Fat Fiona a model of beauty

By STEVE PERSALL

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 31, 2001

Editor's note: When St. Petersburg Times film critic Steve Persall reviewed Shrek two weeks ago, he called the computer-animated movie "a pleasant, byte-sized distraction" and gave it a grade of B. Here, he addresses Fiona's transformation.

Weighing in on 'Shrek' Is this just another flick touting the slim and pretty, or does it offer a moral that beauty transcends chubbiness and pointed ears? Here are some of the things our readers had to say.

Mr. Thompson's regard for the feelings of overweight people is admirable. Take it from someone whose high school yearbook biography includes a demeaning nickname based on my waistline, larger at the time than the average jock's.

I eat, therefore I am. Overweight, that is.

However, Mr. Thompson's complaint that Shrek compounds cruelty toward overweight people misses the point that Princess Fiona is a fine learning model, especially for fat children or those who ridicule them.

Fiona, like real-life people, has been trained to believe trim is beautiful and faces should be sleek and smooth. When she accepts her body shape as a blessing instead of a curse, Fiona sets a positive example for overweight people and those insulting them.

"Ugly" is a word used mainly by Fiona describing herself after her nightly transformation. Somebody must invoke it, setting up her eventual comfort with body size as a progressive dramatic move. In other words, a happy ending.

Yes, Fiona resembles a sweet-faced overweight girl. How better to relate to, and inspire, sweet-faced overweight girls everywhere? We've heard for years that female self-worth shouldn't be based on Barbie dolls. What's the alternative?

Best of all, Fiona overlooks the ogre-ness in herself and Shrek, finding true love despite their physical differences from the norm. They live happily, even cosmetically challenged, ever after.

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