg had stayed at Disney, Bob Iger wouldnt have been in the No.
Shrek is almost a superhero of being nasty: He grosses out thunder, burps lighting, etc.
Its a Shrek devoid of his future onionlike layers.
Katzenbergs tenure at DreamWorks was defined by how things ended with Disney.
He crammedShrekfull of stars because Eisner was so averse to paying for big names at Disney.
For that and more,DisneyWarproves a hugely juicy book.
WhileDisneyWardocuments the rise and fall of Michael Eisner, it only serves as Katzenbergs Act One.
For a while, it worked:Shrekpremiered at Cannes,saved DreamWorks, and changed animation forever.
The Men Who Would Be Kingis the book that deals most closely with the actual production ofShrek.
It explains how a property could languish under Steven Spielbergs ownership for years, likeShrekdid.
Apparently Spielberg likes to bench IP, and strung alongShrekfor years like Mr. Sheffield did to Fran onThe Nanny.
But somehow the film got made.
Eventually, though,Shrekbecame a wrestling match for control between Katzenberg and co-director Andrew Adamson.
Adamson helped the animators feel ownership of their creations, down to casting them as secondary characters.
Katzenberg found big stars to take the main roles.
Myers Shrek is diffident, slow to warm; Farley is a Shrek that doesnt think hes good enough.
The parallels are all over the text of this oral history.
However, inCanada,Myers recounts how Phil Hartman only believed he had 11 guys he could play.
Whats more, he numbered them each and made a whole notation system for emotional inflection and intensity.
(Other than that, theShrekdetails are scant.
Myerss memoir is many things: a recounting of his Toronto boyhood, a history lesson for ignorant Americans.
Mostly its a love letter to Pierre Trudeau.
That dude isobsessed.But it isnt a behind-the-scenes look at the making of any of the fourShrekmovies.
Its a fun, unique read nevertheless.
No other celeb memoir has a picture of the dead body of deputy prime minister of Quebec Pierre Laporte.
Though God knowsGuy Branummust have tried.
