Shrek (partially found original Chris Farley dialogue of CGI-animated comedy film; 1990s): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 11:13, 22 January 2017

Early design for Shrek when Farley (right) would have played him.

Status: Partially Found

Shrek is a 2001 animated film directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson and produced by Jeffrey Katzenberg, Aron Warner, and John H. Williams. It starred Mike Myers, Eddie Murphey, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow, and helped establish DreamWorks Animation's reputation, with Shrek being one of their most successful films.

However, before Mike Myers was cast as Shrek, Chris Farley was brought on to voice the titular character. Reportedly, roughly 80-90% of his dialogue was recorded, and people who worked with him on the film felt it was one of his best performances. However, Farley died of a drug overdose at age 33 on December 18th, 1997, still working on the film just a week before his death. There were talks of having a vocal impersonator brought in to record the remaining lines, but ultimately, fellow Saturday Night Live cast member Mike Myers was hired, and the script was rewritten at Myers's request, removing all traces of Farley's version.

Version Differences

Based on reports of the original draft's story and what footage has been released, the story would have been the same overall, but different in several aspects. For instance, Shrek would have been a very different character, not being content with frightening people like his parents and instead wanting to help people, make friends, and even become a knight.^[1] Aside from characters such as Fiona and Lord Farquad still being in the film, little else is known about this version of the film.

Availability

Very little audio from Farley's version of Shrek has been made public. However, some footage has been released, namely from DreamWorks Development producer John Garbett, who uploaded a two and a half minute scene from Farley's Shrek via VimeoPro. The scene in the video was an early version of the nighttime conversation between Shrek and Donkey where they discussed Shrek's personal life in greater detail. However, the early draft of the scene delved into Shrek's parental issues, a subplot that is absent in the final cut.

Gallery

Youtube mirror of the night scene.

References

↑ Jim Hill Media article on the original draft of Shrek. Retrieved 22 Jan '16.

[1] Jim Hill Media article on the original draft of Shrek. Retrieved 22 Jan '16.

[1]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[File:Earlyshrekfarley.jpg|thumb|300px|Early design for Shrek, back when Farley was attached, and Chris Farley himself.]]
+{{InfoboxLost
-It is a little-known fact that SNL funnyman Chris Farley was the original actor cast as the voice of the title character in the DreamWorks animated film, '''''Shrek'''''. According to the Jim Hill Media website, the plot with Farley on board was somewhat different than what ended up on film. "It was about a teenage ogre who wasn't all that eager to go into the family business. You see, young Shrek didn't really want to frighten people. He longed to make friends, help people. This ogre actually dreamed of becoming a knight". Those involved with recording Farley labelled it one of his best performances. Unfortunately, with about 80-90% of his role finished, Farley died from a drug overdose on December 18, 1997, at the age of 33, still working on the film just a week before his death. There were talks of having a vocal impersonator brought in to record the remaining lines, but ultimately, fellow ''Saturday Night Live'' cast member Mike Myers was hired, and the script was rewritten at Meyers's request, removing all traces of Farley's version.
+|title=<center>Shrek Chris Farley Audio</center>
+|image=Earlyshrekfarley.jpg
+|imagecaption=Early design for Shrek when Farley (right) would have played him.
+|status=<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found'''</span>
+}}
-The studio had not released any of the audio, and nothing had been heard of it by the public until the early morning hours of August 5, 2015, when Reddit user Bttfan shared a VimeoPro video uploaded by Dreamworks Development Producer, John Garbett showing a two and a half minute scene from the film's early storyboard reel, featuring Farley's voice. The footage, which features a nighttime conversation between Shrek & Donkey, is somewhat identical to its counterpart in the final film, even referencing "Farquad" and containing lines that are still present in the Mike Meyers version. However, the Farley version delves into Shrek's parental issues, a subplot that is absent in the Meyers version. This seems to indicate that the film's basic plot was largely unchanged, but the specifics of it (i.e. the aforementioned parental issues) were altered following Meyers's hiring. Time will tell if any more footage will surface.
+''Shrek'' is a 2001 animated film directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson and produced by Jeffrey Katzenberg, Aron Warner, and John H. Williams. It starred Mike Myers, Eddie Murphey, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow, and helped establish DreamWorks Animation's reputation, with ''Shrek'' being one of their most successful films.
-{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zYT5hQR4Q4|640x480|center|Youtube Mirror of the Footage.|frame}}
+However, before Mike Myers was cast as Shrek, '''Chris Farley''' was brought on to voice the titular character. Reportedly, roughly 80-90% of his dialogue was recorded, and people who worked with him on the film felt it was one of his best performances. However, Farley died of a drug overdose at age 33 on December 18th, 1997, still working on the film just a week before his death. There were talks of having a vocal impersonator brought in to record the remaining lines, but ultimately, fellow ''Saturday Night Live'' cast member Mike Myers was hired, and the script was rewritten at Myers's request, removing all traces of Farley's version.
+==Version Differences==
+Based on reports of the original draft's story and what footage has been released, the story would have been the same overall, but different in several aspects. For instance, Shrek would have been a very different character, not being content with frightening people like his parents and instead wanting to help people, make friends, and even become a knight.<ref>[http://jimhillmedia.com/editor_in_chief1/b/jim_hill/archive/2004/05/17/how-quot-shrek-quot-went-from-being-a-train-wreck-to-one-for-the-record-books.aspx Jim Hill Media article on the original draft of ''Shrek''.] Retrieved 22 Jan '16.</ref> Aside from characters such as Fiona and Lord Farquad still being in the film, little else is known about this version of the film.
+==Availability==
+Very little audio from Farley's version of ''Shrek'' has been made public. However, some footage has been released, namely from DreamWorks Development producer John Garbett, who uploaded a two and a half minute scene from Farley's ''Shrek'' via VimeoPro. The scene in the video was an early version of the nighttime conversation between Shrek and Donkey where they discussed Shrek's personal life in greater detail. However, the early draft of the scene delved into Shrek's parental issues, a subplot that is absent in the final cut.
+==Gallery==
+{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zYT5hQR4Q4|320x240|center|Youtube mirror of the night scene.|frame}}
+==References==
+<references/>
+[[Category:Partially found media]]
 [[Category:Lost audio]]
-[[Category:Partially found media]]
 [[Category:Lost films]]