Roger Ebert praised the film, giving it four stars out of a possible four and describing it as " jolly and wicked, filled with sly in-jokes and yet somehow possessing a heart . " " USA Today " s Susan Wloszczyna praised Eddie Murphy's performance, stating it " gives the comic performance of his career, aided by sensational digital artistry, as he brays for the slightly neurotic motormouth . " Richard Schickel of " New York magazine " liked the script, also stating " The animation, directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, is often on the same wriggly, giggly level as the script, although the more " human " characters, such as Princess Fiona and Lord Farquaad, are less interesting than the animals and creatures-- a common pitfall in animated films of all types . " Peter Travers of " Rolling Stone " wrote " " Shrek " is a world-class charmer that could even seduce the Academy when it hands out the first official animation Oscar next year . " James Berardinelli of " ReelViews " gave the film three and a half stars out of four, saying " " Shrek " is not a guilty pleasure for sophisticated movie-goers; it is, purely and simply, a pleasure . " Kenneth Turan of the " Los Angeles Times " wrote " The witty, fractured fairy tale " Shrek " has a solid base of clever writing . " Lisa Schwarzbaum of " Entertainment Weekly " gave the film an A-, saying " A kind of palace coup, a shout of defiance, and a coming of age for DreamWorks . " Jay Boyar of the " Orlando Sentinel " wrote " It's a pleasure to be able to report that the movie both captures and expands upon the book's playful spirit of deconstruction ."
