Shrek the Third
Cameron Diaz On Getting Animated for Shrek the Third
"I’ve learned how to act with a podium," Diaz said. "I’ve learned about my character. In live action film, you live with the script and you spend a lot of time with it and you get to say the words often, and you get to deal with how your character fits into the entire story. With this process, it’s very isolating. You don’t get the script and you don’t get the character. I’ve actually learned a lot about Fiona, doing three movies with her."
Her voice may forever be identified with Fiona, but Diaz sees it the other way around. "I think Fiona is part of my screen persona. Rather than me putting myself through her, I think she comes through me, in a weird way. She’s one of those characters that I’ve played that, when people think of me, they think of Fiona, and not the other way around, which is a testimony to just how great this franchise, and these films are. That probably goes across the board for all of the actors in this film. If you think of Puss in Boots, you think of Antonio Banderas. If you think of Antonio Banderas, you think of Puss in Boots. It’s an interesting thing, in that way."
The animation process also lets the actors be a bit more outrageous with their personas. "If you saw Antonio Banderas in a live action film being Puss in Boots, you’d be like, 'What the hell is he doing?' But, as an animated cat with boots this big, you go, 'Oh, yeah, of course.' Yes, there is a liberty that we can take. It’s liberating to be behind this thing, where you can make the stupid, crazy faces. The things that I’ve done to figure out the moment, I don’t want people to witness."
Within that process, Diaz gets to be as surprised as everyone else when the animation is complete. "We don’t get to see the animation. The world hasn’t been created around us yet. So, we can’t look at it and go, 'Oh, that’s what Far, Far Away looks like.' I never saw what Far, Far Away looked like, until the second film was finished, and I was like, 'Oh, that’s what it looks like.' I had no idea. They explained it to us. They said, 'There’s going to be a Rodeo Drive.' But, you don’t really get the idea of what the community feels like, when they’re walking down the street, so you’ve got to imagine it. That’s part of our job."
Even dramatic character moments don't really feel the same impact without the pretty pictures. "No matter what I do with my voice, it’s not going to reach the audience the same way until they’ve done all the animation. I’ve seen it where Fiona and Shrek look at each other, and it’s not fully animated, and the moment isn’t there. And then, when it’s fully animated, you go, 'Oh, my God, that was so touching,' and it’s because the animators have fully realized that moment, created it with these two characters, and they’ve animated it. So, really, they’re the actors."
Shrek the Third opens to theatres on May 18th.
For the posters, trailers, stills and additional info, go to the Shrek the Third Movie Page.
Stay tuned for updates.
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