"Ogre" ("Shrek the Third")
When it comes to pictures based on the "Shrek" movies, Plightsite.com was cursed. Our homages never came out the way we wanted and while we did our best, Tony and I always seemed to strike out with disastrous results. But alas, Tony's daughter was a huge fan of the movies at the time (she even conned us into buying a $60 Thailand DVD bootleg of "Shrek 2" at a comic con when the film first came out in theaters so she didn't have to wait for the official home video release months later). Not only were we trapped in a corner by a 9-year-old to do a homage for the next entry in the Dreamworks franchise, but Katie made us promise we make it the greatest picture in the gallery ever. So, for our third attempt, I just grabbed a bunch of ideas and let the chips fall where they may. Maybe realizing my effort would stink no matter what took some of the pressure off but trust me - after doing this for many years, it's sometimes easier to accept the inevitable.
When the release of "Shrek the Third" got close, the media was suddenly bombarded with all sorts of crazy promotional advertisements on a George Lucas / "Star Wars" level. Wherever you looked the famous ogre and his donkey pal were hocking soft drinks, Wal-Mart, digital cameras, happy meals, microwave lunches, and a hundred other products and services. I mean, actual commercials where the Gingerbread Man was trying to persuade the evil prince to open a checking account at TCF. The whole thing went beyond ridiculous, and then some. Thus was born the idea for the fourth leading cause of cardiac arrests in the near future: Papa Krapp's Fruit Wraps (an homage to the cheesy Hostess Fruit Pie ads which ran in comic books decades ago.) - Jake