Eyeball martini on the left, an earwax candle on the right, there goes a romantic dinner in the swamp with prince charming, Shrek, and the rest is ogre-story. This 2001 Dreamworks animation was a box office success and remains beloved to this day. The uncanny fairytale packs witty punchlines with meme-able facial animations that never get old, or even better as you age.

Behind Princess Fiona’s Matrix fight with the Merry Men is supervising animator Raman Hui, who forged a career in Hollywood with his passion for animation. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Hui moved to Canada for a three-month computer animation course after working as a cel animator in local studios. Prior to Shrek, he was the lead character designer and supervising animator for Antz (1998). His talent combined with Shrek’s success led him to Shrek 2 (2004); he then co-directed Shrek The Third (2007). Having spent over a decade in the United States, Hui describes himself as being sandwiched between Western and Chinese cultures: ‘I feel that I may be having a “green pasture” mentality. I miss what I had in Hong Kong when I’m working in the US, and vice versa.’

The screening on 14 December will be followed by a talk with Raman Hui and Toe Yuen. This talk will be held in Cantonese.

Andrew Adamson (b. 1966, New Zealand) is a director, producer, screenwriter, and animator. He started as a technical director for Toys (1992) and Angels in the Outfield (1994). Adamson also worked on Batman Forever, A Time to Kill (1996), and Batman & Robin (1997) as visual effects supervisor. With Shrek winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, he went on to direct and write Shrek 2 (2004) and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005). These titles became Adamson’s notable works, as well as every 1990s kid’s childhood memory.

Vicky Jenson (b. 1960, United States) is a film director best known for Shrek, Shark Tale (2004), and Spellbound (2024). Jenson first started painting on celluloid at the age of thirteen. During her university years, she worked at Hanna Barbera Studios, where she painted backgrounds on The Flintstones (1977-1978) and The Smurfs (1981-1989). Jenson also worked as storyboard artist for Warner Bros., Marvel, and Disney Television, joining DreamWorks Animation Studios in 2000. After Shrek, Jenson directed various live-action films and stage plays, but went back to animation in 2024, releasing Spellbound with Netflix.