Shrek (soundtrack)

Shrek was the first instance of an American animated film using pre-existing songs as opposed to most traditional animated films which had original songs written specifically for them.^[2] This was partly because of the Disney Renaissance era where most of that studio's output had original sing-along songs and every animated film outside Disney followed suit.^[3] DreamWorks' chief executive officer Jeffrey Katzenberg, who was a former Disney executive, had also envisioned on utilizing a signature for their company. Antz, Chicken Run mostly relied on original scores, and The Prince of Egypt and The Road to El Dorado had an original soundtrack.^[3][4]

Marylata Elton Jacob joined as a music supervisor for DreamWorks in 1995; her goal was not to incorporate the same vintage formula that Disney used for their animation ventures, instead opting for the use of popular songs, a then-novel concept. Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, the directors of the film, has spearheaded the idea of utilizing pop and contemporary music, as both of them had not been "immersed in the world of animation so much, or in animated films" and took an independent film approach to Shrek.^[3] Jenson said that the use of contemporary songs in independent films had highlighted the emotional quotient of character and believed it could also achieve success in animated films.^[5] Adamson said that Pulp Fiction and the use of contemporary music in the film and its soundtrack largely inspired the idea to use needle drops effectively.^[3]

To demonstrate the potential needle-drop idea, the editor Sim Evan-Jones brought a CD of Donovan's "Season of the Witch" for use in the early sequences. It was said to have worked "sonically and thematically", prompting the creative team to utilize licensed songs based on the personal and instinctual tastes. Even though the licensing of music, was costly and not a familiar formula for animated films, Katzenberg had liked the idea which led the team to proceed with. Elton stated that most of the team had great music sensibilities and considered it to be a true team effort on selecting songs that would work musically, lyrically, thematically and emotionally, and avoiding on-the-nose tracks that would ruin the mood of the film. Jenson felt the use of modern-day music in a medieval setting suited the reinvention of the story and characters.^[3]

While Shrek was characterized by the sense of humor, each song represents a genuine emotion within the character. The use of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" was to capture Shrek's heartbreak, as "[he] angry and bitter and didn’t realize how much he was longing for friendship", according to Jenson, who felt that John Cale had "seemed to capture the crusty skin that Shrek wore around protectively". The soundtrack version was however performed by Rufus Wainwright, due to him being a featured artist of the DreamWorks label.^[6] The Proclaimers' "I'm on My Way" was used as a placeholder for Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again" which was sung by Donkey in the sequence where he and Shrek began their journey to rescue Princess Fiona; the former was used to highlight Shrek's character development with the line, "I'm on my way from misery to happiness today".^[5][7]

The opening scene was soundtrack by "All Star" from Smash Mouth as a temporary placeholder for the animators to use it. Though DreamWorks hired Matt Mahaffey to create a song based on the scene, audiences in the test screening preferred "All Star",^[8] leading the team to approach Smash Mouth, who were recording their third album under their eponymous title, to use their song as well as also recording the final track, a remake of The Monkees' "I'm a Believer".^[9] This song was chosen as Jeffrey Katzenberg wanted to redo the film's ending, in order to "go out with a big laugh"; the film previously had a storybook ending of Shrek and Fiona holding hands and walking over the sunset.^[5]

Smash Mouth bassist Paul De Lisle admitted that the band made a right choice, albeit few of the band members being hesitant on spreading thin with a film soundtrack. He recalled that most of the people in their forthcoming concerts after Shrek's release, had concertgoers dressing up as Shrek, holding a Shrek sign, with people believing that singer Steve Harwell was also Shrek as the vocals had matched with the character seamlessly.^[5][10]

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The Shrek soundtrack has been regarded as an integral pop culture phenomenon amongst the millennials, largely owing to its use of contemporary needle-drops and being different from the animated films from the Disney Renaissance era.^[5] The use of pop music immediately connected with the audiences across the younger and older demographic, attributing to the situational and contextual themes.^[14] Several critics viewed the film's soundtrack as one of the period's finest and considered it to be a multi-layered phenomenon.^[14][15] They attributed it to its perceived difference from the animated film soundtracks and praised it for its uniqueness and variety.^[16]

Within two months of the film's release, the soundtrack peaked at number 28 in the Billboard 200 charts.^[17] In the United States, the soundtrack sold around 2.5 million copies; it was also successful in the United Kingdom.^[17][14] In Australia, the soundtrack had 133 million streams according to Spotify.^[18] The international success of the album prompted Universal Music Group to re-release it in the vinyl LP format after its popularity was renewed in the 2010s.^[19][20] The LP record published by Interscope Records (a subsidiary of UMG) was released in August 2, 2019.^[21]