2007年VOA标准英语-Belligerent Green Ogre Back for Shrek The Third

By Alan Silverman
Hollywood
20 May 2007

That pot-bellied, belligerent¹ green ogre, his adoring ogre princess bride, their pals² the wise-cracking donkey and swashbuckling Puss-In-Boots: they are all back together for yet another animated³ adventure from the twisted fairy tale land of Far Far Away. Alan Silverman has a look at the new family comedy film "Shrek The Third."

Princess Fiona (voice of Cameron Diaz) with Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers)

Once upon a time, there was an ogre named Shrek whose 2001 movie was such a big hit there had to be a sequel ...and there was in 2004. Now, third upon a time, the big green guy would much rather be living in his beloved swamp, but family obligations keep him and Princess Fiona at the castle where her dad, the benevolent⁴ Frog King, is deathly ill. "

An ogre as king? Preposterous⁵, but true ...unless Shrek can find the only other heir, a petulant⁶ teen named Arthur.

Mike Myers returns as the voice of Shrek, a character the Canadian-born comic actor says is a true collaboration⁷ with the animators. "I feel like a custodian⁸ of something that these really great filmmakers have made. I think this is the best of the three. I think they have built on 'one' and 'two' and created a great team. They write a great script and you just kind of fall back in the arms of these great filmmakers. I feel like I go to film school every time I do a session with them," he says.

Eddie Murphy voices the streetwise sidekick Donkey and, like Myers, he is a gifted improvisational⁹ comic; but Murphy says the animators imbued¹⁰ the character with his style of humor. "So much thought goes into bringing them to the screen, all you really have to do is just show up and do what they tell you to do. They know what they want. They are really specific about how they want you to say things. You get to improvise¹¹ a little bit and they use maybe ten percent of the stuff that you improvise; but for the most part they know what they want. It's pretty much laid out for you so you go in and do your job," he says.

The "Shrek The Third" road-trip would not be complete without Puss-In-Boots. The furry¹² fairy tale favorite oozing¹³ with charm and bravado¹⁴ is voiced by Antonio Banderas who loves the twisted take on storybook standards. "They actually did something that is counter-cultural. They took characters from children's literature that we grew up with and they looked at them with a totally different perspective and from a totally different angle. That, I think, is one of the strong appeals that "Shrek" has," he says.

"They inverted¹⁵ the traditional Euro-centric fairy tale in every possible way," says Mike Myers, who adds that, like the children's stories it lampoons¹⁶, "Shrek" also delivers a moral to the story. "They had an ogre girl with a 'pretty girl' spell thrown on her, n-o-t the opposite. Traditional villains¹⁷ are heroes in this; traditional heroes are villains. They sort of make you question what is 'normal' ...what is the right way to have a family, to love, to be. It is about diversity and inclusion and loving yourself."

In "Shrek The Third," that counter-culture approach has the fairy tale princesses - from Snow White to Sleeping Beauty - refusing to wait around to be rescued and, instead, taking matters into their own hands. Cameron Diaz, the voice of princess Fiona, welcomes that message of empowerment. "I love that Fiona has always been, like, 'this is who I am.' Since the first "Shrek" when she became her true ogre self, she has always been 'this is who I am;' but I think it is also a message that is for boys and girls alike - for everyone: you just can't sit around and wait for somebody to do something for you. You can't wait for it to happen for you. You have to go out and make it happen for yourself. I think that's the message that reaches everyone (and) it's for everyone," she says.

The duplicitous Prince Charming is voiced by English actor Rupert Everett. The voice cast also includes Julie Andrews as the queen of Far Far Away. John Cleese has the best death scene ever as the Frog King; fellow "Monty Python" alumnus Eric Idle joins the cast as the wizard Merlin. Pop star Justin Timberlake plays reluctant young Arthur. Comic actresses Amy Sedaris, Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph are the fairy tale princesses along with broadcaster Larry King:

"Shrek The Third" is directed by Chris Miller¹⁸.

