Andrew Adamson

Andrew Adamson is a New Zealand film director, producer and screenwriter best known for directing the first two Shrek films.

Before Shrek[]

Before directing the first Shrek film, he was a visual effects supervisor for films such as A Time to Kill and Batman & Robin. Afterwards, he was hired as co-director of Shrek, where he shared the position with Vicky Jenson, a then-storyboard artist.

Shrek[]

When hired for the first film, he had several arguments with producer Jeffery Katzenberg over the adult appeal. Ideas such as extreme sexual innuendos and Guns n' Roses songs never made it to the final product. Upon its release on May 18, 2001, the film was a smash hit, bringing in $484.4 million and won the first Academy Award for "Best Animated Feature". This helped make Adamson an A-list director at the time, and immediately went to work on the sequel alongside a now cancelled animated featured titled Truckers.

Shrek 2[]

After the success of the first film, Adamson returned to helm Shrek 2, where he was joined by Conrad Vernon and Kelly Asbury (who was going to co-direct the first film with Adamson, but left to focus on Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron). With the original writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio not returning, Adamson took the reigns to write the screenplay himself. His first draft had Shrek running for king in Far Far Away and calling for a "Fairy Tale Election". Upon exploring the idea further, he deemed the idea more "intellectual than emotional", thus scrapping the concept all together. Shrek 2 was eventually released on May 19, 2004 to major success, ranking in over $919.8 million, becoming not only the highest grossing animated film at the time, but also the most successful film of 2004.

Shrek the Third/Beyond Shrek[]

After the success of Shrek 2, Adamson wrote a story draft for Shrek the Third with the intention to return as director. However, he was too busy directing Walden Media and Disney's Chronicles of Narnia series, so he gave the job to Chris Miller. Andrew Adamson would go on to direct a few independent films such as Mr. Pip and Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away, with only an executive producer credit for Shrek Forever After and Puss in Boots. He was still involved with the Narnia franchise, having produced Voyage of the Dawn Trader, but eventually stepped down once the contract with Walden Media and the C.S. Lewis estate expired. Since then, he contributed to the hip-hop album, Year of the Snitch by Death Grips; and made an appearance on the series Prop Culture. Most recently, he received executive producer credit alongside Chris Meledandri for Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.

Shrek/Puss in Boots Credits[]

Shrek - Director/Additional Voices (uncredited)
Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party - Director
Shrek 4-D - Special Thanks
Shrek 2 - Director/Writer/Actor
Shrek 2 (video game) - Special Thanks
Shrek the Third - Executive Producer/Story
Shrek Forever After - Executive Producer
Puss in Boots - Executive Producer
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - Executive Producer

Trivia[]

The official action figure of the Duloc Mascot (a character he voiced) from McFarlane Toys is molded from his likeness when you remove the giant Farquaad head.
In Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, a member of the Baker's Dozen, Sir Thomas Brady Fingers, bears a slight resemblance to Adamson.