Twenty-Five Years of the Swamp: Shrek and the Erosion of Fairy Tales

Why is Shrek still popular 25 years after its 2001 release? Discover how this film changed movies for fans and creators on its 25th anniversary today.

#shrek25, #dreamworks, #animationhistory, #shrekanniversary, #filmnews

https://newsletter.tf/shrek-25th-anniversary-impact-2026/

Shrek premiered 25 years ago today on May 19, 2001. It earned the first-ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, changing how we watch cartoons forever.

#shrek25, #dreamworks, #animationhistory, #shrekanniversary, #filmnews
https://newsletter.tf/shrek-25th-anniversary-impact-2026/

Universal Products & Experiences is bringing a little taste of the swamp to Licensing Expo to celebrate 'Shrek's 25th anniversary.

#Shrek #LicensingExpo #DreamWorks
https://www.animationmagazine.net/2026/05/dreamworks-shrek-celebrates-25-years-with-licensing-expo-splash/

Green Day to po prostu dreamworks muzyki, jak wydadzą coś mocnego to będzie to mocne do sześcianu kwadratowego, ale często zdarza im się wydać nijaki album

Tak, będę nazywać Green Day "Dreamworksem" muzyki, bo działają podobnie, wydają mocne rzeczy, ale często zdarza im się wywalić w najbardziej przeciętnym gównem

I dlatego nie powiem, że któreś się z nich skończyli, bo to kłamstwo...

#Dreamworks #GreenDay #music #Songs #albums #animation #animacja

OVER THE HEDGE PC GAME REVIEW

If you want to see a colorful bunch of animals working together, as a family, you may want to take a look at Over the Hedge, a 3D action platformer video game developed by Edge of Reality and Beenox and released in 2006 for PCs and consoles.

Based on the animated movie with the same name, developed by DreamWorks Animation, Over the Hedge, the video game, is more of a sequel rather than a reenactment of the events from the movie. This means that it’s a good idea to watch the movie before playing the game, in order to get the whole picture. But, in short, Over the Hedge presents a story about a family of animals who have to adapt, after people destroyed their ecosystem in order to build houses. They do so by stealing food and other desirable stuff from people, that would provide them a better living, like a TV and video games. Obviously, people are not happy about it and try to get rid of the animals. After a series of tumultuous events, things appear to quiet down. Well…, at least until we play the video game, which takes the story where the movie left off and gives players a new adventure of stealing from people, with all the perils ad traps it involves.

It all starts one day, when the animals return home and realize they were raided. Their resolution is to make up for the missing stuff by stealing some more. So, players take control of characters like Verne, a prudent turtle and the head of the family, RJ, a bit of a hooligan raccoon, Hammy, a hyperactive squirrel and Stella, a magnificent skunk, and set foot on the people’s territory.

Concept-wise, in Over the Hedge, players pass through a series of levels, while avoiding traps, jump on platforms, beat enemies, protect stolen goods from enemies and much more. Each level features main objectives, as well as secondary goals and after a nice cutscene, that sets the premises, we get to work. Periodically, we’re briefed on what to do, by other members of the family, like opossums and porcupines, in a style similar to James Bond movies, which is pretty funny.

As it is customary for many video games, Over the Hedge features collectibles, in the form of food items that may replenish or extend player’s life, hats, to customize characters’ appearance and DVDs that will unlock extras, like concept art, short movies and music.  Last, but not least, Over the Hedge implements local multiplayer in a way that allows two players to play alongside one another, through the whole main story. Apart from that, they can also play minigames like RC Rally and BumperCarts.

So far, it sounds pretty exciting, but it all comes down to how the gameplay really is. And the reality is that there isn’t much to complain about. The controls feel precise and players can customize buttons if they don’t like the default layout, which feels kind of awkward, or even play with a controller.

There are some amazing challenges to go through, like dodging lasers, running away from a dog, entering people’s houses and grabbing food from the shelves, walking on electrified power lines and the list goes on. In addition to that, it’s cool to see that as we go through places like people’s yards, houses and building sites, we encounter some of the traps we’ve seen in the movie, like the crushing gnome trap and the automatic cage deployment system.

As for combat, I can say that whacking mind-controlled mice, gophers, rabbits and other types of enemies feels rather satisfying, especially considering that we can perform combos. And there are plenty of weapons we can use to attack, as each playable character has its own specific weapon and, in almost every level we discover more things to work with, like shovels, hammers or rolling pins. Melee weapons can also be used in ranged mode, by launching things at enemies. And like this wasn’t enough, pistols that shoot balls or freeze enemies, are an option, too. Naturally, just like players, enemies can use an assortment of melee and ranged weapons to fight, which may make the game feel rather difficult at times. Still, one last trick players have up their sleeve is special abilities that can be used to make more damage. For instance, Verne can use his tough shell to shake up enemies, while Stella can knock them down with her smell.

What’s less great about Over the Hedge, however, is the camera, which is not player-controllable. While it gets the job done, at times it may feel rather restrictive, especially in multiplayer mode. It’s either too far away or it doesn’t manage to capture the right angle or enough of the level. This may make moving around feel a bit bothersome. But, in the end it’s still fun and engaging to go through the challenges the game has to offer. And it’s even better that players can test their dexterity and attention alongside family and friends, using the local multiplayer mode.

Moving on to graphics, Over the Hedge is an eye pleasing video game. The in-game characters look nice and have smooth animations. Levels are well-designed and resemble the style of the animated movie. I really like the fact that some levels take place during the day while others at night. This creates a cool dynamic atmosphere.

Other than that, textures pack a good amount of detail and there are enough particle effects to make the world feel lively. Finally, the multitude of cutscenes is a nice touch and provide good context for the gameplay.

Going to music and sounds, I can say the in-game music is pleasant to listen to and fits the game rather well. The sound effects provide good audio feedback, which is good considering the amount of action we get in Over the Hedge. Still, the sound that plays when collecting DVDs sounds rather out of place, in my opinion.

Looking at voice acting, it’s pretty good, though some of the voice lines appear to be kind of shallow and childish. Also, I’m not convinced the game managed to properly capture each character’s personality, as they are depicted in the animated movie. Nevertheless, I appreciate the fact that each playable character has its own set of lines and remarks on what’s happening in the game. This creates a nice diversity and offers one more reason to try out all playable characters.

In conclusion, Over the Hedge is a video game worth playing. It’s got an interesting premise, lovely characters and a variety of fun challenges that can be enjoyed in both singleplayer and local multiplayer modes. While the pre-programmed camera feels rather rigid and some of the voice lines needed more work, I would say Over the Hedge is still an entertaining video game to play. All in all, my rating for this game is 8 out of 10.

Mex

'The Simpsons Movie 2', 'Phineas and Ferb' and a new DreamWorks movie are among the 38 films getting support from California's tax credit.

#TheSimpsons #PhineasandFerb #DreamWorks
https://www.animationmagazine.net/2026/04/woohoo-the-simpsons-movie-sequel-and-phineas-and-ferb-among-animated-productions-coming-to-california/