1 belligerent   

adj.好战的，挑起战争的；n.交战国，交战者

参考例句：

• He had a belligerent aspect.他有种好斗的神色。
• Our government has forbidden exporting the petroleum to the belligerent countries.我们政府已经禁止向交战国输出石油。

2 pals   

n.朋友( pal的名词复数 )；老兄；小子；（对男子的不友好的称呼）家伙

参考例句：

• We've been pals for years. 我们是多年的哥们儿了。
• CD 8 positive cells remarkably increased in PALS and RP(P CD8+细胞在再生脾PALS和RP内均明显增加(P 来自互联网

3 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

4 benevolent   

adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的

参考例句：

• His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him.他乐善好施的本性使他不会拒绝走上前向他行乞的任何一个乞丐。
• He was a benevolent old man and he wouldn't hurt a fly.他是一个仁慈的老人，连只苍蝇都不愿伤害。

5 preposterous   

adj.荒谬的，可笑的

参考例句：

• The whole idea was preposterous.整个想法都荒唐透顶。
• It would be preposterous to shovel coal with a teaspoon.用茶匙铲煤是荒谬的。

6 petulant   

adj.性急的，暴躁的

参考例句：

• He picked the pen up with a petulant gesture.他生气地拿起那支钢笔。
• The thing had been remarked with petulant jealousy by his wife.

7 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

8 custodian   

n.保管人，监护人；公共建筑看守

参考例句：

• Benitez believes his custodian is among the top five in world football.贝尼特斯坚信他的门将是当今足坛最出色的五人之一。
• When his father died his uncle became his legal custodian.他父亲死后，他叔叔成了他的法定监护人。

9 improvisational   

adj. 即兴的

参考例句：

• I have never been at games like charades or improvisational acting. 您从来都唔擅长玩“有口难言”或者“即席表演”之类既游戏。
• I'm practicing self-control, those random and improvisational acts aren't allowed. 我在练习控制自己，那些随意的、即兴的举动是不允许的。

10 imbued   

v.使（某人/某事）充满或激起（感情等）( imbue的过去式和过去分词 )；使充满；灌输；激发（强烈感情或品质等）

参考例句：

• Her voice was imbued with an unusual seriousness. 她的声音里充满着一种不寻常的严肃语气。
• These cultivated individuals have been imbued with a sense of social purpose. 这些有教养的人满怀着社会责任感。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 improvise   

v.即兴创作；临时准备，临时凑成

参考例句：

• If an actor forgets his words，he has to improvise.演员要是忘记台词，那就只好即兴现编。
• As we've not got the proper materials,we'll just have to improvise.我们没有弄到合适的材料，只好临时凑合了。

12 furry   

adj.毛皮的；似毛皮的；毛皮制的

参考例句：

• This furry material will make a warm coat for the winter.这件毛皮料在冬天会是一件保暖的大衣。
• Mugsy is a big furry brown dog,who wiggles when she is happy.马格斯是一只棕色大长毛狗，当她高兴得时候她会摇尾巴。

13 oozing   

v.（浓液等）慢慢地冒出，渗出( ooze的现在分词 )；使（液体）缓缓流出；（浓液）渗出，慢慢流出

参考例句：

• Blood was oozing out of the wound on his leg. 血正从他腿上的伤口渗出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wound had not healed properly and was oozing pus. 伤口未真正痊瘉，还在流脓。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 bravado   

n.虚张声势，故作勇敢，逞能

参考例句：

• Their behaviour was just sheer bravado. 他们的行为完全是虚张声势。
• He flourished the weapon in an attempt at bravado. 他挥舞武器意在虚张声势。

15 inverted   

adj.反向的，倒转的v.使倒置，使反转( invert的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Only direct speech should go inside inverted commas. 只有直接引语应放在引号内。
• Inverted flight is an acrobatic manoeuvre of the plane. 倒飞是飞机的一种特技动作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 lampoons   

n.讽刺文章或言辞( lampoon的名词复数 )v.冷嘲热讽，奚落( lampoon的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

17 villains   

n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼

参考例句：

• The impression of villains was inescapable. 留下恶棍的印象是不可避免的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some villains robbed the widow of the savings. 有几个歹徒将寡妇的积蓄劫走了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

18 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。