Shrek Forever After opens a new-look Tribeca

Apr 22, 2010, 23:53 GMT

After slaying an evil dragon and rescuing a beautiful princess and saving your in-laws kingdom. What\'s an ogre to do? Well if you are Shrek you end up as a domesticated family man.  Instead of scaring away villager\'s like he used to, Shrek reluctantly agree\'s to autograph pitchfork\'s. What\'s happened to this Ogre\'s roar? ...more

San Francisco/New York - The new Shrek movie has opened the Tribeca Film Festival in New York with a star-studded premiere attended by the film's stars Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas and Eddie Murphy, as well as festival founder Robert De Niro.

The Wednesday premiere of Shrek's fourth in a line of animated hits comes as Tribeca hopes to expand the festival from its usual audience of Manhattan film buffs by having many of the screenings

available for viewing over the internet and on cable TV.

'We are really in the process of trying to re-invent what festivals do and how they reach audiences,' said Geoff Gilmore, Tribeca's chief creative officer. 'The old days of you come to a festival, run your film, you get buzz, get picked up by a distributor - that's over.'

The new format means that as well as the usual cinema screenings, a virtual Tribeca is making a selection of films and events such as red-carpet openings and filmmaker interviews available online. A further 16 films are available on pay-per-view cable stations.

Actor/director Ed Burns' Nice Guy Johnny headlines the virtual lineup, along with the 1980s-inspired teen comedy Spork and The Birth of Big Air on bicycle motocross legend Mat Hoffman.

Documentaries include the hopeful Budrus about Palestinian and Israeli peace efforts, and Sons of Perdition, about fundamentalist Mormonism

Amelie director Jean-Pierre Jeunet offers Micmacs, a whimsical underdog tale, while another widely anticipated film is the poignant Irish comedy My Brothers, about a teen who accidentally breaks his dying father's prized watch and sets out to find a replacement.

Sports films include Keep Surfing, about a hardy band of surfers who ride the Eisbach River in the heart of Munich.

But while the festival may be getting kudos for its innovation, Shrek Forever After was blasted as the last gasp of a tired franchise.

'As with so many sequels to sequels, Shrek Forever After has lost much of the simple charm, humour and heart that marked its predecessors,' noted the Hollywood Reporter. 'It reveals a definite been-there, done-that feeling.'