"史莱克"也遇中年危机?
导读：绿怪粉丝们期待已久的《怪物史莱克》完结篇《怪物史莱克4》(Shrek Forever After)终于全面登陆内地院线。在这一集中，陷入中年危机的史莱克与小矮人签署了魔法协议，希望回归自己的怪物人生。谁曾想在那个穿越的时空里，史瑞克的人生又经历了一番天翻地覆的改变。他能顺利找回自己的平静生活么？
"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.
“那真是个美妙的人生！”虽然每个人都这么对史莱克说--他的妻子菲奥娜、好友驴子以及Far Far Away王国的所有幸福公民。但是，史莱克仍然有所怀疑。
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.
我们的史莱克明显陷入了中年危机：总觉得自己老了，过度劳累而且不受赏识。因此，当臭名昭著的交易人 “侏儒怪”提出一个魔法交易时，史莱克都没仔细阅读契约条文就马上签约了。
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.
《怪物史莱克4》的故事就这样展开了，该片也是绿怪物史莱克系列动画的最终回。片中，史莱克陷入了另外一个世界中，在那里他从没存在过，没有朋友和家人，更无幸福可言。更糟糕的是，他只有一天的时间来争取菲奥娜的真爱、拯救那片土地和那里的人们。
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年史莱克初登银幕，没人想到他今天会成为一种全球现象。毕竟，史莱克并非长相可爱、会讲话的动物，而是身形巨大、长相丑陋的绿巨人。这个形象俨然成了迪士尼的非正统派主角。然而，尽管如此，影片独树一帜的幽默感仍让绿怪物深入人心。而这独特的幽默感主要来自流行文化和通俗童话。
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，史莱克系列影片巧妙地迎合了孩子和成人群体。影片中有些笑话能让孩子们开怀大笑，有些流行文化相关的笑话则比较适合电影院里的大人们。孩子们应该不太明白菲奥娜做了类似Neo在《黑客帝国》中的动作。
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.
《怪物史莱克4》中涉及的流行文化元素很少，但这一小部分内容却被很聪明地用来构建整个故事情节。这些元素借鉴自经典影片《美好人生》和《绿野仙踪》。
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.
影片的几大看点包括野蛮的史莱克、苛刻的菲奥娜、喋喋不休的驴子、发福的靴猫以及总是说服别人签约的侏儒怪。
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.
在此次终结篇中，虽然史莱克必须为重返自己正常生活而奋斗，影片仍不像是传统意义上的最终回。但是，由于史莱克系列影片的每一部续集都无法与第一集中的魔力相媲美，这或许就是史莱克和大家说"再见"的绝佳时机了。
Perhaps those wonderful characters that we`ve come to love so much can now live happily ever after.
或许，那些深受大家喜爱的生动角色可以从此过上幸福快乐的日子吧！
辞海拾贝
Shrek Forever After 《怪物史莱克4》
underappreciated 未受到充分赏识的；未得到正确评价的
fine print （契约中）难懂的条文
The Matrix 《黑客帝国》
It`s a Wonderful Life 《美好人生》
The Wizard of Oz 《绿野仙踪》
