"史萊克"也遇中年危機?
導讀：綠怪粉絲們期待已久的《怪物史萊克》完結篇《怪物史萊克4》(Shrek Forever After)終於全面登陸內地院線。在這一集中，陷入中年危機的史萊克與小矮人簽署了魔法協議，希望迴歸自己的怪物人生。誰曾想在那個穿越的時空裡，史瑞克的人生又經歷了一番天翻地覆的改變。他能順利找回自己的平靜生活麼？
"IT`s a Wonderful life." That`s what everyone keeps telling Shrek: his wife, Fiona; his best friend, Donkey; and all the happy citizens of the kingdom of Far Far Away. But Shrek remains unconvinced.
“那真是個美妙的人生！”雖然每個人都這麼對史萊克說--他的妻子菲奧娜、好友驢子以及Far Far Away王國的所有幸福公民。但是，史萊克仍然有所懷疑。
Feeling old, overworked and underappreciated, Shrek is clearly having a midlife crisis. So when shady dealmaker, Rumpelstiltskin, offers him a magic deal, Shrek immediately grabs it without reading the fine print.
我們的史萊克明顯陷入了中年危機：總覺得自己老了，過度勞累而且不受賞識。因此，當臭名昭著的交易人 “侏儒怪”提出一個魔法交易時，史萊克都沒仔細閱讀契約條文就馬上籤約了。
This is where the story begins in Shrek Forever After, the fourth and final installment of the green-ogre franchise. The story throws Shrek into an alternate reality in which he was never born, and thus has no friends or family, and no source of happiness. To add to his woes, he only has one day to earn Fiona`s true love as well as save the land and all who dwell in it.
《怪物史萊克4》的故事就這樣展開了，該片也是綠怪物史萊克系列動畫的最終回。片中，史萊克陷入了另外一個世界中，在那裡他從沒存在過，沒有朋友和家人，更無幸福可言。更糟糕的是，他只有一天的時間來爭取菲奧娜的真愛、拯救那片土地和那裡的人們。
When Shrek premiered in 2001, no one predicted that it would go on to become the global phenomenon it is today. After all, Shrek is not a cute talking animal but a big, ugly green giant, making him almost a Disney anti-hero. Despite this, what makes the story of the giant green monster touch audiences is its special type of humor, which mainly references pop culture and popular fairytales.
2001年史萊克初登銀幕，沒人想到他今天會成為一種全球現象。畢竟，史萊克並非長相可愛、會講話的動物，而是身形巨大、長相醜陋的綠巨人。這個形象儼然成了迪士尼的非正統派主角。然而，儘管如此，影片獨樹一幟的幽默感仍讓綠怪物深入人心。而這獨特的幽默感主要來自流行文化和通俗童話。
As a result, the Shrek series has shrewdly played to children as well as grown-ups. There are the kind of jokes that are sure to get the kids laughing. And there are the kind of pop-culture-referential jokes that are usually meant to accommodate adults while they are trapped in the theater. The kids aren`t really supposed to know that Princess Fiona is doing a move like Neo in The Matrix.
因此，史萊克系列影片巧妙地迎合了孩子和成人群體。影片中有些笑話能讓孩子們開懷大笑，有些流行文化相關的笑話則比較適合電影院裡的大人們。孩子們應該不太明白菲奧娜做了類似Neo在《黑客帝國》中的動作。
Shrek Forever After is very low on pop culture references, which are cleverly used to shape the story. Such references borrow from classics like It`s a Wonderful Life and The Wizard of Oz.
《怪物史萊克4》中涉及的流行文化元素很少，但這一小部分內容卻被很聰明地用來構建整個故事情節。這些元素藉鑑自經典影片《美好人生》和《綠野仙蹤》。
Some highlights of the film involve Shrek being gross, Fiona being tough, Donkey talking endlessly, Puss being fat, and Rumpelstiltskin trying to suck people into his contracts.
影片的幾大看點包括野蠻的史萊克、苛刻的菲奧娜、喋喋不休的驢子、發福的靴貓以及總是說服別人簽約的侏儒怪。
Although the final installment moved the Shrek character forward by motivating him to action in order to return his life to normal, the film seemed to lack the feel of a genuine final chapter. However, as none of the sequels really lived up to the magic of the original, this is probably the right time for Shrek to say goodbye.
在此次終結篇中，雖然史萊克必須為重返自己正常生活而奮鬥，影片仍不像是傳統意義上的最終回。但是，由於史萊克系列影片的每一部續集都無法與第一集中的魔力相媲美，這或許就是史萊克和大家說"再見"的絕佳時機了。
Perhaps those wonderful characters that we`ve come to love so much can now live happily ever after.
或許，那些深受大家喜愛的生動角色可以從此過上幸福快樂的日子吧！
辭海拾貝
Shrek Forever After 《怪物史萊克4》
underappreciated 未受到充分賞識的；未得到正確評價的
fine print （契約中）難懂的條文
The Matrix 《黑客帝國》
It`s a Wonderful Life 《美好人生》
The Wizard of Oz 《綠野仙蹤》
